The Richmond Wellness Trail (RWT) is a collaboration between the National Park Service and the City of Richmond to develop health-themed complete streets in an interactive trail. The RWT will be designed to engage people in a wellness-oriented lifestyle. Bicyclist and pedestrian safety are the main improvements in this project, as well as art installations, murals, fitness stations, and additional signage. The trail travels in a loop connecting the existing Richmond Greenway to BART and the downtown area and spurs south on Marina Way connecting to the Bay Trail.
Movement
Promoting movement that is safe, easy and stimulating will be paramount to everything we do along the length of the Richmond Wellness Trail. Movement supports not only a healthy lifestyle, it also supports environments that are vibrant, active and engaging. We need to create movement that works for all ages and connects our important cultural centers. Movement needs to work at all times of the day, during both the morning commute, and the after-dinner stroll. We need to ensure that movement is created and accessed with equity and fairness, so that everyone can move easily throughout the city.
Successful cities have robust pedestrian and bicycle networks that are well connected to transit, retail districts, residential neighborhoods, schools and open spaces. Movement is “KING” and we see a future where the RWT plays a key role in supporting the movement of people to all points in Richmond and beyond.
Community Design Collaborators
This isn’t just about doing some cool design or a set of construction documents to us, it’s about building community and forging strong connections with people! On day one we intend to continue building relationships with those we started this project with, but now we can make that bond stronger as we move towards making the RWT a reality. We also see this as a great opportunity to use as a learning experience for those in the community. If we could mentor just one individual that goes on to have a career as an urban designer, landscape architect or community activator, we’ve won the battle.
Legible and Visible
At the most basic level the RWT is a physical connector, subservient to the places it links. We see a potential that is far greater, one that expands its importance and broadens its context as more than just a connector, but also a place unto itself. We see the adjacent business, churches, schools and retail shops of RWT as crucial actors in the success of the project, and the potential for a strong partnership to help this project succeed. Mobility is key to creating vibrant and social spaces within the city, and the RWT must reach out to its context and create those strong mobility bonds.
Wellness for Both People and Nature
The fundamental question for the RWT is, “How can this become a regional infrastructure network that is good for people and nature?” We like working with projects that address this duality. We live in a complex environmental condition that’s being pushed to its limits, we simply can’t ignore this fact any longer. Which is why we believe every project should have a layer of environmental push back, and deploy a deep ecology that helps us regain the lost touch with the complex ecosystem that we live in. This may be a simple as selecting tree species that attract key lost pollinators, or plants that can remediate degraded soil, every little but helps and is necessary in the face of this unpresented change.