Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, July 8, 1993 TAG: 9309020360
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Granted, this isn't the hottest piece of news since the invention of sliced bread.
Granted, too, the forum is perforce a city-only function, part of Roanoke's update of its comprehensive plan. Except to the extent it serendipitously happens to take broader concerns into account, it is not an example of the regionwide strategic planning so manifestly needed in these parts.
On the other hand, the city has not yet lost its place as the most populous locality in Southwest Virginia: What happens in, and to, Roanoke city has meaning beyond its borders.
Nor are such plans inevitably insignificant documents, existing merely to fulfill legal requirements and gather dust in a dimly lit storeroom. The land-use, public-education, economic-development, infrastructure and other policies that have shaped Roanoke, for good or ill, have often had roots in the comprehensive plan and its periodic updates.
The worth of Roanoke Vision `93, as this year's update is styled, will depend in large part on the quality and quantity of the public's input. Already, city planners have begun the effort to discover what's on people's minds with a scientific telephone survey, conducted April 14-26 by the Center for Survey Research at Virginia Tech.
On some points, most Roanokers seemed in agreement. Almost all (95 percent) said increasing employment opportunities in the city is important (84 percent, ``very important''; another 11 percent, ``somewhat important.'') Most (92 percent) said it's very or somewhat important to have more schoolteachers to make class sizes smaller; most (90 percent) said more support services in the schools - social workers, psychologists, nurses - were very or somewhat important.
On other points, however, the survey results suggest that Roanokers aren't quite sure of their own minds.
City government, public safety, the appearance of their neighborhoods and other quality-of-life issues got generally satisfactory or better marks from most respondents. Yet when asked if they were to move in the next two years, and could choose anywhere to move to, only a third said they'd move within the city. Forty-one percent said they'd move outside the city but stay in the Roanoke Valley, while 24 percent said they'd leave the area.
The inconsistency could be more apparent than real. By assuming a move within the next two years, the survey question foreclosed what might be the most popular option: not moving at all. Or, the answers may involve factors outside the ability of any local-government planning to influence.
But perhaps not. The question is an intriguing one, and the response to it shouldn't be dismissed with a shrug.
The forum is, among other things, a chance for some of the two-thirds who said they'd leave the city to give voice to their reasons for saying so. In matters like this, considered and constructive criticism is usually more helpful than cheerleading.
by CNB