Mayor Proposes Key Initiatives to Build an Inclusive and Competitive City Mayor Levar M. Stoney delivered his 2019 State of the City address this evening, unveiling bold and ambitious, first of their kind initiatives to further Richmond’s progress as an inclusive and competitive city serving the needs of all Richmonders. Speaking before a packed auditorium at the Virginia Museum of History & Culture, and streaming online via Facebook, Mayor Stoney announced the creation of a new, first of its kind Eviction Diversion Program, and inclusion in his 2019-20 budget of a 20-year capital improvement plan to make needed investments in city streets, sidewalks, community centers and city transportation fleet, among other priorities.  The pilot Eviction Diversion Program is a new partnership between the city and Central Virginia Legal Aid Society, Housing Opportunities Made Equal and city courts system. Mayor Stoney said the program incorporates pro-bono attorney representation and fin

Mayor Levar M. Stoney today announced a plan to engage Richmond residents in the process of seeking a permanent replacement to succeed retired Richmond Police Department Chief Alfred Durham. “Community engagement is one of the core functions of effective policing in our city,” said Mayor Stoney. “So it only makes sense that as I go about the business of finding a permanent replacement for Chief Durham, my administration seeks residents’ opinions and perspective on what they’re looking for in their next chief. We are going to conduct a national search, but we are going to listen to our residents and prioritize the input we receive in the community.” The five-week public engagement period will commence with a series of public forums and community meetings sponsored by the City’s Department of Human Resources, as well as an online survey for residents to complete. The meetings, which will be held throughout the city in each of its four police pr

~City nearing 400 retimed signalized intersections~ 
 RICHMOND, Va – The city continues to ramp up its retiming of traffic signals.  Work begins Monday, February 4 to retime 147 more. These improvements will increase pedestrian safety on our major arterials citywide at more than 390 signalized intersections. The work during this phase includes intersections west of Belvidere (VCU, Fan, Museum District and West End). 
 The project is part of an initiative that began one year ago and included the retiming of 71 intersections in the Southside, 17 in the Northside, and 179 in the Downtown Area.  It is part of a comprehensive plan to deploy low cost, systemic pedestrian safety improvements at signalized intersections through 2020. These improvements include: high visibility crosswalks, accessible ramps, pedestrian countdown signals and improved signal timings. 
 The project aligns with the city’s participation in the Vision Zero Action Plan, which aims to reduce crashes resulting in serious

Mayor Stoney invites the citizens of Richmond to share your opinions regarding the characteristics, knowledge, skills and abilities you would like to see in the next Police Chief. Click here to take the 10-question online survey.

A new tool is now helping the Richmond Department of Emergency Communications to get fast, accurate location information from mobile devices for emergencies. Getting the accurate location for an emergency is the top priority for 911 call-takers, and the first step to dispatching first responders. The new tool, RapidSOS NG911 Clearinghouse, is an online platform to help pinpoint the location when the caller is unsure or unable to provide the location or when information provided by the cell phone company based on tower location is not specific enough. This was the case on Jan. 13, when a Richmond 911 call-taker answered a call for domestic violence but was not able to get a location from the caller immediately. The 911 supervisor was able to find the location through the RapidSOS NG911 Clearinghouse. “In this case, the first responders were there more quickly, because of our use of RapidSOS, rather than waiting for the caller to give the address,” said Stephen Willoughby, director of t