How the county is trying to make Azalea Avenue safer near Henrico High School

HENRICO COUNTY, Va. — Henrico County has installed new solar lights and repainted a crosswalk on Azalea Avenue following a pedestrian crash that sent a young man to the hospital with serious injuries.

The installation came just days after Henrico Police responded to the pedestrian crash at the intersection of Azalea Avenue and Sandpiper Drive on Friday.

The solar lights are designed to make the area more visible for people crossing the road in the evening.

"Azalea Avenue has been a long-standing concern," residents Victoria Crawley said. "The danger I witnessed is not limited to speed. Drivers are failing to stop for pedestrians attempting to use the crosswalk even when the lights are flashing."

Henrico Transportation Division Director Sharon Smidler pointed to Henrico High School as a key reason the county is focused on safety in the area.

"We have the adjacent Henrico High School here which is a concern, and we want to keep our community safe," Smidler said.

The recent improvements may not be the last.

A traffic study completed in September, which garnered nearly 400 responses from public feedback, is giving leaders a look at what additional changes could include.

"The Azalea Avenue study was done to look at traffic volumes, crashes to see what we could do volumes, crashes and see what we could do engineering wise to improve safety for all users whether they are driving, biking, walking, using the school bus so that all users can get to their destination," Smidler said. "Moreover, we are looking at installing full signal right here by Azalea, Sandpiper and the entrance to Henrico High School."

A traffic light, Smidler said, would prompt even more significant changes to traffic patterns, including reducing the four-lane road to three lanes, with the middle lane reserved for turns in either direction within the current traffic footprint. It would also create a new four-way intersection entrance to Henrico High School at Azalea Avenue.

Smidler said improvements like signals are still in the planning stages following further review of the traffic study on Azalea. The results of that study are expected to be available to the public in the coming week.

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