Thursday, June 11, 2015

Councilwoman Ellen F. Robertson invites all to sign up now/register for the 2015 Cannon Creek Greenway Bicycle & Pedestrian Trail Bike Ride & Walk: First Time Event Being Held

RICHMOND CITY COUNCIL
Richmond City Council – Richmond City Hall - 900 E. Broad Street, Suite 305 - Richmond, Virginia  23219 U.S.A.  - www.council.richmondva.gov

COUNCIL PUBLIC INFORMATION NEWS RELEASE
IMMEDIATE RELEASE TO BE FORWARDED AND SHARED
Thursday, 11 June 2015

Councilwoman Ellen F. Robertson invites all to sign up now/register for the 2015 Cannon Creek Greenway Bicycle & Pedestrian Trail Bike Ride & Walk: First Time Event Being Held

Free: Two Options to Choose from: 10.5 Mile Bike Ride or 2.2 Mile Walk
          
WHAT         (Richmond, Virginia U.S.A.) - The Honorable Ellen F. Robertson, Councilwoman, Richmond City Council, Richmond Gateway 6th Voter District, invites everyone to register/sign up now for the upcoming 2015 Cannon Creek Greenway Bicycle and Pedestrian Trail Bike Ride and Walk. This is the first time the event is being held.

                             This fun-filled family event provides an exciting opportunity for residents to enjoy inspiring scenery that includes a budding wooded urban oasis being established in Richmond. The Cannon Creek Greenway and the Bicycle and Pedestrian Trail are sterling examples of the thriving beautification, reinvestment and reclamation of the Richmond Gateway 6th Voter District and Richmond Northside 3rd Voter District.

                             The event is free and open to the public and includes the following two options to choose between: a 10.5 mile bike ride or a 2.2 mile walk. Free food will be provided to participants.

                               Interested residents are invited to register/sign up now by going to the webpage, at cannoncreektrail.wix.com/bike (web) and/or by calling 804.937.6836 (tel).

WHEN         Saturday, June 27, 2015
9:00 a.m. -11:00 a.m.
Rain date: Saturday, July 11, 2015; 9:00 a.m. -11:00 a.m.
                   
WHERE        Meet at the Small Park Across from the
                  Old Virginia Army National Guard Armory
500 Dove Street (Intersection of Dove Street/Richmond-Henrico Turnpike)
Richmond, Virginia

WHO          Being held by:
                       The Honorable Ellen F. Robertson, Councilwoman
                       Richmond City Council, Richmond Gateway 6th Voter District

                       Friends of Cannon Creek Greenway Bicycle and Pedestrian Trail
                      
                       Richmond City Council, Richmond Gateway 6th Voter District Neighborhood and Civic Associations  

CONTACT   For Easy Sign up/registration, go to cannoncreektrail.wix.com/bike (web) and/or by calling 804.937.6836 (tel).

                       For more information, please contact Mr. Michael Winborne, Liaison for The Honorable Ellen F. Robertson, Councilwoman, Richmond City Council, Richmond Gateway 6th Voter District, at 804.646.7964 (tel), or michael.winborne@richmondgov.com (email)


BACKGROUND

Richmond Cannon Creek Greenway Bicycle and Pedestrian Trail Project
The Richmond Cannon Creek Greenway Bicycle and Pedestrian Trail is an ongoing community improvement and reclamation initiative for the 1.9 mile area that comprises the Cannon Creek Greenway, which includes a heavily-wooded ravine located adjacent to a section of the north-south Richmond-Henrico Turnpike between Valley Road on the south and Craigie Avenue, located in the Richmond Gateway 6th Voter District and Richmond Northside 3rd Voter District.
           
      The Richmond Cannon Creek Greenway Bicycle and Pedestrian Trail is a nature, bike and pedestrian trail that includes family-oriented park facilities and a 1.9 mile, 10 foot wide, asphalt-surfaced path. The vision of the Greenway’s is to help increase the social, economic, and physical revitalization of the Richmond Gateway 6th Voter District and Richmond Northside 3rd Voter District.

     The sidewalk and street intersections of the bicycle and pedestrian trial connect the business and commercial corridor along East Brookland Park Boulevard residential neighborhoods, schools, and community centers for ease of access by bicycling or walking. It also provides an alternative transportation route for bicycle commuting from the residential neighborhoods of Highland Park and Barton Height to the City’s downtown. In addition to its use for family-oriented, recreational activities, the Greenway may also serve as an outdoor environmental laboratory for the science classes of nearby schools. 

      The Richmond Cannon Creek Greenway Bicycle and Pedestrian Trail Project is supported by The Honorable Ellen F. Robertson, Councilwoman, Richmond City Council, Richmond Gateway 6th Voter District, The Honorable Chris A. Hilbert, Councilman, Richmond City Council, Richmond Northside 3rd Voter District, Richmond Department of Public Works, Richmond Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities, Virginia Army National Guard, Southern Barton Heights Community Association, Virginia Chapter Sierra Club, Richmond Public Schools, Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay, Green Park Civic Association, Highland View Civic Association, Chestnut Hill Action Team, Battery Park Civic Association and the Virginia Tech School of Architecture and Design - Landscape Architecture Program.

TIMELINE
The following is a summarized Progress Timeline:

May 5, 2012
A Richmond Cannon Creek Greenway Bicycle and Pedestrian Trail First Phase Ribbon Cutting Ceremony and Community Bike Ride was held to officially mark a significant milestone and achievement of the ongoing community improvement and reclamation initiative for the 1.9 mile area that comprises the Cannon Creek Greenway. The Richmond Cannon Creek Greenway Bicycle and Pedestrian Trail First Phase Ribbon Cutting Ceremony and Community Bike Ride commemorated the official opening of a .4 mile stretch (Dove Street to Valley Road) of the 1.9 mile planned project. A community bike ride was held immediately following the ribbon cutting.

July 17- July 27, 2011
Approximately 75 Citizen Soldier Engineers from the Powhatan-based Virginia Army National Guard - 180th Horizontal Construction Company, 276th Engineer Battalion, with the assistance of the Richmond Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities and the Richmond Department of Public Works, cleared sizable undergrowth and grading the land for a pedestrian and biking trail along Cannon Creek. The Petersburg-based Virginia Army National Guard – Forward Support Company of the 276th Engineer Battalion provided logistical support for the units on site to keep them fed and fueled. The work performed was valued at more than $275,000 and was provided to Richmond residents at no charge. The use of heavy and light engineer equipment on the site helps provide “real world” training in preparing Soldiers for the Defense Support to Civilian Authorities mission in responding in the aftermath of devastating hurricanes, floods, tornados and ice/snow events.

July 26, 2011
The Honorable Ellen F. Robertson, Councilwoman, Richmond City Council, Richmond Gateway 6th Voter District and the community surrounding the Cannon Creek Greenway held a thank you dinner and celebration for the Virginia Army National Guard - 180th Horizontal Construction Company, 276th Engineer Battalion. The celebration dinner was sponsored and hosted by the community in appreciation of their outstanding work and included a community tour of the site. The work performed was valued at more than $275,000 and was provided to Richmond residents at no charge.

Saturday, March 20, 2010
A Richmond Cannon Creek Greenway Community Cleanup was held to remove unwanted trash and debris from the Richmond Cannon Creek Greenway. The cleanup included an estimated 100 community volunteers.

July 22 - July 27, 2010
The First Phase of the Project was begun to clear undergrowth in the Cannon Creek Greenway. This included approximately 25 Citizen Soldier Engineers from the Powhatan-based Virginia Army National Guard - 180th Horizontal Construction Company, 276th Engineer Battalion and the assistance of the Richmond Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities and the Richmond Department of Public Works. This project included the clearing of sizable undergrowth and grading the land for a walking and biking trail. The Petersburg-based Virginia Army National Guard - Forward Support Company of the 276th Engineer Battalion provided logistical support for the units on site to keep them fed and fueled. The work performed was valued at more than $20,000 and was provided to Richmond at no charge. The use of heavy and light engineering equipment on the site helps provide “real world” training in preparing Soldiers for the Defense Support to Civilian Authorities mission in responding in the aftermath of devastating hurricanes, floods, tornados and ice/snow events.

Saturday, January 24, 2009,
A Richmond Cannon Creek Greenway Community Cleanup was established to remove unwanted trash and debris from the Richmond Cannon Creek Greenway. The cleanups have been extremely successful in helping transform the area, which, over the years, had been used as an illegal dump site. The cleanup included more than 200 volunteers who cleaned up 20 tons of trash, which included 400 tires.

October, 2009
A stakeholders’ Planning meeting was conducted to decide on the features of the reclaimed Cannon Creek Greenway by faculty and students of the Virginia Tech Landscape Architectural Program. The Richmond Government Administration also completed an environmental study of the Greenway site began conducting an engineering study of the area and hired an engineering consultant contractor to study of the proposed alternative routes of the Greenway’s bike and pedestrian trail.

December 1, 2009
Richmond submitted an “Innovative Readiness Training Request for Military Assistance Application to the Virginia Office of the Office and the Virginia Adjutant General to the Virginia Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense, Reserve Affairs. The request was for them to establish, as a training function of the Virginia National Guard, the clearing of undergrowth and construction of the Cannon Creek Greenway’s bike/pedestrian trail and park by the Virginia Army National Guard, 180th Horizontal Construction Company, 276th Engineer Battalion.

2008
Planning for the features of the Greenway began in 2008 and has included a series of community meetings and workshops involving neighborhood civic associations, elected Councilmembers, residents of the Highland Park and Barton Heights communities, Richmond Department of Parks and Recreation, Richmond Department of Community Development, Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority, and several environmental and recreation organizations.           




- E N D -


Steve Skinner
Council Public Information Manager
RICHMOND CITY COUNCIL
OFFICE OF THE COUNCIL CHIEF OF STAFF
Richmond City Hall
900 E. Broad Street, Suite 305
Richmond, Virginia  23219 U.S.A.
804.646.6052 (office)
804.335.4054 (mobile)
804.937.1386 (home/mobile)
804.646.5468 (fax)
______________________________________________________________

MISSION The mission of Richmond City Council is to
represent citizens in creating and amending local laws,
 providing government policy and oversight, and
approving the city budget.

VISION Richmond City Council is committed to
creating a vibrant community that is a great place
to live, work, learn, play, visit and raise a family.