Changes coming to Lee Circle

Going from two lanes to one around the circle.

October 10, 2014; 12:39 PM • by Richard Hayes

This will not come as a shocking revelation to anyone reading this but a large number of people drive cars along Monument Avenue and a large percentage of those drivers are exceeding the speed limit. The results of this unpleasant combination are accidents and injuries.

The Richmond Department of Public Works is in charge of our local roads and making sure that we can all safely navigate about had determined that the situation at Lee Circle needed to be addressed. In February, RK&K was hired to come up with a plan to make Lee Circle safer. Meetings were held with nearby residents and neighborhood associations, issues discussed and the end result is what you see above. The lanes around the monument will be reduced from two (side by side racing action) to one (single track).

Work is expected to finish by April of 2015 and the engineering cost estimate is $330,000.

Phil Riggan from Richmond.com attended the Urban Design Commission meeting that approved this plan on Tuesday reported the following figures on dealing with the traffic.

The goal is to reduce traffic speeds to between 15-20mph, which should greatly reduce the chances of accidents, especially severe accidents. Monument Avenue sees more than 17,000 vehicles per day and Allen Avenue about 1,000, according to the discussion during the UDC meeting.