Sunday, May 24, 2009
Blacksburg renovates its farmers market
Christian Trejbal
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From the RoundTable blog
The yummy season has returned in the New River Valley. Fresh, locally grown produce will soon be available throughout the region. Already lettuce, spinach and even a smattering of peas are showing up.
Cooks looking for the best can visit the Blacksburg Farmers Market, which convenes on Wednesdays and Saturdays this time of year on the north corner of the Draper Road-Roanoke Street intersection. It might be a little crowded, but this will be the last year for that.
Vendors and customers now must squeeze between a parking lot and the sidewalk. The market is nice enough, but it lacks the coherence and attractiveness of farmers markets in other communities.
The town therefore will spend nearly $800,000 to change that. More than half, $500,000, will come from development grants, and $250,000 will come from the town general fund. Friends of the Farmers Market will chip in the remaining $42,000.
The market will expand to 20 stalls in an L shape. Inside the L will be a pocket park that will serve the community even when the market is not in session.
Blacksburg does not skimp on parks like some other New River Valley communities, but any new urban green space is precious. It is a key component of sustainable development, or in this case redevelopment. It helps cool the area, cleanse the air and absorb rainwater.
When people come downtown for lunch, they will find the curved benches in the shade of the park's trees an excellent place to relax. It also will serve as a gathering place for local groups on a warm summer evening and as a focal point during the town's many festivals.
And the town will install a bike rack to serve people who prefer cleaner transportation.
It sounds great, but some people, especially nearby business owners, are less than thrilled. The renovated market and new park will gobble up half of the parking now on the site. Thirty-nine spaces will be reduced to 20.
That is troubling for businesses that rely on quick customer turnaround, such as the delicious Excellent Table Ethiopian carryout restaurant and the UPS store.
Their owners complain that without more parking outside their doors, customers will stay away.
With all due respect to the owners, if it was up to me, the town would eliminate all of the parking on the site and turn the whole thing into a park and the farmers market. There is plenty of parking nearby on the streets, in surface lots and at the Kent Square Parking garage, which is all of two blocks away. Shoppers surely can walk that far.
Your thoughts
But it is not up to me, and the town will cater to cars. The town plans to provide some short-term, 10-minute parking for quick turnover. That should meet the needs of businesses. The rest will also be limited, probably to two hours.
The trick with fewer spaces will be ensuring people do not just feed the meter all day. A few tickets would convince downtown workers to use the garage and save the market lot for customers.
The market improvements are for the whole town. They will draw more people downtown, and that's good for everyone's business.
