ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times

DATE: Tuesday, March 19, 1996                TAG: 9603190087
SECTION: VIRGINIA                 PAGE: A-1  EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: DAN CASEY STAFF WRITER NOTE: Below 

`MARKET SQUARE WALKWAY' IT IS

That shiny walkway above the railroad tracks downtown finally has a name.

No, it's not "The Black Hole," "The Glasshopper" or, as some science-fiction fans suggested, "Star Trek."

After months of chewing it over and hearing serious and not-so-serious proposals, Roanoke City Council decreed Monday that the glass-enclosed, $7 million pedestrian bridge over the railroad tracks henceforth shall be known as "Market Square Walkway."

Naming the bridge was probably the most controversial item on City Council's afternoon agenda. It happened in a rare nonunanimous vote after an attempt to derail a vote through parliamentary maneuvering failed.

On a voice vote, members split 5-2 between giving it a name and getting rid of the question or waiting for suggestions from the Planning Commission. They were:

* Downtown Pedestrian Way.

* Market Square Walkway.

* Conference Center Skywalk.

* Or, any combination of the above suggestions.

"I want to get something off dead center," Councilman Jack Parrott said. "I'm going to vote that it be named Market Square Walkway."

Parrott's motion was quickly seconded, and it even got a third.

But Mayor David Bowers and Councilwoman Elizabeth Bowles wanted to let the matter lie for a couple of weeks. Bowles tried to cut short the debate by seeking to have the matter tabled so members would have some time to discuss the name among themselves.

But "if it's to have discussion, we can do that here and now, vote, and then move on," Councilwoman Linda Wyatt said.

She, Parrott, Vice Mayor William White and Councilmen Wendell Butler and Mac McCadden voted for "Market Square Walkway."

"We got the wrong name, but we can't help it," Bowles said after the vote. She said her big objection was that the word "walkway" makes it sound like a sidewalk.

"It should have been "skywalk" or "skyway," Bowles said.

"I kind of like "Market Square Skywalk," Bowers agreed. The mayor also said he liked the idea of using the term "link" in the title.

LENGTH: Short :   50 lines
ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO:  File. Roanoke City Council named the $7 million 
          glass-covered pedestrian bridge Market Square Walkway on Monday. 
          color.