Richmond Goes With The (Traffic Circle) Flow

20 crashes/year convince city to change traffic pattern in Lee Circle.

1 minute read

May 25, 2004, 12:00 PM PDT

By Abhijeet Chavan @http://twitter.com/legalaidtech


"How many years does it take to change a traffic pattern in Richmond? Try 114. Plus a few months to figure out if the old one was better. For the first time since the erection of the Robert E. Lee statue in a tobacco field 114 years ago, Richmond officials have decided Monument Avenue traffic should yield to vehicles already in the circle. 'There's going to be a learning period involved here,' said one dweller on the famous circle's periphery to a background noise of chirping horns and brakes. Progress may be realized slowly in Richmond, but it is inevitable.This brings Lee Circle traffic patterns up to speed with traffic circles in the rest of the United States and most of the Western Hemisphere north of the Equator... 'There were too many accidents, as many as 20 a year,' said city spokesman Bill Farrar, noting that the circle may have been the only one in the nation where cars traveling around the circle had to yield to cars entering it."

Thanks to Richard Layman

Friday, May 21, 2004 in Richmond Times-Dispatch

"Planetizen federal action tracker" logo superimposed over black and white image of US Capitol dome.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

October 28, 2026 - Zachary Whalen

A car drives through a puddle, making a large splash. Rain pours down.

California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour

If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.

October 28, 2026 - Grist

Lake Powell with much of the water evaporated.

Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River

Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.

October 30, 2026 - Yale Environment 360

Nithya Ramen talks to an older man. She is smiling and wearing a yellow dress. They are both outside.

Los Angeles just elected an urban planner as its mayor

Transportation analysts are optimistic that Raman will be more aggressive in addressing transit issues than Bass.

November 7 - Los Angeles Times

Mamdani behind a microphone, in front of a snowbank

Mamdani’s pied-à-terre tax survives legal challenge

A panel of judges found that the plaintiffs failed to demonstrate injury as a result of New York City's implementation of the tax.

November 6 - CNN

A road in north eastern Nebraska with power lines on either side, and grassy fields.

Eastern Nebraska is running out of electricity

Data centers and electrification are straining eastern Nebraska’s grid, throttling economic development.

November 6 - Grist

FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?

After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.

Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold

The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.