City to Host Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Program Virtually and Encourages Residents to Safely Volunteer on National Day of Service

The Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. federal holiday, held this year on Monday, January 17, is celebrated as a National Day of Service. Residents are encouraged to view Richmond’s recognition ceremony, “A Day On, Not a Day Off”, featuring Mayor Levar M. Stoney, Richmond Public Schools Superintendent Jason Kamras, and City Council members. The presentation can be viewed online on the City of Richmond’s Facebook page beginning on Monday.

This National Day of Service celebration is being organized by the Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities Office on Volunteerism (Neighbor-To-Neighbor), the AmeriCorps program, the Black History Museum, and the Valentine Museum.

Parks and Recreation has coordinated service projects at G.H. Reid Elementary School and at the Historic Slave Trail, weather dependent. COVID-19 protocols will be in place at both locations.

For more information about the department, follow PRCF on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

In observance of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday, city government offices, including City Hall, will be closed on Monday, January 17, 2022. City offices will reopen at regular business hours on Tuesday, January 18.

This closing includes all branches of the Richmond Public Library, Parks, Recreation & Community Facilities offices, and community centers.

All DPW offices will be closed on Monday, January 17. Residential trash collection will not be picked up on Monday. Trash collection will be delayed by one day. Trash scheduled for pick up on Monday will be picked up on Tuesday and so on through Friday, January 21.

The East Richmond Road Convenience Center, located at 3800 East Richmond Road, will be closed on Monday, January 17 and will reopen on Tuesday, January 18.

Richmond Animal Care and Control offers adoptions by appointment Sunday through Friday and open to the public each Saturday from Noon until 5 p.m.

For more information on city services and schedules, please visit RVA.gov.

The Office of Equitable Transit and Mobility (OETM) has completed a draft of the Path to Equity: Policy Guide for Richmond Connects. After a summer of virtual and in-person community engagement, the plan is ready for public review. 

The Path to Equity: Policy Guide for Richmond Connects articulates the policy framework for Richmond Connects, the multimodal transportation planning process set to begin March 2022. The goal of the document is to provide a principled, community-rooted foundation to guide the implementation of the upcoming project-based transportation plan.

The policy guide was developed with the help of the public and two planning committees. An internal steering committee, made up of Richmond city staff across many departments, helped guide the process. An advisory committee, made up of a diverse group of citizens, advocates, and local and regional planning and government professionals, helped develop the new policy statements in the document. OETM relied on more than 1,900 responses from the public survey to craft the guide while considering research and best practices in equity planning from across the country.

Said Administrator of the Office of Equitable Transit and Mobility Dironna Moore Clarke, “Thank you to everyone who attended the community engagement events this summer, including our very popular Tacos for Transportation effort! OETM heard so many great ideas, and we are excited to share this draft.”

Summary of Path to Equity: Policy Guide for Richmond Connects

First, the document lays out the history of the injustices that have occurred as a result of government policies, from the local to the federal level. It takes ownership for these injustices and lays out additional context that the city is operating within today. It articulates which injustices, and what elements of the planning and funding process, hinder progress towards equity in transportation today. It points to new directions the city and its planning partners must take to get closer to true equity.

The policy guide reiterates the transportation-related goals and objectives from Richmond 300: A Guide for Growth, the city’s master plan, but adds additional policy statements to center the policy on equity in transportation programs, policies, investments and infrastructure.

It articulates a new set of policy statements, called Equity Factors, that describe the desired outcomes related to addressing injustices of the past and barriers today. It also lays out three guiding principles for how the process must unfold in achieving these Equity Factors and Richmond 300’s objectives.

Says Moore-Clarke, “Process matters. It’s important not just what we accomplish, but how we accomplish it. That’s why we’ve outlined guiding principles as our process guideposts.”

Next steps in the planning process

Once finalized, the framework developed in the Path to Equity: Policy Guide will ultimately help prioritize needs and recommend transportation projects and programs for the city in Richmond Connects. It will align the city transportation needs and a variety of recommendations from various plans to identify equitable transportation projects across the city. Including commenting on the Path to Equity draft, there will be many more opportunities for your voices to be heard, as the Policy Guide is but the first step in planning for what residents see as the community’s top transportation needs.

This policy guide continues the City’s commitment to building a more equitable city for all Richmonders. Please help this vital work by reviewing the draft policy guide before January 31, 2022.

Please stay connected at www.rva.gov/connects and review the draft document at www.rva.gov/path2equity.

The policy guide in its entirety is available for review and comment. Considering the length and detail of the document, the equity factors and guiding principles are also available separately for comment and review.

The Office of Equitable Transit and Mobility also invites the public to join a webinar on January 10 from 1 to 2 p.m. to learn more about the planning process; an event page can be found on the city’s Facebook and on the Path to Equity webpage. Also stay tuned to the city’s Facebook for information on a series of Path to Equity mini-sessions happening Thursdays in January, starting next week, via Facebook live.

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City of Richmond government offices will open at 10 A.M. on Wednesday, January 5, 2022, due to inclement weather. 

Trash pick up is currently on a one day delay.

Recycling is currently on a two day delay.

As always, emergency services will not be interrupted.

For timely information on closures and other updates, please follow the City of Richmond on Twitter (@CityRichmondVA).

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The city has hired Petula Burks to lead the Office of Public Information and Engagement (PIE), a new communications and community engagement office founded by Mayor Stoney in 2021.

The office’s founding mission is to connect communities with city government through accessible public information, meaningful engagement, and compelling storytelling. The hiring of Ms. Burks is a significant step toward ensuring PIE is a lasting, useful, and change-making force within the City of Richmond government.

Ms. Burks brings two decades of public information and management experience to the new office. She has served as the Director of the Center of Public Affairs for the Washington State Department of Health, the Director of Public Relations and Communications for the Greater Sacramento Economic Council, and Director of Civic Engagement and Chief of Staff to Mayor Oliver Gilbert at City of Miami Gardens, Florida. Most recently, she served as Chief of Staff to Augusta-Richmond County Mayor Hardle Davis, Jr.

The Office of Public Information and Engagement is part of the Department of Citizen Service and Response. Said Department Director Peter Breil: “I couldn’t be more excited to have Petula on the City of Richmond team. She brings a wealth of experience that will be incredibly valuable as we establish the Office of Public Information and Engagement, enabling us to communicate more accessibly, equitably and frequently both publicly and internally.”

“When communications and engagement marry, it is truly the beginning of something powerful for communities; when the communications and engagement are intentional, the outcomes empower communities,” said Ms. Burks. “The launch of the Office of Public Information and Engagement in the City of Richmond is a marriage made in heaven and looks to cultivate a city built on transparency, commitment to listening, and activation around a shared mission and vision. I am excited to join this team and help promote purposeful communication and engagement with our internal and external partners and the community at large.”

Ms. Burks begins her employment with the city on January 4, 2022. She leads a team of four dedicated employees.

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