Richmond plans to route Fall Line Trail through heart of Bryan Park (2024)

The city of Richmond plans to route the Fall Line Trail through the heart of Bryan Park in the city's North Side, the first stretch of the 43-mile regional pathway to be installed in the city.

Planners say that putting a new 1-mile paved path along the park's spine will make the park safer, the trail more accessible and the amenities more visible.

But two residents have called for using existing paths, saying cutting through green space to add more pavement is unnecessary.

Richmond's Urban Design Committee and Planning Commission have approved the plan. City Council would still need to give it a green light. The Fall Line Trail is a 10-foot-wide walking and biking trail that will stretch from Ashland to Petersburg.

Trail planners intend for the Fall Line Trail to enter the city-owned park on Bellevue Avenue on the park's southern edge. It will run north, near the parking lots, fields, courts and playground. Then it will turn right, cross a dam over Youngs Pond and run along Bryan Park Avenue. From there, the trail will cross Hermitage Road and enter Henrico County.

The city has hired a local engineering and design firm, Timmons Group, to design the section of trail. Installation is expected to cost about $3 million and will be funded by the Central Virginia Transportation Authority. Construction could begin in the late summer or fall and continue into 2025.

By putting the path in the center of the park, the trail will be accessible to picnic tables, shady trees, restrooms, pickleball courts and soccer fields.

"It should be visible and aligned to high volume areas to encourage high use and trail awareness," said Brantley Tyndall, who leads Fall Line Trail planning for Richmond Sports Backers. It shouldn't be "hidden along the periphery."

But Chuck Epes, a Richmond resident and former president of the volunteer group Friends of Bryan Park, said another paved path bushwhacks through green space and threatens trees. Plus, putting it through the busiest sections of the park, where cars are common, is a recipe for hazardous encounters.

He said the existing pathways are sufficient and that routing the trail through the back of the park would take visitors through the prettiest, most remote and safest sections of Bryan Park. Another local resident, Elizabeth Barrett, agrees that another paved surfacecarved into the ground is unnecessary.

City officials have met with local residents and will keep as many trees as possible, Tyndall said. Installing the path will require removing fewer than 10 trees.

And by adding a walking path, the park will become safer, said Rick Sinsabaugh, president of Friends of Bryan Park. Because there is no walking path, most visitors walk in the road, which is packed with cars every Saturday morning for the RVA Big Market.

"It's not a very safe place for people to go," Sinsabaugh said.

The other option is to walk on the grass, which is not suitable for wheelchairs or strollers.

Friends of Bryan Park has not taken a position on the Fall Line Trail's placement, Sinsabaugh said. Its board is not in agreement.

"Whenever you do something that is as impactful as the Fall Line Trail coming through the park, everybody's emotions are all over the place," he added.

Trail planners could put the trail through the back of the park, where there are existing paved paths. Such a plan would draw less opposition, Sinsabuagh said. But then the trail would not connect to the park's amenities.

"Our mission is to protect and preserve the park, and that’s what we’re trying to do,” Sinsabaugh said.

Altogether, the Fall Line Trail is expected to cost about $400 million. Trail planners have raised about $280 million from the Central Virginia Transportation Authority, the state and federal governments. Local entities have applied for two federal grants for more funding.