Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, May 24, 1990 TAG: 9005240112
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: Cathryn McCue
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
The first is a total makeover of the Progress Street parking lot in the heart of downtown, which many drivers say is a traffic trap with its one-way exits and entrances and maze-like circulation patterns.
Council agreed on a design by Anderson & Associates that will straighten out the traffic flow and add a pedestrian walkway, lampposts and trees.
Town staff worked for many months with about nine private landowners who own pieces of the lot. Now the town is pushing to get the $250,000 project finished by mid-August, by the time students return.
The project will alleviate the downtown parking crunch by adding 30 public spaces. The stream that runs through the lot will be covered, which council wanted to avoid.
Council also agreed on details for the indoor swimming pool to be adjacent to the Blacksburg Community Center on Patrick Henry Drive.
The first phase, the pool and dressing rooms, would cost about $1.8 million. The town has set aside most of that money in its budget.
Two additional phases, including aerobics, racquetball and weight-lifting facilities, bring the cost to $2.4 million. For that, the town needs $600,000 from Montgomery County.
The money is still on the county's list of projects for consideration as a bond issue. If the contribution makes it to November's referendum and passes, the county has asked that Blacksburg allow equal access to the pool for all county residents, said Town Manager Ron Secrist.
An architect is scheduled to be hired this fall, construction to begin in spring 1992, and the pool to open on May 5, 1993.
FOR THE RECORD
Correction ran Sunday, May 27, 1990
Because of a Reporter's error, the grand opening of Blacksburg's indoor swimming pool was misreported in the May 24 Current section. The pool is scheduled to open on May 5, 1992.
Memo: correction