Sunday, March 02, 2008
Editorial: Invest in Huckleberry Trail aesthetics
Christiansburg should seek affordable options to make a pedestrian bridge attractive.
From the RoundTable blog
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The north end of Christiansburg is not the most attractive part of the New River Valley. Great expanses of concrete and massive, boxy retail outlets dominate the landscape.
That does not justify adding to the ugliness, though. Town leaders should study options to make a planned pedestrian and bicycle bridge as attractive as financially reasonable.
It has always been a bit strange that the Huckleberry Trail terminates at a mall parking lot, and trail advocates have envisioned extending it for years. They hope soon to link the trail to the Christiansburg Recreation Center and eventually to the aquatic center now under construction. At the other end, a new fork will lead to the Jefferson National Forest.
Access to more destinations will encourage even more people to use the popular trail.
Before they can reach those Christiansburg destinations, however, the trail must cross Virginia 114 (Peppers Ferry Road), one of the most congested thoroughfares in the valley.
(Full disclosure: The Roanoke Times' New River Valley Bureau is on Peppers Ferry Road near the proposed crossing.)
Trail organizers figure a prefabricated, steel span would be the most cost-effective crossing. They would build it wide enough to allow the long-delayed, maybe-never-going-to-be-funded widening of Peppers Ferry to four or more lanes.
There are more attractive options than a prefab bridge , but they are more expensive. Planners need to save money for other trail construction. A prefab structure requires minimal engineering and design expenses. If the town wants something that looks nicer, it will have to pay for it.
The town council should at least investigate its options. The bridge will be a signature structure in a well-traveled area. It also will be a northwestern gateway into town, the first thing many visitors see.
Something as simple as a paint job and some landscaping could make a vast improvement. Alternatively, the town might decide to pay for all of the engineering and a custom design.
Christiansburg should investigate what is economically viable. Certainly the town should not embark on a boondoggle that wastes tax dollars, but aesthetics are a worthy investment when it comes to one of the most prominent recreational facilities in the valley.
