Downtown Rebirth Through Two-Way Streets

Some planners there see the street conversion as the crucial element in implementing the city's recently adopted downtown master plan.

"Richmond is poised to take a much bigger step that promises to transform the neighborhoods around the convention center, making them easier to navigate by car and much friendlier to people on foot or bicycle. The city is about to hire a consultant to determine the most efficient way to reverse the web of one-way streets that have made downtown Richmond a puzzle for anyone trying to reach a destination that's in plain sight.

'It's so hard to get around downtown,' said Charles W. Finley, president of the Historic Jackson Ward Association, which represents the neighborhood that the city hopes will blossom around the convention center."