ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, February 18, 1997 TAG: 9702180108
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-6 EDITION: METRO
A DOWNTOWN that is alive 24 hours a day.
A downtown where people live, as well as work and play.
A downtown linked not just visually with the surrounding Blue Ridge Mountains, but connected physically, with greenways, and economically, with a marketing campaign and a development strategy to draw outdoors-oriented visitors and businesses.
A downtown that capitalizes on Roanoke's unique assets: its 19th century architecture, its thriving City Market, its close-in neighborhoods, its railroad heritage, its natural setting.
The "Outlook Roanoke" plan developed by Urban Design Associates of Pittsburgh offers a stirring vision of a future downtown that's a desirable place to live as well as an economic focal point that invigorates not just the city or even the valley, but the region.
Is it practical, as well?
The plan, unfortunately, offers inadequate guidance on implementation. But that hardly renders it useless. The odds of transforming pretty pictures into real results depend, in any case, on how well the plan reflects the wishes of people who would make it work: investors and lenders, government agencies and taxpayers, and - the ultimate arbiter of success or failure - the public, who would come or stay away.
Downtown Roanoke Inc., which commissioned the study, is looking for public comment, and has copies of the draft report at its office in the Crestar Bank Building. The ideas reach far beyond the limits of downtown and the interests of business people, and no one in the region should think the proposals are of no concern to them.
Artists and outdoorsmen, produce vendors and market visitors, commuters and consumers from Botetourt or Bedford, and Roanokers living right on downtown's front stoop - everyone who depends on a healthy downtown, directly or indirectly, has a stake in this vision.
The plan draws a picture of a future downtown tied closely to the economy and culture of the rural region, but also is distinctly urban and uniquely Roanoke.
Vacant lots and parking lots become sites for condos and apartments. Empty office and warehouse space is converted into commercial space, with artists' lofts and urban apartments above. These spawn a demand for neighborhood services, diversifying downtown businesses and pushing economic revitalization beyond the bounds of the City Market.
One-way streets become two-way, the easier for visitors to maneuver. Approaches to the city's core are made more inviting. Roads are narrowed rather than widened, with street parking and tree-plantings encouraging people to stop and stay awhile.
An outdoors-type industry is headquartered in the city or the region, giving greater definition to Roanoke - and surrounding areas - as a destination for people and businesses interested in a good quality of life, scaled to livable proportions and never far from nature.
All of this sounds desirable. Now, is it doable? And, if so, what should be done first? The reactions of financial officers and city-market farmers, culture-consumers and daily commuters alike, can help decide.
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