Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Roanoke has so much potential
From the RoundTable blog
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Chuck White
White is the president of Charles E. White Inc, a remodeling and contracting company in Roanoke.
In my almost half a century, I've spent countless days hiking, biking and hunting in the mountains, as well as fishing and floating on rivers. Nothing is better than being on a mountain or a river.
As fine as Mill Mountain is, it is, when all is said and done, a city park.
I understand why some folks don't want to change how they enjoy this park, but it is a city park, not a pristine wilderness. Every city park has amenities: tennis and basketball courts, playgrounds, picnic shelters, trails and green space.
We all know that our valley badly needs an economic shot in the arm, and this park can be part of that booster shot. It needs to be used by more than the handful who hike it or the quickie visitors to the star. We need to make a collective decision about this park, our future as a place to live and as a place for others to visit.
And by collective I mean citizens of the city, county and surrounding localities.
Our valley has a lot of potential, but we need to maximize that potential. What potential do we have? We have an underused mountain park. We have an underused river. We have greenways that might be used when finally connected. We have a City Market area that can't support its museums and attractions. We have entertainment venues that are almost never full.
We have miles of the most visited national park in the East, but can't siphon visitors from it. We need to tie these together for economic survival. In Vancouver, British Columbia, there is an in-town mountain park with a great restaurant on top. It's open to all, not exclusive, has incredible views and is packed all year.
Visitors ride a tram from the city to the mountaintop for the novelty and scenery. It's also a ski area; that's not a good idea in Roanoke, but a great restaurant with an incredible view is. We could have a system of top-notch mountain bike trails and road bike lanes from the mountaintop to the market. Locate bike rentals on the mountain, as well as on the market, so bikes can be left at either end.
An attractive tram or trolley system with bike racks -- not Valley Metro -- could shuttle road and mountain bikers back after enjoying the market. It could also transport market and museum visitors up the mountain for a beautiful sunset or city light view.
Locate an interconnected system of bicycle, canoe, kayak and tube rental liveries, stationed along the river from Salem to Vinton, with trolley stops at each. This would bring people onto the river, greenways and mountain, to the market area, and to downtown Salem and Vinton. Tie the trolleys to the new amphitheater, as well as to both civic centers, the Jefferson Center and the Salem sports complex. We need to be interconnected with the city, county, Salem and Vinton -- connected and working together to prosper.
I don't care where an amphitheater is built, just that it is built right, with enough capacity and easy accessiblity to everything else.
In well-connected, user-friendly systems, there are no losers, only winners. For retail, entertainment, recreation, sports, arts, hotels, eateries and parks, the fluid movement of people brings commerce and success.
Our attendance at festivals and events could explode rather than shrink. New Mill Mountain and river festivals could spring up. Related and supporting businesses would spring up; existing businesses would surge.
We could have a crown jewel mountain park with first-class trails for hiking and biking, acres of green space, a self-sustaining zoo, a great restaurant with a view, a vibrant market and museum area, and a booming river and greenway.
Build it, connect it and promote it, and it will draw visitors but only if it is attractive and easy for people to use. Recreation and innovation do breed commerce, and commerce is the only engine of economic revitalization.
Set standards and protocols so it's done right, without abuse, but don't just talk it to death for 20 years.
And since I live in Roanoke, when I need the peace and quiet of an unspoiled mountain that doesn't have roads, homes, a zoo and an 88-foot neon star, I'm never more than a stone's throw from dozens of them.
