
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, March 21, 1994                   TAG: 9403310001
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A5   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

IN WESTERN VIRGINIA, DOES GROWTH ENHANCE OR THREATEN QUALITY OF LIFE?

Consider: A new interstate through the Roanoke Valley. A "smart road" solidifying the link between the Roanoke Valley and Virginia Tech in the New River Valley. A Tech-Roanoke partnership to renovate the historic Hotel Roanoke.

The hope is for economic development. For the jobs and economic vibrancy that will keep this region healthy, that will ensure it is a good place to live not just for us, but for future generations.

The fear is overdevelopment. That the very growth seen as critical for continued prosperity will damage the environment, devastate the region's natural beauty, clog roads and visit upon us an urban nightmare of concrete and crime.

To help the region set its course along a risk-fraught road into the future, business and civic leaders have launched the New Century Council to craft a vision for a thriving region. For more than a year, the newspaper has been publishing its "Peril and Promise" series examining the strengths and drawbacks, opportunities and dangers that the Roanoke and New River valleys face in a new world.

We'd like to hear your thoughts. What is the relationship, in our region, between growth and quality of life?

We will publish a selection of your responses. Please send them by March 31 to Readers Forum, c/o Editorial Page, Roanoke Times & World-News, P.O. Box 2491, Roanoke, Va. 24010. Or, you may fax them to (703) 981-3391. Include your address and, for verification purposes only, a telephone number where you can be reached during the day.

by CNB