Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, October 12, 1993 TAG: 9310130316
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: By MICHAEL STOWE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
A number of Blacksburg's committees and civic groups have ideas for the 2-acre site at Clay and Draper streets, but Hedgepeth said the parcel's small size limits the town's options.
``It's not as if we have a big, open lot,'' he said. ``We'll do our best to accommodate everyone, but our No. 1 goal is to just get the library built.''
Most of the money for the proposed library is hinging on approval of a $1.88 million bond referendum in November.
The Bikeways and Sidewalks committee would like to see a 40-foot wide extension of the Huckleberry Trail run across the property, ending at a small municipal park at Draper and Clay streets.
Hedgepeth said the town wants to include the Huckleberry Trail in the library's site plan, but noted that 40 feet ``is a whole lot wider than the town's streets.''
Some members of Blacksburg's Townscape committee are hoping that the library's final site plan will follow recommendations from the town's municipal design competition last year.
The mayor said the town's recreation and greenways committees also have expressed interest in how the site is developed.
Nancy Hurst, head of the Montgomery/Floyd Regional Library Board, said the site plan's first priority is to provide enough parking for the library and the town's municipal building across the street.
Richard Fitts, a Virginia Beach architect who is handling the library's building design, has included roughly 90 library parking spaces in his initial design and about 40 spaces for the town.
Adequate parking is one requirement for a federal grant of up to $100,000 that the county hopes to get to help defray construction costs, he said.
Hurst said the library committee feels stuck in the middle of landscaping is sues that should be decided by the town and its committee's. She's hopeful that tonight's ``meeting of the minds'' will provide some answers suitable to everyone.
``It's not likely to happen, but we can try,'' she said.
Hedgepeth said he expects the meeting to focus more on gathering information than coming up with solutions.
by CNB