Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, April 18, 1990 TAG: 9004180673
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B1 EDITION: EVENING
SOURCE: MARK LAYMAN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Eddy said he's "not an expert Eddy on the subject, . . . but maybe I can get something going."
Much of the land along the river in the cities of Roanoke and Salem has been developed. But there still are scenic, undeveloped stretches along the river in the county, he said.
As Eddy envisions it, land along the river could be designated as a "greenway." Construction would be prohibited or restricted in the greenway. Instead, the land would be used for fishing and recreation, with hiking and horseback-riding trails and bicycle paths.
The county could either buy the land or ask the owners to allow it to be used by the public, he said.
The greenway would include land outside the flood plain, where construction already is prohibited, he said.
The idea of a greenway along the Roanoke River is not new. It has been suggested by backers of the Explore project. The city of Roanoke is taking steps to preserve land along the river in its proposed flood-reduction project, which is to include construction of parks and a 4.6-mile bicycling and jogging trail along the river.
Eddy said the county should work closely with Explore, the city and the Fifth Planning District Commission, which is doing its own study of land uses along the river.
John Cone, who is on the board of directors of the Citizens Environmental Council of the Roanoke Valley, said the idea of a greenway is "an opportunity for the whole valley to make a really nice attraction both for residents and for visitors. It's well worth the money."
Because so much land along the river in the cities is developed, "the county ought to be looking at . . . enhancing the natural beauty, creating a wildlife habitat and so forth. . . . We would very much support this."
The county already has a head start on Eddy's proposal.
In 1984, Virginia Tech student David Hill wrote a graduate paper on land uses along the Roanoke River in west Roanoke County and Salem. Hill worked closely with Rob Stalzer, who then was the county's planning director.
Hill, who now has an landscape architecture firm in Roanoke, said another study "would probably not be redundant. . . . Mine was done as a student at Tech. A study done for professional reasons is much needed and a great idea."
Hill's paper won awards from Virginia Tech and the American Society of Landscape Architects.
Eddy wants to discuss his proposal at Tuesday's Board of Supervisors meeting.
by CNB