ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, April 22, 1997 TAG: 9704220109
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DAN CASEY THE ROANOKE TIMES
A four-lane road would endanger children, parents contended. Other people urged City Council to seize an opportunity for a bike and pedestrian path.
Roanoke City Council gave a green light Monday to two rezonings that would allow intense development on 50 acres of pristine farmland near Valley View Mall, the biggest commercial expansion in the city in years.
But its unanimous votes came after parents of schoolchildren expressed serious misgivings about a four-lane road that would cut through the properties, very close to both Huff Lane and Round Hill elementary schools.
Backers of greenways, meanwhile, warned council and the city administration that it was on the verge of missing an opportunity to provide pedestrian and bicycle access to the mall and sidewalks along the new road.
The long list of complaints prompted Vice Mayor Linda Wyatt to sternly rebuke the city administration, saying it had "failed" to contact parents and residents about their concerns. Even Wyatt, however, voted for the plans, "with reservations."
At issue were commercial rezonings sought for the Watts Farm, and land owned by the Association for Retarded Citizens. The two undeveloped parcels lie just southeast of Valley View Mall.
The land has long been eyed by developers and by city officials interested in expanding the tax base. Council's decision last year to pay all the cost of a new interchange on Interstate 581 adjacent to the properties has paved the way for the rezoning and the properties' commercial development.
On 8.7 acres of the rezoned land, ARC wants to build a sheltered workshop that would provide education, job training and employment for mentally and physically handicapped people.
Henry Faison, the developer of Valley View Mall, wants to build retail stores on the other 42 acres.
Faison is proposing a four-lane divided road for those stores connecting the new interchange with the end of Valley View Boulevard. Besides creating access to the property, the new road and interchange offer the hope of alleviating frequent traffic snarls on Hershberger Road, which is now the only access route to the mall.
But 10 parents told council Monday night that they feared for their children's safety because the planned road is so close to the schools.
"The latest proposal I've heard is it's going to cut 55 feet from the corner of Huff Lane," said William Parenti, who will have three children in the school beginning in the fall. "This is a four-lane highway. We should make it so there's no school property affected."
"There's nothing there to prevent children from going into the street," said Gary Stevens, who has two children in Round Hill and one at Huff Lane.
Bryan Chubb asked council if plans were in the works to air condition both schools to guard against car exhaust, soundproof them against noise and erect barriers to keep children out of the street.
City Manager Bob Herbert and Deputy Schools Superintendent Richard Kelley assured the parents those items would be incorporated into the road project.
The other question concerned a sidewalk/bicycle path on the overpass of the new interchange. The developers are offering to build sidewalks along the new road only if the city builds one on the overpass.
Greenways advocates fear that Herbert has already decided against adding a sidewalk, which would cost about $400,000 on top of the estimated $5 million interchange. Failing to include it would cut off pedestrian and bicycle access to Valley View and threaten a link to a planned greenway along Lick Run through Washington Park and downtown.
"I think it's required as a part of that expense that the city spend the money to fulfill its citizens' wishes for greenways," said greenways activist Bob Fetzer. "It's a no brainer. It's a win-win for the city."
"Pedestrian and bicycle accommodations are more than quality of life issues," said Barbara Duerk, a city planning commissioner and bicycle activist. "Pedestrian and bicycle corridors are threads needed to weave together sustainable communities."
Herbert and Mayor David Bowers told Fetzer and Duerk they'd have opportunities to comment on the bridge design during public hearings this summer.
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