ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, March 16, 1996 TAG: 9603190020
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-9 EDITION: METRO
IF ROANOKE'S nascent greenways movement needs a little pick-me-up, here are a few encouraging statistics from the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy in Washington, D.C.:
- There are now 750 rail trails in the United States.
- Those rail trails have generated an estimated $1.52 billion in spending in local communities on such things as food and lodging, and bike sales and rentals.
- The nonprofit conservancy hopes the network of public trails, converted from abandoned rail lines, will be expanded by 2,350 in the next four years.
- The group hopes that related tourist spending will be pumped up to $6 billion.
It's past time the Roanoke Valley got on this path.
FOUR Democratic candidates for Roanoke City Council this week announced "common themes" on which they're running in this spring's municipal elections.
Among the items mentioned: computer technology in city schools, visibility of law enforcement, the importance of regional cooperation for the city's economic vitality, and better snow removal.
If the measure of an issue's political potency is long-term importance, then public education, law enforcement and the economic future are certainly high on the list. But if the measure is the perceived urgency at the time, snow removal - or lack thereof - has to be at the top.
That, though, was mid-January; the election is in May. The $64 question: Did memories melt as fast as the snow?
LENGTH: Short : 38 linesby CNB