Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, June 10, 1995 TAG: 9506120015
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-9 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Winning is great; the money is nice. But best of all is the project - a nature trail in Bedford's Liberty Lake Park for people with disabilities - and the community spirit that went into its creation and completion.
Not all cities are blessed with natural resources that lend themselves to nature trails through shadowed wetlands and forests. Deer, wild turkeys and black bear are not the kind of wild life found in most metropolises.
But just as rare in many communities is the leadership that includes up-front consideration for the handicapped when a new development is in the works. That consideration was evident in Bedford from the start, when it bought a 22-acre tract abutting Liberty Lake Park in 1989 and set out to design a new recreational facility - with participation from Bedford's disabled residents.
Says Fran Hart, director of parks and recreation in Bedford: ``Anybody can do a nature walk. This one is made for people with varied needs so that they, too, can enjoy a simple walk in the woods.''
The city's forethought in planning for the recreational interests of all citizens - the blind, those in wheelchairs, included - is indeed a winner. And the hundreds of volunteers - the Telephone Pioneers, the Boy Scouts, schoolchildren, others - who got involved in the building of the project should be a source of considerable local pride.
Bedford's Pioneer Trail, said to be the only multi-handicapped-accessible trail in Virginia, should serve as a model for other localities setting out to enhance recreational programs and opportunities for their residents.
Let them note that the project's accessibility for the handicapped was not mandated by federal or state law, not forced upon the trail's planners. It was simply a good idea.
by CNB