RICHMOND — To be able to present safer crossings and higher commutes for public transit customers and drivers, bus line enhancements are deliberate for Richmond’s Macdonald Avenue and Chopping Boulevard.
The undertaking, being pursued by AC Transit, requires upgrading site visitors alerts to incorporate sensors that detect when a bus is approaching, shifting bus stops to safer sections of the street, including or bettering crosswalks with People with Disabilities Act grievance nook ramps and including bus shelters and bulb outs to varied stops.
“I know that this community is very concerned about pedestrian fatalities and injuries, so this is a big move in that respect,” mentioned AC Transit exterior affairs consultant Ryan Lau throughout a Richmond Metropolis Council assembly on Tuesday.
The enhancements can be put in alongside Macdonald Avenue from Richmond Parkway to San Pablo Avenue and Chopping Boulevard between Freeway 580 and the El Cerrito del Norte BART station. Design work is ongoing with building anticipated to happen from this August by Might of subsequent yr.
AC Transit can be liable for the set up and operation of the capital enhancements however the metropolis could be liable for upkeep, Lau mentioned.
The undertaking is anticipated so as to add 4 new parking spots on Macdonald Avenue, however 40 present spots can be eradicated. On Chopping Boulevard, 16 present parking spots can be eliminated.
In the meantime, a complete of 29 site visitors alerts can be upgraded, 25 bus stops can be moved to safer places, 29 new curb ramps can be put in, sidewalks can be repaired at 29 stops and 17 new shelters can be put in.
“As someone who rides AC Transit, I’ve seen a lot of improvements proposed that I like,” mentioned Cordell Hindler, a Richmond resident who was significantly appreciative of the proposed bus shelters.
Councilmember Claudia Jimenez requested that AC Transit contemplate incorporating public artwork on bus shelters, noting town not too long ago invested in plans to create an arts hall alongside MacDonald Approach. That undertaking is being led by Impartial Arts & Media, the sponsors of Richmond Renaissance, an arts collective whose mission is to revitalize Macdonald Avenue and twenty third Avenue.
Macdonald Avenue was as soon as a bustling thoroughfare dwelling to quite a few outlets serving a neighborhood very important to the efforts of World Battle II. In the present day, most of the enterprise fronts sit vacant, a difficulty some blame on the event of Hilltop Mall, the ending of the struggle or the dearth of funding within the space.
Councilmember Doria Robinson famous enhancements weren’t being proposed for a portion of Macdonald Avenue from Harbour Strategy to sixteenth Avenue and requested that planners rethink on condition that many neighborhood members catch the bus alongside that stretch of the road.
“That’s the heart of downtown,” Robinson mentioned. “My recollection is that those bus stops are not in good shape. … That is the high traffic area. That’s where a lot of people are waiting for the bus, a lot of people are using those bus stops downtown.”
The company has been looking for public enter on the undertaking during the last two months by an open home and conferences with varied neighborhood councils. The general public may have a further alternative to weigh in on the undertaking design throughout a workshop on March 13 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. on the Richmond Auditorium.
