Richmond is still figuring out what to do about a Northside intersection nearly two years after removing the Confederate statue of A.P. Hill that stood in the middle of it.
Why it matters: Residents say the area, which is a block from an elementary school, is so unsafe for pedestrians that families avoid walking to school, per WTVR .
The big picture: The intersection has been a problem for a while.
- It was one of the top three spots for crashes on city streets from 2018 to 2023, and a month after the A.P. Hill removal, residents said the traffic patterns had only gotten more confusing.
The latest: The Department of Public Works released a 55-page study in August about potential changes to the Laburnum Avenue and Hermitage Road intersection and asked for feedback in a meeting earlier this month.
What they found: Drivers make right turns at unsafe speeds and often illegally make left turns during restricted peak hours.
- Traffic crashes, however, decreased 71% after the A.P. Hill statue removal from an average of 28 crashes per year to 8 in 2023.
- In the study’s survey of 794 Northside residents, 74% said they didn’t think the intersection was safe.