While Richmond is spending millions to create safer roadways, preliminary statistics for 2022 show that major challenges remain.

The number of fatal crashes in Richmond as of Dec. 28 stood at 32, the most since the launch of the city’s Vision Zero crash-reduction initiative in 2017. Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles data shows 10 of the crashes involved pedestrians, compared to four in 2021.

The trend is not unique to Richmond.

Preliminary National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data shows 971 Virginia traffic deaths for 2022. There were 968 in 2021, a 14-year high. Pedestrian deaths went from 130 in 2021 to 166 in 2022, according to the state data.

“Virginia has really bad numbers this year, and I talked to some folks at the national level that have not seen an increase everywhere else,” said Brantley Tyndall, director of Bike Walk RVA, a group that’s working to make the area more walkable and bikeable.

Although Tyndall’s unsure of why Richmond experienced such a jump in the number of fatal crashes, he’s glad to see the city make progress in implementing traffic-calming measures and repaving major roadways.

“It’s been a bad year in Richmond, and I don’t know if there’s something specifically contributing to that, but we’ve lost 10 [pedestrian] lives this year,” he said. “It’s clear to me that we have to do something.”

Tyndall also hopes officials will follow through with reducing speeds along major thoroughfares and for Richmond to create a transportation department, which the City Council has considered numerous times.

Richmond’s Department of Public Works has placed a strong focus on addressing the city’s problem areas.

For example, a project at U.S. Route 360 and U.S. Route 1 is close to wrapping up with new crosswalks and high visibility devices.

Areas along Hull Street are scheduled to receive $154 million in safety improvements, said Public Works spokesperson Paige Hairston.

Hairston said numbers locally mirror trends in the region, state and country, and in the coming year the department is planning to provide a number of solutions.

The department is using federal Highway Safety Improvement Program funding to expand the number of pedestrian hybrid beacons, a device that improves visibility of crosswalks.

“These locations are selected based upon their proximity to schools and parks and their exposure to higher volumes of traffic,” Hairston said.

Pedestrian safety improvements are underway around Oak Grove Elementary School, and others will start next year near Mary Munford Elementary School.

The department is also working to replace worn regulatory and warning signs along the “high injury street network” to ensure better visibility.

The Broad Street Streetscape project will continue next year from Laurel Street to Hamilton Street, and next summer crews will begin constructing pedestrian safety improvements at an additional 35 signal intersections.

Construction of these improvements will last at least a year and will use around $1.8 million in federal Highway Safety Improvement Program funds, Hairston said.

The city is also looking to install 150 speed bumps on residential streets.

The Richmond Police Department is in the process of selecting a vendor for speed enforcement cameras to use within active school zones.

Seeking engineering solutions

Chet Parsons is director of transportation for PlanRVA, an organization that represents Richmond and eight surrounding localities. Parsons and others work together to analyze, plan and consult on projects that affect the region as a whole. He said engineering safer roads is only half the battle.

“There are lots of engineering solutions to improve safety on the roads, but there are also lots of behavioral issues,” Parsons said. “I think we’re all aware of and know we need to do a better job.”

He said the statistics coming out of Richmond are alarming, but all nine of PlanRVA’s jurisdictions are seeing a similar rise in traffic-related deaths.

“We are well-aware of the issues that are arising not just in vehicular safety but pedestrian and bicycle safety,” Parsons said. “I think education is going to be a huge, huge tool that we want to double down on for this year and work with localities on behavioral solutions.”

Parsons also said PlanRVA is keeping its eye on funding opportunities presented by NHTSA and its National Roadway Safety Strategy unveiled in January 2022. But he believes enforcing good driving behavior is a key issue.

“If people are more aware of their surroundings and more engaged in their travel patterns, I think that’ll make a huge difference in terms of preventing needless crashes next year.”