Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, May 16, 1995 TAG: 9505160061
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Make Roanoke a transportation theme park
WHAT ROANOKE needs next is a persona, attractions based on the persona, and something tying those attractions together in a coherent way. Roanoke should be The Transportation City. It should collaborate with Virginia Tech in developing and demonstrating new transportation modes.
The Virginia Museum of Transportation should be expanded to four additional locations, so that it can have all existing modes. I want people to actually be able to ride in or on as many different modes as possible, under the aegis of the museum, or Tech. I would have an air museum at the airport, take over the old N&W passenger station to house additional railroad memorabilia and also an atmosphere restaurant (since the Hotel Roanoke hasn't provided one). I would rebuild the cable car to go up Mill Mountain, with a first-class, family-style restaurant at the mountain's top.
Explore Park could have animal-drawn land vehicles and nonmotorized river craft, including a packet boat that people could ride. At Smith Mountain Lake, I would have a hydrofoil, like those used on the Danube between Budapest and Vienna. Linking all attractions together and also as a park-and-ride facility, I'd have a street-car line from the airport to Smith Mountain Lake. From Hotel Roanoke, I would have jitney rides to the existing transportation museum.
Norfolk Southern's discontinuance of excursion trips was a serious blow to Roanoke. As an alternative, I propose a new railroad, under aegis of the transportation museum, solely for recreational use.
McCLUER SHERRARD
MARTINSVILLE
APARTMENTS, ETC.\ Use the railroad's historic buildings
OUR NEXT big economic-development project should involve the abandoned Norfolk Southern office buildings. We need to save and use these conveniently located historic buildings.
Both Virginia Tech and Virginia Western Community College have expressed an interest in maybe using the space for expansion and for courses of possible interest to those staying at Hotel Roanoke.
The upper floors could be renovated for apartments, some upscale and some subsidized by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. This would greatly energize the downtown area, and bring into cooperation several important valley entities.
ELIZABETH NICHOLS
GOODVIEW
ROAD MAP\ New Century Council can help
HOTEL ROANOKE is an excellent example of how Roanoke benefits from being part of the New Century Region. More than 1,000 citizens (the number of people who volunteered for this effort) are eagerly waiting for the New Century Council's final report.
You asked: ``What big economic-development project should the region tackle next?'' We believe the answer will be in that report. The New Century Council will provide a good road map for the future of our region.
REBECCA and LOUIS ELLIS
ROANOKE
FRONT BURNER\ Roanoke needs a university
ONE OF the most important economic-development goals that the Roanoke Valley should consider is establishing a four-year university here. One use for the abandoned Norfolk Southern office buildings near Hotel Roanoke could be to house part of an urban university system spread valleywide.
The College of Health Science's recent rejection of Virginia Western Community College as its ``parent'' because CHS is establishing a four-year program is, on the one hand, unfortunate in that the possibility for VWCC's expansion into a four-year institution might have been energized by such an association. On the other hand, it is indicative of the real need and desire for a four-year institution in Roanoke.
Virginia Tech's efforts can surely be complemented by a university in Roanoke, especially if it had a significant medical-school component. Tech needn't be overly anxious about the development of such a university here.
DAN L. FREI
ROANOKE
URBAN DELIGHT\ Get it together with greenways
THE NEXT focus of the Roanoke Valley should be on greenways. This is a project that could add more to the quality of life for more people for the amount of money spent than any other currently being discussed.
If just one of the valley's localities would have the courage to establish a section of greenway, it would provide an impetus to move the concept forward. Once people see how delightful such walking and biking paths are, I believe they'll demand more.
It's not as though greenways are an innovative, unproved idea. Many European countries have wonderful greenways, and several U.S. cities have established them in recent years. Greenways could be a way of bringing the Roanoke Valley governments together to work for a common good.
PATRICIA P. KELLY
SALEM
BY THE BOOKS\ Go regional with a new library
THE TIME has come (actually it came quite a while ago) to evaluate the need for a new city library. As president of the city's library board, my views may be considered biased, so I will not list the pros and cons of a modern facility. Rather, I look to a comprehensive study to make recommendations. I also suggest that the word ``regional'' be allowed to intrude at some point in the process.
FRANK EASTBURN
ROANOKE
FAMILIES NEED HELP\ Try a low-cost housing initiative
ROANOKE should pursue a low-cost housing-development program that could house the 10,000 or more families who are on the verge of becoming homeless.
It is a disgrace to construct multimillion-dollar facilities for wealthy corporations when those in our own community are begging for decent, cheap housing or a very large increase in minimum wage.
It is impossible for families to pay for child care, housing, health care and basic necessities with a minimum-wage job. Aid to Families with Dependent Children payments are far too small to include housing costs. They cover health care and child care, but if a recipient works, even these benefits are lost.
Good, well-maintained, inexpensive housing would provide construction and maintenance jobs, and could put Roanoke on the map as a welcome place to live.
PAT PRATALI
SALEM
REDEVELOPMENT\ The takeoff point is the airport
AS A ROANOKE native, now living out of state, I try to keep abreast of what's happening in Roanoke. The Roanoke Valley and surrounding counties have a plethora of offerings that many business people and travelers talk about, even here in the sunshine state. I communicate with businesses and individuals all over the country, and not one week goes by that at least a few of my business contacts don't mention that, at some time in recent years, they have passed through Roanoke. They are usually shocked to hear that what was once a growing metropolis is now a shrinking doomdom.
Roanoke, it's time to get moving, to salvage, and to grow again!
Two of the biggest mainstays for the valley years ago were the industries and the airport. Now, in 1995, the industries have downsized or moved or both. But the airport is still there. It's landlocked (especially since the installation of Valley View Mall), but there is absolutely no reason why it cannot be utilized to its full potential. Apparently it has not been, and it sits as dormant as some of the underutilized buildings in the valley.
It's time to put taxpayers' money to work to redevelop the Roanoke Regional Airport. I am positive that Virginia's Department of Aviation would be more than willing to help the airport gain more use and attention. Roanoke County, Roanoke, Salem and Vinton must work together so that everyone benefits, not just a privileged few.
CHARLES D. LOWE
COCOA, FLA.
REDUCE ISOLATION\ Passenger trains are the ticket
ONE OF the most critical needs in the Roanoke Valley is improved transportation between Roanoke and the outside world. This would make the Roanoke area more attractive to new industry, and to tourism. More direct flights from our airport would help, but rail-passenger service could also go a long way toward reducing Roanoke's isolation. Let's get behind Mayor David Bowers' effort to restore passenger service to and from Bristol, Washington and Richmond, via Roanoke!
As a short-term stopgap, a bus connecting Roanoke with Amtrak's Crescent train at Lynchburg would help. Surely, a Valley Metro bus and driver could be spared at off-peak hours to make the 54-mile run from the downtown bus terminal at Campbell Court (or perhaps from Hotel Roanoke) to Lynchburg's Kember Street Station.
But let's put the major emphasis on the Bristol-Richmond-Washington trains.
RANDOLPH GREGG
ROANOKE
CATALYST\ A path to trails and tourism
A PARK/walkway connecting the Virginia Museum of Transportation with the City Market area is an excellent idea. Not only would this appeal to visitors, Roanoke Valley residents would appreciate having an open, safe, beautifully landscaped space for relaxation and enjoyment right by the railroad.
Also, a jitney to accommodate tourists (and local citizens) during their downtown visits would be enormously beneficial to area merchants.
During peak months, as many as 5,000 visitors check into our downtown Visitors Center. Whatever we can come up with to entice them to stay in our beautiful valley even one more day than they planned would have a positive impact economically.
Mayor Bowers' suggested downtown park/walkway by the railroad can be the catalyst to accelerating the renewal of Henry Street, and the start of a future network of greenways. Each step of the way for such an undertaking will generate interest and excitement for those who enthusiastically supported Hotel Roanoke and now revel in that great accomplishment.
KATHLEEN M. SARTINI
ROANOKE
BET ON IT\ A casino will bring jobs, tourists
WITH THE opening of Hotel Roanoke, the next big priority economically and developmentally in the area should be the acquisition and renovation of the old Norfolk Southern office buildings across the street from the hotel for a casino.
A casino would bring jobs, money and an added tourist attraction to the area.
AUDREY W. HUMPHREY
ROANOKE
REMEMBER RUBY\ Zoo can be source of regional pride
I STRONGLY suggest that the next economic-development project for our region be an investment in the Mill Mountain Zoo.
The zoo is a destination for thousands of visitors each year. With meager funds and a dedicated staff, our zoo provides entertainment and education for local residents and tourists alike. Through participation in species-survival programs, the zoo is a partner in a worldwide effort to ensure that some of nature's most magnificent creatures do not vanish from the Earth.
In Atlanta, Knoxville, Columbus, Asheboro and San Diego, zoos are a source of great civic pride. Visitors flock to see unique and exotic plants and animals. Local folks have a destination for clean, family-oriented fun and learning. The zoos in these cities attract significant tourism, but they also attract business and industry. They help define quality of life.
The Mill Mountain Zoo can become a focal point for our area. It can become a source of great local pride. The basic plan is in place. The renewed Mill Mountain Zoo would be thematically tied to our sister city of Wonju, Korea. The land is there. The desire is there.
What is needed? A recognition of the potential. When Ruby came to live at the zoo - the ultimate act of conservation; she had nowhere else to go - the zoo staff and visitors could not allow her to be permanently housed in a corn crib. From the pennies of schoolchildren to corporate donations, money became available, and a modern, effective and safe area for Ruby became a reality.
The renewed Mill Mountain Zoo needs that kind of support on a grander scale: support from area individuals, businesses and governments. If we choose to do so, we can have a zoo that evokes great civic and regional pride.
CARL W. GUFFEY
ROANOKE
STAR AND BARS\ Locking into a prosperous future
AS WE prepare for a Republican majority to sweep into the General Assembly in this year's elections, the wisest priority for economic development in this area seems obvious: a new state prison. While shortsighted communities like Wytheville fight to keep prisons out of their areas, we should fight to have one here.
A state prison would bring good jobs to this area, and would be a boon to businesses that would support its operation. We could finally bring in some high-paying jobs that will keep the American dream alive for a good number of our children. Eventually, a new magnet school for penal studies could be established to train youngsters for this rosy future.
Once the Roanoke Valley's visionary planners turn on to this idea, the possibilities for economic gain will be staggering. We won't have just an ordinary prison, but a Super Wal-Mart-scale prison that will draw the attention of the entire nation. We could tie a prison of this magnitude to the convention and tourism boom that the Hotel Roanoke renovation will bring.
Imagine conventions of prison planners from around the country coming to learn what a megaprison can do for a community, and the incarceration enthusiasts who will come each year to tour the facility.
To guarantee further economic growth, we need to think imprisonment.
JACK SPRAKER
SALEM
STRESS RELIEF\ High-speed trains do double duty
I WOULD recommend connecting all bigger cities in Virginia by a high-speed, state-of-the-art railroad system. This would not only do wonders for our infrastructure. It also would enable people to travel comfortably and in a relaxed fashion, instead of being stressed out trying to keep out of harm's way of 18-wheelers and speeders on our interstate highways.
MICHAEL RECLAM
LEXINGTON
REGIONAL EFFORT\ Fully develop Explore Park
BUILDING UP Explore Park should be the region's next big-priority economic-development effort because it will add to the appeal of the Hotel Roanoke as a conference center and thus protect the community's investment in the hotel.
In the not-too-distant future, the Hotel Roanoke and Conference Center's current advantage - simply being a brand-new facility - will no longer exist. It will need to provide other reasons for associations to choose it over competing properties. Many other conference centers boast nearby, high-quality recreational facilities. Explore Park is that nearby facility for Hotel Roanoke.
Additional reasons to complete Explore Park soon include its important contribution to the cultural and environmental education of the region's schoolchildren, and its function as a magnet to stop Blue Ridge Parkway travelers and encourage them to visit Roanoke.
Explore also will serve the greenway cause by contributing three miles of Roanoke River-side trail to that network. It will engage Virginia Tech through the training of culinary-arts students in its restaurants, as well as provide an outdoor classroom/laboratory for Tech's ecology, landscape-architecture and veterinary-medicine students.
Perhaps most significantly, Explore Park represents an opportunity to demonstrate the benefits of local governments' regional cooperation.
M. RUPERT CUTLER
Director, Explore Park
ROANOKE
by CNB