Roof repaired, but how do we access Pump House?

The repairs to the roof of the Pump House are largely complete, according to comments from park manager Ralph White at a James River Outdoor Coalition meeting this week. But the larger problem of the road closure to the Victorian Gothic treasure remains. JRHN wrote about the approved roof repairs in February. Pump House Road is closed due […]

May 6, 2011; 7:03 AM • by Phil Riggan

The repairs to the roof of the Pump House are largely complete, according to comments from park manager Ralph White at a James River Outdoor Coalition meeting this week. But the larger problem of the road closure to the Victorian Gothic treasure remains.

JRHN wrote about the approved roof repairs in February. Pump House Road is closed due to a failure of the roadway and there is no timetable for repair. JROC will be writing a letter the City of Richmond to request that detour signs be placed from Pump House Road through Byrd Park, past the Carillon and down to the cul-de-sac on Rubgy Road at Tow Path Circle, which would lead down to the Pump House.

The letter will also include a request that the bollard that blocks access to Pump House Road at the cul-de-sac be removed to allow vehicles to avoid illegally u-turning through Tow Path Circle — a safety hazard if a fire truck needed to get down the road to the Pump House.

There have been no events at the Pump House in recent months due to the closure, according to White. The Friends of the James River Park had scheduled its annual picnic there later this month but cancelled, but the Sierra Club, Falls of the James Chapter has plans to meet at the Pump House in June.

After being reported in spring 2010, a growing hole in the roof of the 1905 addition to the Pump House had gone from six inches to an estimated six feet, according to White.

In February, the Richmond Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities approved two contracts to repair to the roof of the Pump House near the entry to the second room, according to public relations manager Christy Everson. Each of the contracts was for approximately $5,000 — one is to make repairs to the underlying roof, and the other will to cover replacing the shingles.

Everson said the parks department has not received a bid for the exterior lighting for the outdoor ramp, which is an ADA complaint requirement.  Getting a supply of drinking water to the facility is also needed, according to White.

The off-season plan was for the building to be usable in the late spring and summer for small events and possibly to be kept open on weekends for tours. That plan would likely require the installation of toilets (possibly composting toilets) and bottled water to bring the building up to city code.

May 6, 2011 7:03 AM 0