The City of Richmond and Radio One Annual Toy Drive has begun! Donations of new, unwrapped toys, books and clothing are being accepted at any City fire station, the Department of Social Services Marshall Street Plaza (900 East Marshall Street), Southside Community Services Center (4100 Hull Street Road), East District Initiative (701 North 25th Street), and at City Hall (900 East Broad Street) until 4 p.m. on Thursday, December 11. All Radio One Richmond DJ’s will broadcast live from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on December 9, 10, and 11 to “PACK THE PODS” with donations of new unwrapped toys targeting children ages newborn to Age 13 at the Walmart Supercenter, 2410 Sheila Lane. On behalf of Richmond area Lowes Stores, Richmond store General Manager Michael Sida has already committed to donating 75 new bicycles for the toy distribution. Other drop off locations will be announced on iPower92.1FM; Praise104.7FM; and KISS-FM 99.3/105.7FM. Donations will be distributed to children in need within the...

The City will begin installing approximately 40 new parking pay stations, to include 12 to 14 more in the VCU area in late November. The locations for the pay stations near VCU are: 600 and 700 blocks of West Franklin Street 600 and 700 blocks of West Main Street 300 through 500 blocks of West Franklin Street The new stations, near the campus, are being placed in areas where there are no parking meters and on-street parking is time-regulated with a two-hour limit.   The City began replacing parking meters with pay stations in the Central Business District in 2012. To date, approximately 125 parking stations have been installed.   It costs 75 cents per hour to park at a pay station. The meters accept credit cards, debit cards, cash and coins. The machines dispense a receipt that must be placed on the dashboard and is visible from the windshield.   To learn more about City services and programs, please visit www.RichmondGov.com .

The City’s Office of Emergency Management, the City’s Fire Department along with Henrico County’s Division of Fire and Office of Emergency Management are partnering with Amtrak for a hands-on training that will demonstrate to first responders how to properly size-up and manage an incident involving Amtrak equipment. The two training sessions will take place at the Staples Mill Amtrak Station, 7519 Staples Mill Road, on Friday, November 7 from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Media is invited to attend and watch the training for either session. “Emergencies on the railway do not happen very often. However, it is important that we train with external partners, like Amtrak, to learn these incident-specific skills, so in the event that an emergency does occur, we are prepared to respond and assist those residents in need,” said Steven Pyle, Emergency Management Planner for the City of Richmond Office of Emergency Management. Prior to the hands-on training on Friday, public safety p...

The city of Richmond Department of Public Utilities (DPU) announced today a 20 percent reduction in the purchased gas cost (PGC) rate charged by (DPU).  This decrease comes as a result of improved price projections and increases in natural gas usage over the summer. Mayor Dwight Jones stated that, “By law, the city passes along the cost of the natural gas it purchases and delivers to its customers, dollar for dollar without any markup.  As we enter the heating season, I’m pleased that we are in a position to announce this 20 percent reduction in the cost. The city will continue to review and adjust the gas costs on a quarterly basis to reflect the price that DPU pays for natural gas.” Beginning with the first natural gas bill received in November 2014, the PGC will decrease from $0.815 to $0.650 per Ccf (100 cubic feet of natural gas).  As a result, the average residential customer who uses 70 Ccf per month will pay approximately $91.99 compared to a current bill of $103...

~ Project completion targeted for the end of 2014 ~ Work is beginning in October for the remediation and improvement of historic Ancarrow’s Landing, a key part of the James River Park System. These efforts, first announced in May of this year, are being conducted through an agreement with ExxonMobil Oil Corporation, a successor company through merger to Virginia Carolina Chemical Corporation (VCC) the entity which occupied the site from the 1920s through the early 1960s. ExxonMobil voluntarily committed to the site’s cleanup and improvement efforts through the Voluntary Remediation Program by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (VDEQ) in 2010, a program encouraging hazardous substance cleanups that might otherwise not take place. The Ancarrow’s Landing and historic Manchester Docks have long been thought to have excellent potential for Riverfront attractions and greater public use. The location, lack of through traffic, and limited flood protection had largely slowed e...

~ City Administration begins development of guidelines for implementation ~ The City of Richmond achieved another milestone toward becoming a bike and pedestrian friendly city by adopting a Complete Streets Policy on October 13. Complete Streets is a transportation policy and design approach that helps make communities healthier, more livable, economically competitive and resilient. They are streets designed and operated to be safe, comfortable and convenient for all users regardless of age, ability or mode of travel. Adopting a Complete Streets Policy was a recommendation of the Mayor’s Pedestrian, Bicycling and Trails Commission, the City’s RVAgreen Sustainability Plan, Richmond Connects and the Green City Commission. The Policy outlines the design and construction standards for sidewalks, public ways and public rights-of-way and requires that City transportation improvement projects provide appropriate accommodations to promote safe usage for all users. “The goal of the Complet...

Mayor Dwight C. Jones announced that several vacancies created in the city administration’s leadership were filled with interim appointments utilizing existing personnel. The following appointments were made: James A. Jackson , Director of the Department of Public Works since February of 2011, has been appointed to serve as Interim Deputy Chief Administration Officer (DCAO) for Operations. Jackson will serve in that capacity to fill the vacancy created by Christopher Beschler being named Acting Chief Administrative Officer (CAO). Emmanuel Adediran , Deputy Director/General Services, has been appointed to serve as Interim Director of Public Works. Lee Downey , Director of Economic Development since April of 2011, has been appointed to serve as Interim Deputy Chief Administrative Officer (DCAO) for Economic and Community Development. Downey will serve in that capacity to fill the vacancy created by the departure of Peter Chapman. Douglas Dunlap , Deputy Director for Planning and Develop...