Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, July 27, 1990 TAG: 9007270371
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DWAYNE YANCEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
"The way I look at it is, we're being penalized just for you all having this idea," she told parkway planners Thursday night.
Five years ago, she and her husband, David, bought a lot in the Lakeshore Terrace subdivision in Franklin County and hoped someday - perhaps next year - to build a waterfront house.
"That's been our dream," she said, and one near her parents' place in Lakeshore Terrace would be extra-special.
But now all three of the National Park Service's proposed routes for the Vinton-to-Hardy Ford scenic road would take the Wests' lakeside lot. Recently her congressman, Rep. L.F. Payne, came out against building the parkway through Bedford and Franklin counties.
Until something's formally decided, though, the Wests say they don't know what to do about their dream house.
They thought about selling the land. "But the real estate agent said nobody would buy it since this came out in the paper," David West said, pointing to the maps. "If you've driven up there lately, everything's for sale." He says he thinks it's because of the parkway plans.
But nobody can sell, Cindi West said, "because no one wants to get into this mess."
Parkway officials heard the Wests' story Thursday night, plus a lot of other ones.
More than 110 people turned out at the Vinton War Memorial to look at the plans for the proposed nine-mile spur off the Blue Ridge Parkway. That response both surprised and pleased Park Service officials, who until now hadn't heard much from ordinary citizens even though they're halfway through the official two-month public comment period.
"We'd thought no one was interested," said Blue Ridge Parkway official Jim Ryan. Instead, he found many citizens had done their homework, and came armed with specific questions about how the parkway will affect them.
As has been the case at most parkway meetings, most people who had anything public to say were against the idea. Twenty people spoke their minds to a court reporter on hand to record official responses - and all but three or four of those comments were negative, she said.
Parkway opponents generally complained that the road will cost too much and take their land. Louise Truman of Coopers Cove in Franklin County thumped her change purse. "People say it's money from the federal government, but it's my taxes," she said.
State transportation officials were on hand to explain how landowners would be reimbursed for any land that has to be condemned, but Truman wasn't impressed.
"When you live in a place, you're not interested in the money," she said. "If so, I could have sold what I have 20 years ago when Smith Mountain Lake backed up. You'd kind of like to be able to go home and sleep and relax, but you can't do that with all this."
Parkway supporters generally talked about how important it is to protect the land along the river by making it part of the national park system.
"I like the idea of saving that piece of property as opposed to opening it up to subdivisions," said Barbara Weston, who lives in the Crofton neighborhood in eastern Roanoke County.
Thom Robinson, executive vice president of the Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce, also talked up the parkway's environmental significance.
"It's awfully important that we preserve that view-shed that's within a stone's throw of the metropolitan area, so our wilderness area is available to our children and our grandchildren," he said, before excusing himself to go "bend the ear" of a Payne aide at the open house.
Payne's opposition to extending the river parkway east of the proposed Explore living-history state park on the Bedford-Roanoke County line has endangered the original goal of building a parkway all the way from the Roanoke Valley to Smith Mountain Lake.
Many folks from Bedford and Franklin hailed Payne as their savior. "If anybody did run against him, it would be a useless venture, because he could carry every vote in the Hardy area," said Paul Tyree of Goodview.
But Robinson was wondering why more parkway supporters didn't turn out. "I think there's a lot of silent support out there and they need to speak up," he said.
If they want to be heard, they have until the public comment period ends Aug. 27.
by CNB