Richmond wants you to know where people are speeding most
Why it matters: The city uses it to direct traffic engineers and planners where to focus their attention, and now they want drivers to use it to make safer choices.
The big picture: It's part of the city's years-long effort to make Richmond streets safer through its Vision Zero plan.
Richmond has ramped up its safer street efforts in recent years in response to surging pedestrian deaths by adding school zone speed cameras and traffic calming measures, like back-in angle parking.
The dashboard has existed for about a year, and Mayor Danny Avula decided to make it public as part of his administration's "commitment to transparency."
How it works: The data is compiled from locals' cell phone and car GPS systems, per a news release last week. It'll tell you where people are speeding in the city and how fast they're going.
Take Semmes Avenue in South Richmond, where the posted speed limit is 30 mph. Per the dashboard, 85% of drivers there are going 31 mph or less.
It's a different story over on the Fan's busy West Main Street, where the speed limit is 25 mph. Only 50% are hitting 26 mph or less.
The intrigue: The dashboard doesn't just show speeders. If you click around, you can find the places in town where drivers are crawling through the city.
Take West Grace Street in the Fan, which, like Main, is pedestrian-heavy, but unlike Main, has narrower streets and more traffic-calming measures, like four-way stops.
There, the posted speed limit is also 25 mph, but 95% of drivers are clocking in at 18 mph or under. 50% are going 13 mph or under.
Fun fact: 13 mph is just one tick higher than a " gentle breeze," per the National Weather Service.
Caveat: The dashboard shows the most recent two-month view available and will be updated monthly with new data from the vendor, city spokesperson Paige Hairston tells Axios.
What they're saying: "The noteworthy observation is the strong overlap between the High Injury Network and the streets with high speeds. People driving in Richmond need to slow down," she adds.
Zoom out: To visualize the impact of speeding and how it can make streets more dangerous, the city last week unveiled a 54-foot ladder at the Diamond.
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