City of Richmond offices, facilities to remain closed through May 31, essential services continue

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In accordance with the delay that the state recently granted Richmond, city facilities and operations will not move into Phase 1 of reopening at this time. City offices and facilities will remain closed through May 31.

Essential city services will continue, as they have throughout the closure. To view a list of those services, visit the city’s dedicated webpage at richmondgov.com/covid19 or click here. (The list is available in Spanish here.)

Interested parties should continue to check the essential city services list, as it is frequently updated with expanded services. Of course, until May 28 at the earliest, any service expansions will still follow the Governor’s guidelines to which the rest of the city is adhering.  

City parks are still open to public use, though high-touch or high-density areas such as the Manchester Climbing Wall, playgrounds, sport courts, skate parks, athletic fields and dog parks are closed. Administrative offices, picnic shelters, park houses and community centers are also closed to the public. Chimborazo and Byrd Parks are closed to vehicular traffic to allow more room for pedestrian usage. 
                                                                                                  
The Department of Public Utilities will continue to honor the moratorium on suspension of services for non-payment, though the city encourages payment by customers who are able to do so. Utilities such as water, gas and stormwater are all essential to public health, as are their maintenance. 

Essential services provided by the Department of Public Works (DPW), including trash and bulk/brush collections, street cleaning and grounds/mowing maintenance, paving and pothole repairs, will remain uninterrupted. DPW also will continue to issue parking citations only for violations in safety zones- handicap ramps, fire hydrants, no parking areas for sight lines and paving. Residents are encouraged to take note of signs indicating temporary illegal parking to facilitate paving and pothole repair services. Residents also are reminded the Richmond Police Department and the VCU Police may ticket for violations other than those currently recognized by DPW.

All public safety departments, the Fire Department, the Police Department and the Department of Emergency Communications, are essential and will be available in emergencies through 911.

If residents have a question regarding city services that is not an emergency, the customer service call center reachable at 311 is operational on its normal schedule. The RVA311 portal is also accessible online. 

For updates on the city’s response to COVID-19, visit richmondgov.com/covid19. 

For ways to help and to get help, visit the city’s resource hub at RVAStrong.org. 

For a complete list of available city services, view the list here. If you have follow-up questions, contact RVA311. 

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