Thursday’s column: Salem’s greenway rocks!
That’s Steve C, a regular here on this blog, on the newest portion of the Roanoke River Greenway in Salem on Saturday. I went back there and road it Sunday, too.
Along with a lot of other people, E. Duane Howard was out on the Roanoke River Greenway this past Sunday The weather, frighteningly warm for any January Sunday, was the only pleasant thing about it.
He walked from Franklin Road to Wasena Park and back. The asphalt pathway was jammed with people of all ages.
“It was the most crowded I’ve ever seen it,” Howard wrote on my blog Monday. “Almost to the point of being dangerous, no not almost — it was dangerous. Couldn’t count the near misses of either myself of my dog nearly getting hit by a bicyclist.”
It’s a pity he wasn’t on the gorgeous greenway stretch in Salem I rode on my bike on that same day. You may not be aware of that because it gets much less attention. There were people on it, but it wasn’t crowded.
Our neighboring city opened its first short stretch of the Roanoke River Greenway in 2001.
Right now, it’s putting the finishing touches on a third leg of the project. Soon it’ll have a 3.4-mile-stretch of path along the riverside, uninterrupted except for a single street crossing.
READ THE REST OF THIS COLUMN HERE.
A steep hill along West Riverside at the intersection with Twelve O’Clock Knob Road is the only uncompleted part of the new Greenway section. Salem officials are hoping the bridge workers are building here will be complete by June.
January 17, 2013 - 6:00 AM
Kind of disappointing to hear that the link between the two Greenways still has some formidable obstacles. To me, linking the two communities is a highly desirable recreational feature for the valley. Course the river is already such a link and along with fabulous foot path, we should also consider the waterway as recreational opportunity. There have been a few weekends when my wife and I didn’t want to run all the way up to Buchanan for a river experience so we put in on Apperson drive and floated to Wasena. Not a bad escape, especially for the convenience.
Having biked on the road there in Salem I can vouch for the daunting task of constructing that leg of the Greenway. The Valley has been late to the task but they have sure made up for it. It has multiplied the outdoor recreational opportunities and they are right at our doorstep. A job well done by the localities and the Greenways coordinator, Liz Belcher.
Property owners who object to the greenway behind, to the side or near their homes are really short sighted.
We encountered the same with residents in Southeast behind homes along the river from Roanoke Memorial over to Riverland Rd and Garden City Blvd…..But, once completed their property values started escalating from those progressive home seekers who desired a location on the greenway. Imagine the convenience of walking out your back door, hoping on your bike to your job at Roanoke Memorial and downtown. Wasn’t long for the homeowners, after seeing the phenomenal foot and bike traffic passing by realize the asset it was. They could never have imagined that the day would come when they wanted to sell their home that a “For Sale” sign in the back of the house would get far more exposure than the front….
E Duane, I walk that part of the Greenway and many of the homes there have back decks and porches overlooking the river and the greenway….they’re enjoying the view! I agree…I think we’ll see RMH employees and other employees of other businesses taking advantage of the convenience.
For sure Kristen, I eny those awesome back yards with a deck, over looking the greenway and river….States like Calif. a home like that would be in the millions….Too many take our natural beauty, awesome veiws and enviornment for granted….we are so blessed in this area.
The Greenways are expensive but there is no way to say they are something that Roanoke & Salem didn’t do right. They Rock!