ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, August 19, 1996 TAG: 9608190143
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-6 EDITION: METRO
A TALE of two cities:
One has untended parks, underfunded schools, neglected minorities and low-paying jobs. The other has good recreational opportunities, good schools, good race relations and low unemployment.
Actually, they're the same city - but seen from vastly different perspectives at separate civic conferences last week. Which is the real Roanoke?
Well, both.
The grim picture is Roanoke as seen through the eyes of community leaders, most of them native Roanokers, many with relatively low incomes. The bright picture is the view of business leaders, most of whom have lived in other places and many of whom are affluent.
Those who see warts instead of beauty marks, suggested a marketing consultant to the Regional Chamber of Commerce, haven't lived elsewhere and have no basis for comparisons. There may be some truth in that. Roanoke is a safer, prettier and more convenient place to live than any bigger city that comes to mind, and stacks up well against other medium-sized cities. There's nothing like years of fighting Northern Virginia gridlock to heighten one's appreciation of the hassle-free hop to work, to school, to the store.
But many problems noted by Roanoke's longtime community leaders are real, and are made no better by the thought that worse conditions may plague other places. Less affluent Roanokers have lived elsewhere, in a sense. They've lived in a different Roanoke.
Yes, the city has wonderful recreational opportunities, sitting as it does right on the Blue Ridge Parkway and the Appalachian Trail. Families without cars, though, rely on neighborhood parks for recreation; if they are run-down, their facilities inadequate, the residents who rely on them experience a different Roanoke.
Yes, Roanoke has low unemployment. But it also has many low-paying service jobs. People stuck in them long term have a different view of the city's prosperity.
Civic leaders complain Roanokers don't take enough pride in what they have, which often is true. Perhaps residents don't want to appear unsophisticated, as though they don't know there are livelier, trendier, faster places to live. But perhaps, too, some residents don't want to sweep the city's problems out of mind. Roanoke should take pride in that.
LENGTH: Short : 49 linesby CNB