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)
steven.skinner@richmondgov.com (email)
www.council.richmondva.gov(website)
______________________________________________________________
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.
