Damaged bike lanes in Richmond’s Museum District raise safety concerns

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — Damage from construction in Richmond’s Museum District is causing safety concerns for cyclists.

Construction along Malvern Avenue has left lane markings barely visible and plastic posts meant to separate cyclists from drivers are scattered or missing. The damage has forced cyclists to navigate around construction equipment.

Damaged bike lanes on Malvern Avenue (Courtesy of 8News)

“It’s a common occurrence,” said Allen Bough, an avid cyclist who rides the route at least twice a week.

He explained that seeing the damage didn't come as a surprise.

“Homeowners doing construction will drop a bin box in the middle of the lane, so it becomes unusable," he said.

A viewer who contacted 8News about the issue said he emailed Councilmember Andrew Breton earlier this month with concerns about the condition of the lanes but has not received a response. He felt there wasn't enough consideration given to preserving the lanes and posts during construction.

Bough said the damaged infrastructure is just one piece of a larger problem with the city’s bike lanes. He believes shared bike lanes would be safer than the current lane design.

“From a cycling standpoint, for avid cyclists who are training these lanes are unsafe,” he said. “They’re small, they’re thin, and people park super close to the lanes inside the buffer zone.”

He added that while Richmond promotes the number of bike lanes it has, the focus should be on improving the quality of the infrastructure.

“It seems like it’s stats on a paper," he said. "We have so many miles of bike lanes instead of, we have good infrastructure.”

8News has reached out to Councilmember Breton to ask whether the city plans to restore the lanes once construction is complete. We're still awaiting a response.