Pedestrian Safety
Last update: January 9, 2026
VCU’s pedestrian safety study – completed in partnership with the City of Richmond, Department of Public Works in 2023 – identifies and prioritizes pedestrian safety improvements on the VCU Monroe Park and MCV campuses and in downtown Richmond.
VCU contracted with Kimley-Horn, engineering planning and design consultants with experience in the Richmond area, and worked with the city to identify and prioritize improvements to enhance existing infrastructure within city-owned right-of-way, encourage collaborative enforcement and community outreach, and ultimately support a safer campus community.
View the final VCU Pedestrian Safety Study.
Read more about the study here.
Completed pedestrian safety projects
VCU
- Implemented four left turn hardening locations at the intersections of Franklin St. and Laurel St., Franklin St. and Belvidere St., Marshall St. and 11th St., and Marshall St. and 13th St.
- Completed a speed survey for Harrison St. to determine if speed tables could be installed -- average speeds did not justify the installation of speed tables
- Installed two new pedestrian crossing signs at the intersections of Cary St. and Madison St. as well as Main St. and Monroe St.
- Installed pedestrian crossing signs on both 11th St. and Clay St. at the intersection of 11th St. and Clay St.
- Replaced pedestrian crossing sign on Floyd Ave. between the Student Commons and Cabell Library
- Installed approximately 150 pedestrian safety signs on main entrances to VCU buildings and crosswalks across the Monroe Park and MCV campuses
- Worked with the City of Richmond to extend pedestrian crossing times by 20 seconds at times of high pedestrian traffic at Main St. and Linden St.
- Increased VCU Police enforcement (data from 8/1/2024 - 12/4/2025):
- 1,907 traffic stops
- 1,306 traffic summons issued
- 589 warnings issued
- 888 parking tickets issued
- Installed three new front doors
- Conducted outreach and education efforts, including a VCU Police awareness campaign events
- VCU Police launched HEADS UP, RAMS!, an initiative to enhance pedestrian awareness and reduce traffic-related incidents to include education and community engagement, traffic and parking enforcement, communications, and traffic calming initiatives
- VCU Police hosted a license/administrative checkpoint within the 700 block of W. Main St.
- Closed the A Lot on December 1, 2025 and moved parking customers to the deck at 14th St. and Cary St.
- Presented at the Society for College and University Planning Mid-Atlantic regional conference in May 2025 to discuss the effective university-community collaboration model
City of Richmond
- Installed curb extensions on Cary St. and Main St., including two on the VCU campus at Cary St. and Pine St. as well as Main St. and Pine St.
- Installed 14 “no turn on red” signs at 9 intersections on the Monroe Park Campus
- Installed seven corner clearance markings on the Monroe Park Campus
- Installed 19 speed tables
- Implemented leading pedestrian intervals at 40 intersections on the Monroe Park and MCV campuses
- Implemented Richmond-wide signal retiming
- Installed high-visibility signal backplates across the city, including VCU’s campus, at high-traffic intersections
- Installed signal louvers on the eastbound approach of the intersection of Cary St. and Belvidere St.
- Installed longitudinal crosswalk markings at 12th St. and Marshall St.
Planned or underway pedestrian safety projects
VCU
- Extend pedestrian crossing times by 20 seconds at times of high pedestrian traffic (at Harrison St. and Grace. St., Harrison St. and Franklin St., Laurel St. and Main St., and Laurel St. and Franklin St.)
- Installing two speed feedback signs on Broad St. and Belvidere St.
- Constructing eight new curb extensions at the intersections of Cary St. and Harrison St., Cary St. and Belvidere St., Main St. and Laurel St., Main St. and Harrison St., Harrison St. and Grace St., and Harrison St. and Broad St.
City of Richmond
- Paving the road around VCU Health System upon request by VCU due to poor road conditions
- Implementing red light camera enforcement at two locations on VCU's campus
- Hardening and extending existing Franklin St. bike lane from Lombardy St. to Belvidere St.
Under discussion
VCU has shared the following recommendations/requests with the City of Richmond:
- Pursue legislation at the General Assembly that extends school zone status to VCU, allowing for additional speed enforcement including speed enforcement cameras; work with the City of Richmond to request the state to modify the reckless driving code in school zones to include 10 MPH over posted speed
- Convert segments of N. 9th St. and Turpin St. between N. 10th St. and Leigh St. to two-way traffic as part of the proposed VCU School of Dentistry project
- Implement a pilot for partial closure of Floyd Ave. during times of high pedestrian traffic
- Implement a pilot for closing for portions of Grace St to serve as a campus pedestrian main street
- Coordinate signal timing with increase of pedestrians based on VCU class schedule data, allowing more pedestrian cross time during peak periods
- Replace traffic signal controllers at Linden St. and Floyd St., Franklin St. and Shafer St., Franklin St. and Laurel St., and Main St. and Laurel St. to allow for red lights in all directions and enable pedestrians to cross diagonally
- Install temporary curb extensions at Cary St. and Harrison St. as well as Main St. and Laurel St. to eliminate illegal corner parking to enhance pedestrian visibility
- Install a stop sign at 11th St. and Clay St. due to high volume pedestrian traffic
- Reevaluate "No Turn on Red" signs in the core campus geography
- Extend the Franklin St. bike lane from Lombardy St. to Belvidere St.
- Prioritize the Belvidere St. crosswalk reconstruction
- Significantly increase city and VCU enforcement and educational campaigns, evaluate effectiveness, and make iterative improvements based on updated annual evidence
Contact us
Contact policedept@vcu.edu for questions or concerns related to pedestrian safety at VCU.