Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, March 26, 1990 TAG: 9003262296
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Ed Shamy
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
There are lurking out there, they argue, plenty of companies dying to locate in the Roanoke Valley, but who can't make heads or tails out of four different governments.
Who are we talking about here, the rocket scientists of the business world?
Hmmm, let's see. We've successfully competed with Far Eastern nations, we've fended off a hostile takeover bid on Wall Street, we've diversified to insulate ourselves from inflationary pressures and lobbied Congress for sophisticated new import protection laws; but we can't move to the Roanoke Valley because it's too confusing for us to differentiate between Roanoke and Roanoke County and Vinton and Salem.
Let's face it. If these companies are thwarted by the existence of two cities, a town and a county, there are some basic stumbling blocks to luring them to Western Virginia. There are some very basic obstacles to their chief executive officers safely crossing a street without getting run over by a bus.
No, there are other forces at work here.
There is, for example, the issue of taxation.
Consider this word problem. There is a snow-covered 5-mile stretch of road. A city plow driver clears 2 1/2 miles in one truck and a county plow driver handles 2 1/2 miles in another truck. We are paying two men to plow 5 miles of road.
With consolidation, the Roanoke Republic hires two men. They drive two trucks and they plow five miles. See the savings?
Consolidation is prudent.
Mankind stands to benefit much more, though, if we could start modestly by consolidating our road names.
Virginia 24 serves as a nasty example.
Drive with me toward Roanoke from east Vinton, where 24 is called Washington Avenue. Oops. Same road, is now Hardy Road. Oops, that lasts only 0.6 miles before it becomes East Virginia Avenue. Oops, that lasts only 0.3 miles. It is now West Virginia Avenue for all of 1/2-mile.
Welcome to Southeast Roanoke, and to Dale Avenue, which lasts a whopping 1.2 miles. Oops, now it's Jamison Avenue. Within 0.8 miles, it's Elm Avenue. Oops, another 1.2 miles and you're on Main Street.
Mercifully, it all ends exactly six miles after it began.
That's nine names for 6 miles of same continuous strip of macadam.
Can that be possible?
Drive from Roanoke back to Vinton and you find a few that you missed.
Elm Avenue becomes Bullitt Avenue becomes Highland Avenue which becomes West Virginia Avenue.
Six miles, 11 names, one road.
Consolidate two governments? Sure! Why confuse a multinational corporation that can broker a civil war in the Middle East to protect its interests, but breaks out in hives when it has to negotiate with Roanoke and Roanoke County before building a factory.
Whoa. Let's rename Virginia 24, Roanoke to Vinton, "Uniroad."
Then, let's talk consolidation.
by CNB