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The City of Richmond announced a temporary initiative to address illegal parking in designated bike lanes — swapping citations out for fee-free warnings. The city's rollout of "friendly reminder" flyers will run throughout April. On May 1, standard $65 citations will tag back in.

Richmond Police posted the initial announcement video to social media yesterday, April 1 — April Fools' Day. The timing prompted enough prank inquiries from online commenters that we dialed up the city to double-check.

Elise here: I spent about 10 minutes on three separate phone calls with the city to confirm it wasn't an April Fools' joke.
Click the arrow above to see the back of the warning notice, which features a message from Mayor Danny Avula.

If you're new to the Richmond bike scene or due for a refresher, visit our readers' beginner-friendly guide for safety tips and local route recommendations.