The "not quite so good" things about Roanoke :) (Charlottesville: real estate, power lines)

[Watchful]

I confess to being a pretty obnoxious “homer” when it comes to the good things about the Roanoke area. We chose to relocate here from Texas six years ago and we haven’t looked back. There is so much we enjoy about the area. The four seasons. The natural beauty. The greenways. The Blue Ridge Parkway. The lack of sprawl. The indigenous music. The arts. The mid-sized metro area. The purplish political climate. But I decided that maybe I should share the “not so good” list about Roanoke. Here’s a baker’s dozen of some of the things (in my humble opinion) that could be better (some serious, some frivolous)!

AIRPORT ISSUES. The convenience of flying in and out of Roanoke is undeniable, but everybody seems to complain about the high fares. We have also had bad luck repeatedly with out of town guests getting stuck and unable to travel out at all due to cancellations with no re-routes available. The good news is that if you are willing to drive a bit, you can usually find options out of CHO, CLT, GSO, IAD, LYH, RIC or RDU! We also have cheap nonstops to Florida on Allegiant although I haven’t been quite that brave yet.

INTERSTATE 81. I’m pretty good at navigating the multiple lanes of Houston freeways but driving on 81 can truly be a hair-raising experience, with the large number of eighteen-wheelers using that route.

DEER HITS. I made it a few years without having the joy of getting smacked by a deer, but then I had three deer hits within about 13 months’ time. And the deer never seem to have insurance.

MERGE LANES. Roanokers have a unique habit of coming to a full stop on a merge lane entering onto the Interstate. If you get behind someone with this habit, it can be terrifying!

PEDESTRIAN ISSUES. The greenways are wonderful but there remain large parts of the metro area that are not at all pedestrian-friendly. There is also a pretty low awareness of the meaning of a crosswalk. This cuts both ways. Vehicles fail to give space to pedestrians. Pedestrians invent their own crosswalks (especially downtown after midnight on weekends)!

LOCAL MAIL SERVICE. A few years ago, they closed the mail processing center in Roanoke which means now that if you mail a letter from Roanoke to Roanoke it goes to Greensboro and back, and takes at least two days. Grr… Ain’t nobody got time for that!

CHRONIC POVERTY. Situations in Roanoke are a long way from the structural poverty issues of southwest Virginia. For example, the current unemployment rate in Roanoke is around 3 percent. But the problems of generational poverty, the opioid crisis, property crimes, and roadside panhandlers do stare us in the face regularly.

PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION GAPS. We are fortunate to have local bus service, but it only operates six days a week, and ends a little after 8 p.m. And it is frustrating that Roanoke County does not participate in funding Valley Metro so that many areas of the metro area remain totally inaccessible by transit.

CIGARETTES (AND THEIR BUTTS). It’s really distressing to see the number of younger folks who are cigarette smokers. This really wasn’t nearly as common in Texas. And the number of “butts on the ground” is truly astonishing.

RESIDENTIAL SEGREGATION. The racial climate could be better but also could be much worse. But it does surprise me to see many parts of the area in which there is very little diversity, especially in Roanoke County. (Public schools in Roanoke County districtwide are 7% African-American while those in Roanoke City districtwide are 45% African-American.)

CONFEDERATE FLAGS. It’s not nearly as bad as other parts of the Commonwealth, but the presence of Confederate flags as an emblem of pride is truly off-putting to me. Your mileage may vary.

SOUTH PEAK. Seriously? The butchering of a mountain to provide space for a hotel and a restaurant and a little bit of housing was not the best idea Roanoke has ever had!

NO COSTCO. Okay this is truly a first world pain. Roanoke has Sam’s Club and BJ’s, but there’s nothing quite like Costco. We stock up any time we are in Harrisonburg, Charlottesville, Durham or Greensboro (returning home after taking advantage of cheaper air fares)!

[TN Lily]

The residential segregation results in much lower real estate prices in the city versus the surrounding jurisdictions. I don't know that this is "good" or "bad." It just is.

I agree on the No Costco. I've not been in the Sam's in a while and have yet to visit B.J.'s. But my trips to Sam's in the past have not always been good. Hopefully, B.J.'s has forced them to keep shelves stocked better.
The real estate and personal property taxes are high in the city of Roanoke IMO.

I agree on the mail service. It seems better of late. But we had an important item that hubby addressed wrong and it took over six weeks for it to be returned to us.

[TN Lily]

I will add one more: Sidewalks in Roanoke. In my neighborhood, some streets have them and some don't. Sometimes a street has sidewalks part of the way. Many of the sidewalks are in bad shape - uneven and holes. You have to keep your eyes open and look where you put your feet. The city has ground edges where one section is higher than another to try to deal with some of the issues.

[Rickcin]

From my perspective and a few things you’ve mentioned (Watchful) regarding “not quite so good” things about Roanoke fall under one major category, Development Building and Zoning.

The roads and infrastructure have not kept pace or been coordinated well enough with development. Merge and exit lanes are shared, access roads and turn arounds are rare, computer coordinated traffic signals and turn lanes have not been utilized properly, etc. The Elm Ave in front of the Carilion Community Hospital has been recently upgraded and allegedly improved, however it is a major backup at almost any time of the day. Roanoke is a pretty small Downtown area to have as much traffic congestion as it does along with Rt 460. I’ve seen other areas with many franchises along a specific road, however thanks to good zoning requirements, they are properly landscaped and somewhat hidden to blend with natural surroundings. That’s more desirable than seeing lots of neon Signs and Billboards while driving through the area getting near the Bergland Center and heading downtown.Why do we need to see Billboards with Wisler Plumbing or Southern Trust along 460? Why not have better zoning and planning requirements? They are failing (IMO) to preserve the natural beauty that we have in Virginia. Plenty of opposition to the buried gas pipeline but how about the towers and high tension power lines that cross our mountains?

I’ve always been amazed by the number of car washes there are on certain sections of 460 and wonder how the planning boards reacts to developers? Do they have an overall plan and follow other Cities and Towns that have had successful growth with residential, retail and commercial developments? Plenty of fast food, franchise chains and car washes that do little to enhance the community or residential areas in Roanoke IMO.

I guess Watchful just got me started, I apologize!

[Watchful]

Originally Posted by Rickcin

From my perspective and a few things you’ve mentioned (Watchful) regarding “not quite so good” things about Roanoke fall under one major category, Development Building and Zoning.

HA! I moved here from the wild and out of control Houston area so I probably see through different eyes!!

[Rickcin]

Originally Posted by Watchful

HA! I moved here from the wild and out of control Houston area so I probably see through different eyes!!

Don’t get me wrong, we absolutely love it here but also envision how good it could really be with the proper zoning, planing while having a long term overall development plan.

[16 Acres]

Originally Posted by Rickcin

Plenty of opposition to the buried gas pipeline but how about the towers and high tension power lines that cross our mountains?

I'm pretty much a nature fanatic myself, but without Towers and High Tension Lines how would we get TV Reception and other necessities and Electricity without them?

[16 Acres]

Originally Posted by Rickcin

I’ve always been amazed by the number of car washes there are on certain sections of 460 and wonder how the planning boards reacts to developers? Do they have an overall plan and follow other Cities and Towns that have had successful growth with residential, retail and commercial developments? Plenty of fast food, franchise chains and car washes that do little to enhance the community or residential areas in Roanoke IMO.

I see your point, but I call that Free Enterprise.

If a person wants to buy or rent a piece of land and wants to start a business there, they should have the freedom to do so.

[Rickcin]

Originally Posted by 16 Acres

I'm pretty much a nature fanatic myself, but without Towers and High Tension Lines how would we get TV Reception and other necessities and Electricity without them?

High tensions could be direct burial and towers can be better disguised as in other states with tree like branches and leaves. Those towers really blend in especially when adjacent to wooded areas.

[Rickcin]

Originally Posted by 16 Acres

I see your point, but I call that Free Enterprise.

If a person wants to buy or rent a piece of land and wants to start a business there, they should have the freedom to do so.

Not free enterprise like the appliance junk and repair service that was right on Orange Ave with dozens of the used washer dryers ten feet from the road. Pretty much a big eyesore.

Free enterprise Yes, but with certain stipulations, like setback requirements, landscaping, access additional road improvements, signage requirements, etc. There has to be requirements and they also work to the benefit of the the particular business to add value to the business and it’s real estate.

Why have three car washes or Pawn Shops within a few miles when you know one will fail in a few years and default on the build and property? Proper zoning helps provide for a successful community area.