Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, March 29, 1990 TAG: 9003290607
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-16 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Even though dozens of proposals for Mill Mountain have been suggested over the years, Roanoke City Council has voted to hire one more consultant, Rhodeside and Harwell of Alexandria, to examine plans for the future of the mountaintop park. This one is to be a relatively short (60-90 days), inexpensive ($35,000) study. It's meant more to clarify existing options than to offer new and unexpected initiatives. Considering all of the changes that are in the works - Explore, the downtown office tower, convention center - now is probably not the time to charge ahead at full speed where Mill Mountain, the star and the existing zoo are concerned.
That's not to say that anyone should abandon the idea of further growth on Mill Mountain, particularly the construction of a classy restaurant there. This newspaper and this editorial page have supported that line of development in the park throughout its long, bumpy history. On Aug. 25, 1962, when the connection between the Blue Ridge Parkway and Mill Mountain became a reality, we wrote: "[A] good beginning has been made and within a reasonable time we can hope to translate the design for a greater Mill Mountain park into reality."
Jan. 23, 1964: "It remains our contention that the greatest need is the establishment of a first-class restaurant on an overlook which would draw crowds year-round."
May 29, 1965: "The main point is to provide fullest utilization of this matchless site, maintain it as near as possible in its natural state and guarantee its preservation for further generations."
That last comment was made after the unveiling of the ambitious Stanley Abbott study which called for moving the star to Read Mountain and the radio towers to an unspecified location, along with the construction of a line of aerial gondolas to carry visitors up the slope to a restaurant, lodge and theater. That plan fell through when the city wasn't able to come up with money for more land which, as always, turned out to be more expensive than predicted.
In 1975, a North Carolina consul tant said that a restaurant or lodge on the mountain was not financially feasible, though that may no longer be true. A more recent study estimated that it would cost the city $180,000 to upgrade the parking facilities, water and sewer systems to provide fire protection for a restaurant. That figure does not include the cost of moving or eliminating the star which is on the natural location for a restaurant.
Obviously, the idea of a restaurant on the mountain is an expensive proposition. If it were cheap and easy, someone would have done it a long time ago. Our support has not wavered over the past 26 years. A good restaurant with that spectacular view of the city and the valley is still a splendid idea. If a professional restaurateur expresses serious interest, the city should make every effort at accomodation.
Chances are this new study won't make the future of a mountaintop eatery any brighter. Perhaps the land would be better suited to an expanded zoo or a D-Day memorial. Or the consultants might say that for the time being, no new development should be considered. But even if the report is negative, it need not be given too much weight. Change has come slowly to Mill Mountain, but progress has been made over the last quarter century. In fact, what we wrote in October of 1967 still applies:
"This thing has come a long way from an idea in the minds of only a few people a few years ago . . . Let's get on with the job."
by CNB