Westover Hills bike lanes bring bridge access to burgeoning cycling network
Putting proof to the adage that “paint is not infrastructure”, drivers are still getting used to the new traffic pattern brought on by the new Westover Hills Boulevard bike lanes. While it is not uncommon to see someone driving in the new parking spots, anecdotally the traffic does seem to be rolling closer to the actual speed limit than before.
The new bike lanes stretch from Dunston Avenue to Riverside Drive, and bring access to the Boulevard Bridge to what is the foundation of a decent area network of lanes, intersecting existing lanes running east/west on Forest Hill Avenue that stretch from Dorchester Road to Cowardin Avenue.
The Forest Hill Avenue Phase II Improvements planned for 2031 will connect the existing stretch of bike lanes on Forest Hill Avenue to the lanes that run from Powhite Parkway to Hathaway. Another nearby network of bike lanes at Jahnke, Hioaks, and Carnation Street will be connected to this one with the completion of the long-planned Jahnke Road project. The James River Branch Trail (planned for 2026) will connect the Westover Hills area southeast to Hopkins Road.
The city lists a number of related area developments as “Projects in the Pipeline”, including:
- 49th Street – Westover Hills Boulevard to James River Branch Railroad
- Fall Line Trail – Manchester Bridge to Byrd Street
- Fall Line Trail – Commerce Road – Manchester Bridge to Decatur Street
- Fall Line Trail – Commerce Road – Decatur Street to Southern Connection
- Fall Line Trail – Southern Connection from Commerce Road to Chesterfield County
- Hopkins Road – Holly Springs to Walmsley Boulevard
- Hull Street – Arizona Drive to Chippenham Parkway
- James River Branch Trail – Hopkins Road to 49th Street
- Walmsley Boulevard – West City Limits to Belmont Road
- Broad Rock Road – Hull Street to Forest Hill Avenue / Bainbridge Street
- Jahnke Road – Blakemore Road to Forest Hill Avenue
- Carnation Street – Hioaks Road and Midlothian Turnpike
- Warwick Road – Hull Street Road to Midlothian Turnpike
What the under-40s in city hall who are shoving these bike lanes down taxpayer throats (despite the fact that most of them don’t live in the city) don’t ever talk about is how very few bicyclists there are outside of the vcu area. Still the whole city is being ravaged 4 the convenience of a tiny group.
I am in my mid-thirties and use the bike lanes multiple days a week to commute to work and to patronize businesses in this corridor. Just because you don’t notice us doesn’t mean cyclists are not using the bike lanes.
I’m in my 50s and bike WHB all the time to get the bridge. Love to see all the new bike lanes!
Until major corridors are connected across residential and business areas, few people will feel safe enough to bike on a daily basis to/from work, school, and appointments. Once these projects are complete, we’ll see an uptick in ridership.
For example, I live less than a mile from the Capital Trail, but I can’t bike to it because there is no bike lane on the infamously dangerous Mayo bridge that I would have to cross to get there. I’m forced to drive.
Yay more bike lanes!