Downtown Roanoke Improvement Wishlist (houses, neighborhoods, theatre)

[Scott94]

We went downtown today, and one major improvement in my mind would be filling in the empty storefronts throughout the area. Although, we hadn't been downtown in a while, and there were some new shops and restaurants around (new to us), so that is a good thing. We also passed a few of the new residential buildings, including the Cotton Mill. They really looked nice.
-As said before, an extended trolley or shuttle service around downtown, from the museums especially, would be nice.
-There are already a lot of quality eating establishments downtown, but hopefully there will be a variety of new places once the market building reopens. That said, it would be nice if there were a couple of chain restaurants downtown, mainly for when you need somewhere quick to eat. I'm not talking about Burger King, Taco Bell, etc., but some nice chains that aren't already in the valley.
-All of the turning-old-into-new rehabs for residential is great, and when the Patrick Henry is finished, it will add a lot of new residents downtown (plus the other projects). It would be nice though if some new buildings were built to add to the skyline.
-Just an observation, and I don't remember the name of the company that took it over, but the old Mostly Sofas building near Elm looks much better now.

That's pretty much all I can think of for now, though I'm sure there is more I will remember later on. By the way, this weekend will be a crazy one with the Marathon, the downtown festival, and the Blue Ridge Bike Fest. Hopefully we have good weather!

[540_804]

I have this really odd habit of pacing the floor whenever I'm in deep thought.
This thread certainly had me pacing furiously.

I remember I read some time ago that downtown living in Roanoke was in such high demand that there were actually waiting lists on some of the rental developments. If this is true (and I could certainly believe it), then the priority now, above all else, should be getting more residents in the area. Obviously that is easier said than done. Its not easy to get financing for these types of developments. But for now, intensifying the density of residents in downtown is Key to just about everything else on our wish lists.

I live in Richmond right now (for school, I grew up in Roanoke..hence the screenname), and the number of people living in the urban core is exponentially greater than the number living in Roanoke's downtown area. And its growing rapidly. I think I did a rough tabulation a few weeks ago and there are something like 700 new residential units coming online in downtown Richmond this year. Assuming 1.5 people per unit, and about 85% occupancy (in reality it would be much higher) and thats almost 900 new downtown residents.

Despite these numbers Richmond still has the same issues Roanoke is dealing with. There are still empty store fronts. There are no trolleys or streetcars (a real shame since the modern streetcar was invented in Richmond). There is no full-service grocery store downtown (just a few smaller markets).
Richmond still struggles with maintaining ridership at its main train station.

These things don't happen over night and (usually) take a significant amount of private and PUBLIC investment. A lot of people are completely opposed to public investment, but its certainly necessary, especially in a city the size of Roanoke. People fail to realize that public investment pays returns not only in the almighty Dollar (which is important) but also in less tangible things, like quality of life improvement (which I think [though many will disagree] is a worthy investment).

But since this is just a wish list..I'll present mine:

-Downtown Trolley: Of course this has been said before, but I think its worth mentioning again. In my scheme, the trolley would be simply a circulatory route, circulating people around/through downtown. It could go down Salem Ave from the Museum to 3rd street. Take 3rd over to Campbell. Campbell to 6th Street. A stop along 6th St would service the Performing Arts Center, Cotton Mill Lofts, YMCA and the neighborhood. A stop there could also encourage development of all the parking lots between 6/5 Streets and Marshall and Luck Aves. The trolley would then follow Marshall to Franklin and Franklin to Jefferson. From Jefferson it would turn right onto Campbell, left onto Williamson and back to its origin on Salem. (An alternative would be to somehow Link N and S Jefferson Sts to have a stop that served the Hotel Roanoke area).

-More parks: Elmwood is nice, but it would be nice to have more, smaller pocket parks throughout the urban core. Nothing major, just green space.

-Pedestrian only piazza: I know a few people suggested a downtown mall, but generally I'm against the idea. Its just doesnt work most of the time (tho there are examples of where it has worked). However, I think a pedestrian-oriented piazza could work. Specifically I'm thinking the area right in front of the market building. I say prohibit parking in the area and make it a place for outdoor dining, people watching, public art, etcs. Extend this to the small street that runs perpendicular to Campbell between the Center in the Square and 202 and you have a sort of pedestrian mini mall. I'd be hesitant to cut out auto right-of-way altogether, because traffic flow can be healthy for the area. Another alternative gaining popularity in European cities is the non-prioritized multi-use road (there's an official name for them, I cant think of it). Basically it allows bikers, pedestrians, skaters, and drivers to all use the same path together with no mode having priority over the other. There are no curbs, no sidewalks..its all just one path. This means that someone walking has the same right-of-way as someone driving which forces a driver to travel at the speed of the walker. Sounds really weird, but it actually works in a lot of places. Its typically only for small roads, generally pedestrian-oriented and common in places like beach-front boardwalks.

-Amphitheater: I think downtown needs an Amphitheater. Not necessarily in Elmwood (in fact, I would prefer it not there). Where? Not sure. But somewhere..lol.

-New construction is certainly on the wish list but I don't see it happening any time soon (not on a large scale anyway). Its too expensive relative to Roanoke's rental rates. And I'd rather have no new construction than cheap new construction.

-A university: Not specific to downtown, but one close to downtown would be nice. Perhaps a satellite campus of another of Virginia's public schools (VT Medical doesn't count, we need a largely autonomous, self-sustained 4-year undergraduate school). The branch system of public universities seems to work so well in other states (think University of Wisconsin, University of Cali., University of NC for example), yet not so well in VA (UVA-Wise).

-2way streets: studies have shown that two-way streets are superior to 1-way streets. I could present the argument but I'm too lazy. You can google it though. Richmond is, in fact, working now on converting all of its downtown streets to 2-way (should take about 5 years, I think).

Anyway..sorry for the super long post..I was bored. I have a school project to work on..but I'll probably be back to add more later.

[roanoker 4]

Originally Posted by j1n

What is the nature of the safety concern?

I believe the main issue Elmwood Park struggles with is the homeless & transient population who have made the Park their space. I believe City Council is aware of the situation and maybe thats why there is such a push to develop
the Park. I know back in the '60's, '70's Elmwood was a gathering place for
men seeking companionship/? from other men. It had many more trees, secluded areas in those days especially around the library. The public sex issue
became a big item especially since Roanokes' most prominent citizens turned out to be participating in illegal activity. The police arrested many people and with the A.I.D.S. crisis the activity eventually went away. Shortly after these events we saw the small amphitheatre built behind the library and more attention to improving the appearance. I am wondering if the homeless are
displaced from the Park then where will they go? There is a good argument the Park should stay the same.

[j1n]

Originally Posted by roanoker 4

I believe the main issue Elmwood Park struggles with is the homeless & transient population who have made the Park their space. I believe City Council is aware of the situation and maybe thats why there is such a push to develop
the Park.

Interesting. Roanoke City seems to be practically a "destination" for transients as there are so many services available to them and they are tolerated so well. I do some work with the homeless/underserved folks in Roanoke, so maybe that's the reason that they don't bother me. I don't see them as being particularly threatening or being folks who would make me feel particularly uncomfortable. I see guys with backpacks and such sitting around on the park benches that adjoin the library property. But really, for all anyone knows, they could just as easily be Appalachian Trail thru-hikers.

[roanoker 4]

I was a juror on Roanoke City Council about 15 years ago about a homeless man who was robbed and murdered brutally by some punks who thought it would be fun to kill a homeless person. I learned a lot about how the homeless are often the victims of crimes but also how many have been model citizens but due to bad luck with health, money they suddenly find themselves homeless.
Many are veterans also. Due to the fact the adjacent counties send the homeless to Roanoke we see so many here in need of help.

[RoanokeWahoo]

I'm really not trying to be heartless or non-sympathetic, but when I see and experience public urination and harrassment on a regular basis it becomes a concern to me.

Maybe I need to move from downtown.??

[j1n]

Originally Posted by RoanokeWahoo

I'm really not trying to be heartless or non-sympathetic, but when I see and experience public urination and harrassment on a regular basis it becomes a concern to me.

Maybe I need to move from downtown.??

Maybe. I was at a light on Salem a few days ago and saw a guy urinating between a couple of cars parked at the curb. Glad he had his back to me. When you say "harrassment", do you mean asking for change or cigarettes? Or real harrassment?

[RoanokeWahoo]

Originally Posted by j1n

Maybe. I was at a light on Salem a few days ago and saw a guy urinating between a couple of cars parked at the curb. Glad he had his back to me. When you say "harrassment", do you mean asking for change or cigarettes? Or real harrassment?

The pan-handling isn't the biggest problem to me. One guy was real honest with me one afternoon and told me he was just trying to get a beer. I gave that man what I could. Which probably doesn't help matters, but the man was honest.

My fiance has been verbally harassed many times and very inappropriately and with me by her side. And that I have a big problem with. We sometimes have changed the route of our daily runs to avoid Elmwood for that reason.

That type of harassment I will not tolerate.

[j1n]

Originally Posted by RoanokeWahoo

My fiance has been verbally harassed many times and very inappropriately and with me by her side. And that I have a big problem with. We sometimes have changed the route of our daily runs to avoid Elmwood for that reason.

That type of harassment I will not tolerate.

Nor should you. I wouldn't put up with it either. I'm actually surprised that you've encountered what you have. The homeless folks around town generally seem pretty meek, but that's only my experience.

[abetterroanoke]

I really love everyone's ideas. I wish some of you were on City Council!