MATT GENTRY The Roanoke Times

A vehicle makes a left turn from North Main Street onto Giles Road in Blacksburg. The town plans to rebuild the half-mile portion of North Main from College Avenue to Kabrich Street to improve traffic flow and cut down on the number of wrecks that occur along that corridor.

BLACKSBURG -- In the next few years, the downtown's northern entrance will undergo radical change. Officials say a section of North Main Street that now operates as a wreck-prone, four-lane raceway will be transformed into a pedestrian-friendly boulevard that could boost the town's economy.

But one business owner says she and her 18 employees could be the casualty of a road improvement plan that would block access to her parking lot.

"It's more than just a concrete and brick building. It's people's lives," Cook's Clean Center owner Nancy Alcorn said Wednesday of the business her family has operated for 65 years. "We provide health insurance for our employees and their families. If they lose their jobs, what will happen to them?"

For years, Blacksburg has discussed plans to rebuild the half-mile portion of North Main from College Avenue to Kabrich Street to improve traffic flow and cut down on the number of wrecks that occur along that corridor. Planning began in 2003. But the need for infrastructure improvements grew more urgent with news that Virginia Tech plans to build its $82 million Center for the Arts at North Main and Turner streets.

A handful of consultant studies commissioned to provide guidance on downtown revitalization have also suggested changes to North Main. On Tuesday night, Blacksburg Town Council unanimously approved major design features of the plan, authorized the purchase of rights of way and empowered the town manager to negotiate necessary utility and other work for the $10 million project. Under the current plan, the road will be reduced to two lanes with one turn lane and a two-lane roundabout that will be built at Prices Fork Road.

Several speakers remained disgruntled about one or another aspect of the project and continued to criticize the roundabout. But some also thanked the council for listening and acting on residents' suggestions.

Council has made significant changes based on public comments. Major revisions include restoring left turns into the Blacksburg Baptist Church parking lot and onto Giles Road, where a number of businesses operate.

The council has discussed leasing two public parking spaces to Cook's and providing more parking on a nearby side street. But William Lacy of Cook's beseeched officials Tuesday to restore access to the parking lot.

"Please don't take those parking spaces away from us. Cook's Clean Center will die," Lacy said. "Don't kill us. I'm begging. Don't kill us."

Alcorn said Wednesday that the town has not approached her to negotiate on any parking lease. It wouldn't work for her anyway, she said, because many of her customers are elderly and can't tote loads of laundry up the steep sidewalk leading to Cook's.

Councilwoman Susan Anderson voted for the resolution but also expressed dismay that a satisfactory parking plan had not been worked out. Alcorn said she has contacted Anderson to discuss it further.

The council may still tweak the design with help from engineers, Town Manager Marc Verniel said. But any major changes would require another public hearing.

Mayor Ron Rordam and Councilman Don Langrehr spoke in sweeping terms about the project's intended effects.

It's the council's "job to look 10, 20, 30, 40 years ahead," Rordam said.

"We're recognizing an opportunity. ... We're trying to craft a vision for downtown and to guide development toward downtown," Langrehr said.

According to the Virginia Department of Transportation, construction could begin within the next two years. The project could be completed by 2013.