The story below is from our May/June 2023 issue. For more stories like it, Subscribe Today. Thank you!
You shared your thoughts for how to improve our region’s future — now see some of our favorite answers!
Ana Morales
Roanoke Greenway
When it comes to readers’ ideas about our region’s future, you’ve made one thing clear: you all really want a Trader Joe’s! And really, we hear you — who doesn’t love those dark chocolate peanut butter cups? — but we had some great answers in our “Best Idea for the Valley’s Future” category that helped us get to know our readers. As it turns out, you are…
Small business supporters:
- Small Business Saturday once every month
- Garden center/co-op around Yellow Mountain Road
- New Year’s Eve at Top of Mill Mountain. Star lights up, etc. (sign us up for this party!)
- I miss the Deschutes Street Pub. Roanoke needs another street pub!
- Turn Tanglewood Mall into a walkable outdoor shopping market/mall with a central space for ice skating and other community-centered events.
Active:
- Make Roanoke a Dark Sky City so we can enjoy the stars and night sky! (yes please!)
- Outdoor Olympic swimming pool
- The Kayak Park in the River
- More indoor and outdoor pickleball courts
- More outdoor-friendly; make a big state park in between Blacksburg and Roanoke, that has lots of bike trails and a couple lakes for outdoor activities and hiking.
- Indoor track
- Continue expanding the Roanoke Greenway; including into Roanoke County/Clearbrook area
Community-loving:
- The Roanoke Valley desperately needs a shelter for homeless pet owners. People who become homeless and refuse to give up their pets deserve shelter from the suffocating summers and deathly winters. The shelter could get cat and dog foods donated. They could have a volunteer cat and dog daycare that watches their pets so they have the opportunity to go out and get a job and not have to worry if their pet is safe. (Editor’s note: we couldn’t agree more — see our feature on fighting homelessness on page 26.)
- Invest in the arts, and continue growing the budding art community
- Get the Roanoke Southern Railroad functional for educational use to teach children railroad history and operation
- Continue to promote community through events and mental health awareness
Local travelers:
(Editor’s note: loving your ecological footprints! Learn more about our region’s public transportation on page 114.)
- Making public transportation easier to access. A Smart Bus from the Daleville area
- Bridge between Highland Park and the Greenway
- Tram up Mill Mountain and/or shuttle up and back from Mill Mountain
- Better roadways that allow a separate lane for bikes keeping them safe
- Hyper-local rail trolley in the city
- Public transportation down 220-South to the edge of Franklin County
- Cheaper fares and more airline destinations!
- Continue to expand the airport; support the airport towards regional growth and expansion
- Destroy all e-scooters (Okay, maybe not, but we do encourage you to leave the sidewalks clear for easier accessibility for all!)
Business-minded:
- Rebuild/renovate unused/crumbling retail/office space and curtail new construction to maintain maximum green space. Build nothing new unless something old comes down
- Offer small business incentives for the downtown area
- Need to find another Fortune 500 Company to come here. More business, more jobs
- Keep helping small businesses and artists succeed so we don’t lose them!
- Rehabbing old buildings for housing and vendor destinations
- Bring in industry to help fill the empty warehouse and industrial spaces, as well as, providing new jobs
- Attract developers who wish to build single-family homes rather than upscale apartments
Family-oriented:
- More family recreation centers
- Install handicapped-accessible playground equipment at parks and playgrounds of all kinds across the Roanoke Valley, using the Addy Grace Playground at the YMCA in Daleville as the model
- It would be nice to see a recreational park for families: go-kart racing, putt putt, dodge cars, lazy river, etc.
- A daily amusement site such as a Dave & Buster’s with indoor games and activities for kids, something much larger than Thunder Valley
- Dave & Buster’s (or similar) place for families/teens/adult hang out
- A splash park for the kids
- Indoor entertainment venue with bowling. Live music, restaurant, bar, mini-golf, etc.
(Answers have been edited for clarity and spacing.) Thank you to everyone who voted in our Best of Roanoke 2023 Reader Poll!
The story above is from our May/June 2023 issue. For more stories like it, Subscribe Today. Thank you!