This article has been edited since it first appeared in print.
Cherokee Road near Forest Hill Avenue in Richmond’s South Side (Photo by David Macaulay)
In more than two decades of living on Cherokee Road, Ann Dedek has become familiar with the squealing of brakes and the sight of vehicles in the ditch outside her home.
“One time, I ventured out in the snow, and the snowplow was in the ditch,” she recalls.
South Richmond seldom gets snow anymore, but the accidents and the complaints about the infamous section of Cherokee Road from Huguenot Road to Forest Hill Avenue continue.
On Sept. 30, more than 100 people packed a meeting at the Southampton Recreation Association to hear officials with Richmond’s Department of Public Works discuss potential solutions for the long-suffering residents of Cherokee Road.
“This is on the city. This should have been done a long time ago. That’s why it has to be done now, because it’s dangerous,” Department of Public Works Senior Engineer Jerry Allen told those in attendance.
Officials say the tree-lined road, with its dips, blind spots, drop-offs and crumbling sides, is more like a county road than a city highway. “The current integrity is collapsing. If you get too close to the edge, you don’t know if you’ll fall off the road or not,” Allen said.
Virginia Department of Transportation figures point to over 30 reported accidents on the stretch of Cherokee Road since 2016. DPW is working with the engineering firm Timmons Group, which presented four options for community feedback at the Sept. 30 meeting:
- Add 4-foot-wide paved shoulders on both sides of the road, making the road 28 feet wide and improving ditches ($9.95 million);
- Build 4-foot-wide shoulders on both sides and a 5-foot-wide sidewalk on one side ($13.37 million);
- Make the road 12 feet wider (for a total width of 32 feet) by adding a 4-foot-wide shoulder on one side and an 8-foot-wide shoulder on the other that could serve as a multiuse path ($11.8 million); or
- Install curbs and gutters on both sides and a 7-foot-wide sidewalk on one side ($18.4 million).
“This is still a study,” said Chris Kiefer, a principal engineer with Timmons. “We have not surveyed the corridor. ... No decisions have been made at this point other than some money [has been] allocated for the project.”
Kiefer said work could start in 2027 but will depend on funding and right-of-way acquisitions. Timmons has sent surveys to residents about their preferred options and will develop plans based on the most popular proposal.
Two options require the acquisition of pieces of more than 100 homeowners’ front yards to widen the road. While some residents were concerned about the downsizing, many residents at the meeting welcomed the improvement options.
“I bought my house right after the pandemic. The first thing we noticed was that there didn’t seem to be anyone who cared about the condition of the road, which is incredibly frustrating,” resident Allison Baker says. “I also think it’s very funny that people don’t want to give a little bit of land for the betterment of the community.”
