Community Support for Safety Improvements at Jahnke Road and Forest Hill Avenue

Neighbors are collecting information in the hopes of making the area near Westover Hills Elementary School safer. Below is the statement and you can fill out the form here.

Families and neighbors are asking the City of Richmond to address urgent pedestrian and bicyclist safety concerns near Westover Hills Elementary School, particularly along Jahnke Road and at the intersection of Jahnke Road and Forest Hill Avenue.

The roadway and sidewalk along this heavily used school route are severely deteriorated and uneven. Families have also reported recent incidents involving drivers failing to stop or yield to pedestrians and bicyclists during school arrival and dismissal, as well as aggressive behavior toward the crossing guard.

The Jahnke Road Improvements Project was initiated more than a decade ago and is now under construction. The project is intended to improve safety, accessibility, and multimodal transportation along the corridor. With work now underway, the city has a timely opportunity to prioritize near-term repairs and pedestrian-safety measures at this intersection while the larger project continues.

The city has also allocated $100,000 for a traffic study of Forest Hill Avenue between Jahnke Road and 47th Street, reflecting broader recognition of traffic and pedestrian-safety concerns along this corridor.

We are asking the City of Richmond and its Department of Public Works to:

• Complete an interim repair or stabilization of the damaged road and sidewalk and coordinate the permanent repair with the ongoing Jahnke Road project.
• Install a “No Turn on Red” restriction at Jahnke Road and Forest Hill Avenue, at least during school arrival and dismissal.
• Conduct an urgent traffic-safety assessment and implement any additional short-term measures needed to improve safety at the intersection.
• Provide targeted traffic enforcement during school arrival and dismissal while longer-term improvements are pursued.

We are also asking City Council to consider broader protections at school crossings, including a citywide ordinance establishing “No Turn on Red” restrictions at signalized school crossings during student arrival and dismissal.

This form allows community members to indicate which of these actions they support. Responses will be shared with the City of Richmond Department of Public Works, the Richmond Department of Transportation, the Richmond Police Department, and relevant city officials.

[View photos of sidewalk and road damage in this area here.]

This is a community-led effort and is not an official communication from WHES or Richmond Public Schools. Contact information collected through this form will not be published.

Questions about this community effort may be directed to Paula Ogston-Nobile at [email protected].