Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, April 14, 1991 TAG: 9104140106
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DWAYNE YANCEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Short
The northernmost section of Williamson Road, between Huntington Boulevard and the city limits, lost more people during the 1980s than any other part of the city, according to the latest census figures - 666 in all.
That represented a 12 percent decline in the neighborhood's population.
The reason, city planners believe: The young couples who founded the neighborhood in the post-World War II boom of the 1950s are now starting to die off.
"That's a warning sign that the area could be subject to rapid turnover," city planner John Marlles says.
He cites the experience on a street where he used to live in Raleigh Court, a Southwest Roanoke neighborhood that has been in transition. "I've literally seen the turnover happening before my eyes," Marlles says. "The average age was about 70 and three or four houses became available and every one of them turned over from an elderly couple to a family with children."
That's the best-case scenario for city planners. The worst-case is for an area to gray and then not be able to attract younger residents, as has happened in the Gainsboro neighborhood of Northwest Roanoke.
To attract young families to the Williamson Road, city officials have targeted the area for improvements in recent years, including renovations to the Oakland Elementary School.
by CNB