Another mile of the four remaining in the “Bridge the Gap” section on the Roanoke River Greenway is now open after a ribbon was cut on a one-mile stretch that begins near Aerial Way and crosses under Peters Creek Road, ending at the City of Salem line.
That new segment is not connected to the greenway at either end. Salem has about another mile to go before it links up with a 3-plus mile section that begins at Rotary Park at Apperson Drive; the City of Roanoke has two miles to complete on the other end to the current end of the continuous greenway at Bridge Street – the Norwich end of the Roanoke River Greenway.
The Roanoke City section to Bridge Street is scheduled for completion in 2017, according to Joe Hanning, the marketing and outreach coordinator for Roanoke City Parks and Recreation. That will then give the city 11 uninterrupted miles. “That’s the final connection [in the city] for the Roanoke River Greenway.”
Salem has not set a due date for the one mile segment to Rotary Park. From the Salem end of the greenway (past the Moyer Sports Complex and on to Riverside Road) negotiations are still going on for the rights of way needed to extend the greenway to Roanoke County’s Green Hills Park.
Hanning said there is street parking along Aerial Way and Blue Ridge Drive for those that want to check out the newest segment of the Roanoke River Greenway. Already those using it have observed a variety of wildlife – even a bear. “It’s [also] a good one for dog walkers and power walkers – it zig zags back and forth back there.”
“It is within site – by the fall of 2017 everything should be complete [in Roanoke City],” said Hanning. That last segment will include two bridges like the ones across the Roanoke River to the Norwich end. “We are almost there … when we will have this thing fully connected.”
It also means that bikers, runners and walkers who start from Fallon Park and connect to the Roanoke River Greenway via the Tinker Creek Greenway will be able to traverse from the Town of Vinton line to the City of Salem.
Gene Marrano
