RICHMOND, Va. -- Coolers, kayaks, and lots of inner tubes.
For many, the Fourth of July was all about a day off, finding a way to relax.
Plenty of families, friends, and their four-legged friends made a trip to the James River to beat the heat.
Cary and Anne Loeser enjoyed the river with their daughter Josie.
“It was great, nice breeze, the water was the perfect temperature,” Cary shared of his experience.
Colleen Edwards, another river-goer, pointed out the innate dangers of the James
“It’s not a water ride at a park, it’s definitely wild,” said Edwards.
When asked about safety concerns, Kevin Barbour paid extra attention to the sizeable crowds.
“All the time, especially on a day like today with so many people out there, you sometimes see a lot of stupid stuff and people not being as safe as they should," he said.
July 4th was 8th grader Josie Loeser’s first time on the River and, while she enjoyed the experience, she understood the importance of safety.
“Just pay attention, and don’t have your head in the clouds, you just want to be aware of your surroundings and where you are because you may be near rocks and not the safest part of the river.”
Robin Johnson visited the James with her dog, Daisy.
“It’s good physical therapy for her to go swimming.”
But, walking along its banks, Johnson said she never forgets the reputation of the James.
“It can kill you,” she said.
Meanwhile, Adam Terrell, ready to cool off with his friends, is cognizant of the risks on the river when one isn’t careful.
“There’s a little bit of anxiety at the water anyhow. If you go down the wrong path or get disconnected from your group, you never know what can happen, especially with all these people out here,” said Terrell.
Some think there’s work to be done pertaining to safety on the river. Colleen Edwards has some ideas on increasing everyone’s safety in the water.
“Put up signage or color-coded flags to say ‘hey, there’s rocks or a dan coming up in X amount of feet. There’s a fork in the road and an island coming up, right or left, like trail signs.”
The City of Richmond recently announced plans to add more safety signs.
The safety push came after two women were killed on Memorial Day 2022.
The women were with a larger group of friends when they went over the dam. Friends said they had attempted to get off the river earlier in the trip, but the current was too strong and carried the friends over the dam. The rest of the group survived.
“Something nicknamed a drowning machine killed our girls," Christina Winstead Brockwell, whose 23-year-old daughter Lauren Winstead died, said.
Brockwell said the group her daughter was said they saw no signs 8 miles downstream that there was a deadly dam. They also said pre-planning resources they had searched online did not indicate the level of threat their route may have.
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Since then Brockwell has pushed city leaders along with leaders of other jurisdictions to come together to make major changes.
In May, the city and other organizations announced more than $125,000 had been invested to make changes, including increased and diversified signage, updated maps to clearly mark dangers as well as a host of new resources to help better educate rivergoers.
City leaders and Brockwell said the new efforts are just the start of their commitment to increase river safety and education.
Officials encourage inexperienced rivergoers to utilize different outfitters that are experienced on the James. They also encouraged everyone to educate themselves before they float, always wear personal flotation devices, and shoes and check for water levels and signage.
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