A four-lane stretch of Church Road will be reconfigured this summer in a “road diet” conversion aimed at enhancing safety as well as connectivity for bicyclists and pedestrians.
The 1.8-mile portion between Wilde Lake Drive, near Lauderdale Drive, and Chapelwood Lane, near John Rolfe Parkway, will be repaved and restriped to create two travel lanes, a center turn lane and a buffered bike lane on each side. In June 2019, Public Works reduced the posted speed limit to 35 mph on Church’s 3-mile stretch between Three Chopt Road and Lauderdale Drive as well as on Park Terrace. The speed limit in those areas had been 45 mph. Vehicle crashes on Church dropped from 14 in 2018 – before the change – to five in 2019 and none in 2020. In addition, the average speed dropped by 5.8 mph, from 49.8 mph in 2016 and 2018 to 44 mph in 2019.
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