RICHMOND, Va. – Crews finished painting all of the GRTC Pulse bus lanes in Richmond red over the weekend.
The $2 million project aimed at keeping cars out of the dedicated lanes on Broad Street, reducing confusion and keeping drivers and pedestrians safe has been underway for more than three weeks.
While work on the project was scheduled to last most of the summer, officials with Richmond’s Department of Public Works said Friday that the work could be complete, weather permitting, on Friday, July 22.
The final step of the project, which is funded by a grant from the Department of Rail and Public transit, will be adding the bus-only symbols on the pavement.
The project comes four years after the GRTC Pulse launched a faster bus service up and down Broad Street.
Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney said last month that he hoped the bright colors would help improve safety for walkers, cyclists, and drivers.
"We want buses to stay in the bus lane and we want cars to stay out of the bus lane," Stoney said. "So it is a safety for not just our bus operators, but also for pedestrians and for those who also choose to share the road as well."
A 32-year-old Richmond woman was killed in 2019 when a GRTC Pulse bus hit her in the Pulse lane along West Broad Street near Bowe Street.
"We want to avoid any future fatalities," Stoney said. "That's why I think these red bus lanes are very important."
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