Richmond Connects: Weighted Needs Maps

“Richmond prioritizes the movement of people over the movement of vehicles through a safe, reliable, equitable, and sustainable transportation network.” - Vision for Equitable Transportation from Richmond 300, the City’s Master Plan, adopted in 2020.

 Richmond Connects  is the City’s plan to work towards the vision for equitable transportation set out in the City’s master plan, Richmond 300. It’s a plan to make transportation in Richmond work for everyone. It’s a process to identify and prioritize multimodal transportation projects and programs in the City of Richmond. It’s focused on equity and will work towards healing injustices by elevating the voices of people harmed in the past and those who experience injustices today. The City of Richmond’s Office of Equitable Transit and Mobility is developing the Richmond Connects plan.

Richmond Connects is guided by 10 Equity Factors - statements within the adopted  Path to Equity policy guide  that articulate what future transportation investments will do to create a more equitable future for all Richmonders.

We are working to identify what are the top transportation needs in the City of Richmond. We are using a combination of data-driven analysis and public input to identify what needs to be improved. This webpage presents the results of the data-driven needs analysis. Public input on the needs is ongoing, and you can learn more about public engagement at  RVAConnects.com .

The process to analyze the data is centered around 11 Investment Need Categories. The 11 Investment Need Categories (INCs) are defined in the Path to Equity policy guide. They represent the vision, goals, and objectives related to transportation in the Richmond 300 master plan.

The Richmond Connects team analyzed the needs for each Investment Need Category first based on transportation infrastructure and services. The team then applied additional weights to the analysis to reflect equity needs - identifying places and people who have experienced past injustices and present-day disparities.

This webpage displays 11 maps - one for each of the 11 INCs. These maps are the results of the needs analysis. They are heatmaps that show which areas of the City have the highest needs, according to the data analysis.

The maps do not yet incorporate the results from the public engagement, which will be combined in the next phase.

Within each map, there are two side-by-side versions, separated by a slider bar.

• The unweighted need map shows the areas of the City that have transportation-related infrastructure and service needs.
• The weighted need map applies additional weight to reflect the 10 Equity Factors described above.

Slide the bar to the right to view the unweighted need map. The unweighted need map shows the areas with the highest needs for that Investment Need Category before the equity needs are applied.

Slide the bar to the left to view the weighted need map. The weighted need map shows the areas with the highest needs for that Investment Need Category, taking equity needs into account.

The text to the left of each map describes how the needs for that Investment Need Category were calculated. A list of non-mappable (i.e. programmatic and citywide) needs for that Investment Need Category is also provided; these were developed from the public comments and were refined by the steering committee. These non-mappable needs may be addressed by the infrastructure recommendations in the final action plan, and also may be addressed with specific strategies, policies, and programmatic recommendations in that document.

Please review the needs maps, asking yourself it these represent a complete and accurate picture of where the biggest transportation problems are located that impact equity in the City. Please review all 11 Investment Need Category maps by Monday February 6th, 2023 using the embedded application at the end of this story. Any additional thoughts or questions can also be emailed to  Kelli.Rowan@rva.gov .

• Richmond Connects Weighted Needs Maps Top 25s 42x36  Map 
• Richmond Connects Weighted Needs Maps INC1a Top 25 42x36  Map  |  East End Map  |  Southside Map  |  Northside Map 
• Richmond Connects Weighted Needs Maps INC1b Top 25 42x36  Map  |  East End Map  |  Southside Map  |  Northside Map 
• Richmond Connects Weighted Needs Maps INC2 Top 25 42x36  Map  |  East End Map  |  Southside Map  |  Northside Map 
• Richmond Connects Weighted Needs Maps INC5 Top 25 42x36  Map  |  East End Map  |  Southside Map  |  Northside Map 
• Richmond Connects Weighted Needs Maps INC7 Top 25 42x36  Map  |  East End Map  |  Southside Map  |  Northside Map 

The comment period has closed. Please see below for a dashboard of responses. Any additional thoughts or questions can also be emailed to  Kelli.Rowan@rva.gov .

Please consider  signing up for a focus group  to talk more about how to improve transportation in your community. We’re focused on hearing from residents in the Northside, East End, Manchester, Midlothian, and Walmsley neighborhoods. If you live in these communities, or are low-income, minority, have limited mobility, or are a senior, we’d love for you to participate!

Once these needs maps are finalized, the Richmond Connects team will combine them with the public input to prioritize the top transportation needs and develop recommendations for the Richmond Connects Action Plan. These recommendations will include improvements projects that the City will seek funding for in the next 5 to 10 years, as well as policy and program recommendations.