Planning commission gives conceptual approval to Mayo Bridge replacement, requires stronger bike and bus safety measures

The City of Richmond Planning Commission voted to conceptually approve the location, character and extent of a proposed replacement for the 1913 Mayo Bridge, but required the project team to return with clearer protections for bicyclists, additional safety provisions for buses that will stop on the bridge and an extra public review step before final approval.

Planner Roakes, presenting staff and the Urban Design Committee's recommendations, emphasized the project's safety and multimodal goals, saying the plan would provide “wider sidewalks, protected bike lanes and improved pedestrian crossings” while seeking to maintain the bridge's historic presence in the riverfront master plan. The UDC added conditions asking for revised plans showing how pedestrian, bicycle and vehicle lanes connect north and south of the bridge, a protected bike lane on the bridge, equal-width sidewalks on both sides and renderings that show the bridge in context.

City bridge engineer Dr. John Kim, speaking for the project team, asked the commission to treat the approval as a conceptual start that will allow…