Roanoke to Bristol Train? most know that by 2017 – 2016 if the Mayor has his way – there will be Amtrak passenger train service between Roanoke and Lynchburg. Now Bristol and far southwest Virginia would like to get in on the action. Recently a contingent from that part of the state met with Mayor David Bowers and other Roanoke officials, looking for pointers on getting passenger train service extended to their towns and cities in a few years.
Bristol city councilman Guy Odom, who was just ending his term as mayor, said the railroad tracks are in place; he projected that by 2019, if the financing and track clearances are obtained from Norfolk Southern, the train could connect to Bristol from Roanoke. “What we hope to do is develop a strategy to get train service to Bristol. We saw the success that Roanoke had. The natural move would be to take passenger rail service into Bristol.” They are planning to talk to people in Tennessee about extending rail service into that state and other points south.
Showing Amtrak that there is profitability and the ridership numbers is what its all about, said Odom. The first step could be a new version of the Smart Way bus that now brings Roanokers to Lynchburg to catch the Amtrak at the Kemper Street station, “so we prove we can have that ridership.” They are not sure about the funding, but Odom said they would look to Roanoke as a model. “We need to start moving pretty quickly.”
“We support the effort by the Bristol delegation,” said Bowers, who recently backed away from his law career, giving him more time for mayoral duties. “That would give us a second train.” Bowers pushed the bus link as an option. Heavy ridership on that bus between Roanoke and Lynchburg helped convince state lawmakers and Amtrak that passenger rail service could work again in the Star City – decades after it had ended.
“If you want the train, think about the bus,” was his message to the group from Bristol. “That helped build up our numbers.” Bowers would like to see tourists take the train from Bristol, Charleston and Greensboro, coming north for a long weekend perhaps: “there’s lots to see and do here.” Virginia has changed its approach to transportation funding in recent years, said Bowers: ‘we’re not just building roads.”
First Tenant: The Bridges redevelopment project, underneath the Walnut Avenue Bridge, has its first tenant – a telecom company (JDSU) will move 75 employees from its Salem location to Roanoke’s old trolley maintenance barn, perhaps by the end of the year. Extensive renovations that will take place first include windows all the way around. The old trolley barn catwalks will be left in place as a mezzanine. Historic tax credits will help pay for the makeover.
Developers that include former Roanoke city manager Bern Ewert said further announcements on tenants at The Bridges mixed-use project could happen in the next 30 days – look for a coffee shop and restaurants perhaps. JDSU, a California-based telecom support company, had outgrown its Salem location. The new Roanoke space, which it will lease, has room for growth.
Roanoke Mayor David Bowers said this wasn’t about pulling jobs away from Salem, it was about keeping them in the valley: “Our competition isn’t right next door, our competition is Greensboro and Knoxville … Richmond and Northern Virginia. We’re preserving these jobs right here in the Roanoke Valley.”
New Pool Hours at Washington Park: limited to just three open days during the week in recent years due to a budget crunch, the Washington Park outdoor public pool is now open every day except Wednesday until the end of the season (August 10) as the result of a collaboration between YMCA of Roanoke Valley and Roanoke City Parks & Recreation.
Keith Gaines, aquatics director for the Kirk Family YMCA, said the Washington Park pool (on Orange Avenue NW) “is in a community that really needs that pool open. One of our strategic plans is that all children have the opportunity to learn how to swim. We thought this might be a great opportunity for us to partner with the city.” A contract with the Parks & Rec. will allow the Y to staff the pool with lifeguards over the next four summers. The city will pick up the tab on other operating costs.
They’ll follow city pool guidelines for the most part but kids will be banded so that lifeguards will know exactly what part of the pool children should be in, via a color-coded band system. The Y has a “zero drownings” record noted Gaines, who grew up in inner-city Philadelphia, adding that having a public pool available during the summer is a must for children in that part of town. The pool is, of course, open to all local residents.
Both city pools are closed on Wednesday. The Fallon Park pool is open on Friday, Saturday and Sunday; Gaines said down the road they might try to work out a similar agreement there to keep it open to the public more days of the week. The YMCA will promote the Washington Park pool’s new hours and swimming safety classes they make available.
“The statistics on drowning in the summer months is alarming and we want to do something about it,” said Gaines, adding that, “the city has helped us out an awful lot. I think we’ll have a long-term program over there. Its critical that the pools are open when the summer starts.”
By Gene Marrano
