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

DATE: SATURDAY, November 12, 1994                   TAG: 9411140051
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV7   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: RICK LINDQUIST STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RADFORD                                 LENGTH: Medium

RADFORD, NS DON'T AGREE ON PROPERTY CHANGES|

They're not willing, however, to go along with the railroad's request to close the Harrison Street rail crossing in exchange for owning the land the city now leases.

"That obviously is not a viable option," Mayor Tom Starnes said Thursday. "You can't cut those neighbors and businesses off." The street in question connects the East End's main thoroughfare, Norwood Street, with West Street. A propane gas company and residences are on the West Street side.

Railroad spokesman Bob Auman said Thursday the rail line is not mean-spirited, but is safety-conscious. "We are constantly looking to close crossings in the interest of safety," he said.

The crossing-traversing three railroad tracks at the west end of the rail yard-is used frequently when trains are switching cars. The rail line's operating department had recommended the closing, he explained.

Auman conceded that it was less convenient to reach West Street by driving around to West Street via Berkley Williams Drive, through a one-lane railroad underpass at Bisset Park to Charlie Coles Drive and River Street, or via University Drive and Stockton Street on the other end of town.

However, he insisted the railroad was not being "arbitrary and capricious" in wanting to close the Harrison Street crossing. The company's efforts to reduce the number of rail crossings for safety reasons is part of a national campaign involving most U.S. rail lines, he said.

Norfolk Southern suggested the same quid pro quo earlier this year when Radford Parks and Recreation Director Ken Goodyear asked the railroad to donate an old caboose for Bisset Park. Goodyear said when he wrote again in July to ask about the land, he had hoped the railroad would come back with a sale price.

Lloyd Clingenpeel, who manages the railroad's real estate and contract services department, said Thursday that "it's logical" for the railroad to ask for something in return for such requests and that Norfolk Southern has recently become "more aggressive" in seeking mutually beneficial arrangements.

Starnes said he hoped the city would continue to pursue the matter and negotiate another arrangement with the railroad to acquire the property. Goodyear said he'll follow council's lead.