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

DATE: THURSDAY, May 11, 1995                   TAG: 9505110060
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A-18   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: LUCY ELLETT
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

GREENWAYS PROJECT IS ON A FAST TRACK

GREENWAYS seem to be on the minds of many Roanoke Valley residents these days, and localities have entrusted a regional group to take needed steps to establish more greenways in the valley. A steering committee is starting on a conceptual regional greenway plan, and its efforts have been discussed several times in this newspaper.

Much has been accomplished by the steering committee since its first meeting on March 20. It is now time for a public update on all the committee's efforts, not just those that make the headlines.

The Roanoke Valley Greenways/Open Space Steering Committee is set up to have 13 voting members, and all but one of those have been appointed. There will be three members from each locality, plus a representative of the Fifth Planning District Commission. Once Salem appoints a citizen representative, committee membership will be complete. At that time, officers will be elected. Meanwhile, I am serving as the chairwoman.

The steering committee has been meeting at the Fifth Planning District Commission's offices to discuss its purpose, determine the scope of work, and schedule short-term activities. On April 13, it adopted a work plan and a schedule that includes these short-term objectives for the next six months:

Develop additional public support and participation.

Develop a regional conceptual greenways plan.

Develop and recommend implementation strategies.

The Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) has funded greenways for other communities, and the committee considers ISTEA to be the most likely funding source at this time. There is a chance that the January 1996 ISTEA grant cycle will be the last time that these funds are offered, so we have drafted a scope of work and a schedule that should result in a conceptual plan by this fall, in time to apply for ISTEA funding in January 1996.

This decision means that the committee will be working on a fast track, and one inadvertent result of fast-tracking can be a lag in communication. Now we are working hard to let everyone know what we are doing, and why we have chosen the schedule. If anyone missed that message, we want them to know we're looking forward to working cooperatively on this project.

The residents of the Roanoke Valley have been very enthusiastic about the potential for greenways. Everywhere I go, I hear ideas about how our great natural resources can be utilized for greenways. Corralling this enthusiasm and momentum is another reason why the committee wants to move forward on this effort now. Our schedule includes three community workshops for gathering input this summer, but the committee realizes that additional technical support would be required to get the amount of citizen input that we need in such a short period of time. An expert design team is needed to work with the committee, the PDC and local staff planners to draw up conceptual greenway designs.

To be in the running for the ISTEA money that could be used to actually construct a greenway segment, the committee is now asking local governments for a total of $30,000 for technical assistance, divided among localities on a per-capita basis. But we need the extra $30,000 in local funding now, this summer, to do it all, and to do it in a way that will win a grant to begin construction.

As stated above, our fast-tracking has taken some people by surprise, and this might include some of the local officials that we now ask for money. Please remember that we're doing this for you, and we look forward to working with citizens throughout the Roanoke Valley.

Lucy Ellett of Roanoke is acting chairwoman of the Roanoke Valley Greenways/Open Space Steering Committee.

by CNB