
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, July 23, 1994                   TAG: 9407290040
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A-9   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: By SCOTT GARTNER and BILL GREEN
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

IMPROVE DOWNTOWN - NOT FOR TOURISTS, BUT FOR ROANOKERS

RECENT CRITICISM of the proposed railside park and improved transportation museum (July 9 news article by staff writer Dan Casey, ``Rails to decide tourism future?'') is incorrect in its most important assumption. While these developments will increase access to Roanoke's rail heritage, and, in the long term, enhance the area's attractiveness to visitors, we believe the most significant goal for the project is the enhancement of the area for the benefit and enjoyment of the city's residents.

The basic proposals discussed by the mayor in staff writer Dan Casey's July 6 news article (``Bowers sees railside park'') are important steps in creating a downtown environment that enhances and supports the separate institutions and businesses at the city's center.

At present, a series of initiatives are under way that will transform the character of downtown. In addition to the renovation of Hotel Roanoke and construction of an adjoining conference center, the Virginia Museum of Transportation will begin extensive work to expand its exhibition space and improve its public face. Center in the Square has plans to add to its facilities, and also intends to renovate its front to Market Square and Campbell Avenue.

Thriving elements of downtown, such as Market Square with its shops, restaurants and museums, should be connected with Hotel Roanoke and the conference center, the transportation museum, and businesses occupying railside warehouses at Second Street and Salem Avenue. The proposed linear railside park is an important element in linking and uniting these separate developments into an identifiable whole. Anyone who has walked along the Norfolk Southern tracks from the Market Square area to the transportation museum is aware of the unattractiveness of the path. Rather than being a detriment to the downtown environment, this can be transformed into a valuable urban amenity that will contribute to the general revitalization of the entire area.

At the Virginia Tech College of Architecture and Urban Studies, we are studying ways in which a railside park can stimulate other needed development. For example, efforts to revitalize the Henry Street district will benefit from a connection to the railside park. Improvements to the transportation museum, and its incorporation into the railside park, will encourage new use of existing retail space west of Second Street.

Other projects we are studying for the area, such as the design of a new exhibition hall, in concert with the restoration and reuse of the historic railroad office buildings and passenger station, would be linked along the railside park with the existing successful elements of downtown. Community involvement in the planning of these initiatives is essential, and, in association with the transportation museum, we will continue our study of the area from an office located in the museum.

Today, the key to this city's success is the positive perception of its quality of life. The importance of any single development-generating industry, such as the railroad in the last century or railroad tourism in the future, is less important than an overall sense that Roanoke offers its residents a diverse set of civic amenities for the benefit and enjoyment of its residents.

Long-time city residents seem not to be aware of its appeal to those who are new to the region. In a period in which many cities abandoned their centers to decay, Roanoke's downtown has remained, at its core, an active and attractive place. Expanding from this vital core is essential to maintaining and improving the city's downtown. The railside park is the single most important move in that direction.

Scott Gartner and Bill Green are assistant professors in the College of Architecture and Urban Studies at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg.

by CNB