Marty Dickens always loved Roanoke. That’s why she moved back in 2020, after growing up in the city and eventually moving away to North Carolina. Upon her return, she was pleasantly surprised to find miles of paved trails, surrounded by greenery, weaving through the region and following along the river — the Roanoke River Greenway.
“To see that in little old Roanoke, wow,” Dickens said, remembering the first time she visited the greenway after a friend told her about it.
The greenway system didn’t exist 40 years ago, and Dickens quickly took advantage of this new perk by biking wherever she could. She rides her bike to doctor’s appointments, to work at Cardinal Bicycle, to buy groceries, to physical therapy.
“I had no idea just how positive an impact it was to have the greenways, and how easy it would make my life,” Dickens said.
Many residents consider the greenways an essential and unique benefit to the Roanoke Valley. Parents coax their children through long walks with the promise of Blue Cow ice cream, and others have taken to biking the greenway to get a breath of fresh air before work.
The Roanoke River, which is just over 400 miles long, begins in Virginia and ends in North Carolina. For 18 of those miles, the Roanoke River Greenway hugs the bank of the waterway through city neighborhoods and suburban parks.
From the vantage point of a map on a cellphone, it looks simple: a winding trail that follows the river from Salem, through the city of Roanoke, into Roanoke County, with smaller spurs that stem from it and run through neighboring communities, totaling about 40 miles of paved greenways in the region.
The work that has gone into building these networks is anything but simple.
Behind the scenes, elected, hired and volunteer officials work year-round to obtain funding, plan and build these community connectors. These trail systems take years, and millions of dollars, to plan and construct. Federal regulations create new hurdles to be dealt with, and unexpected issues often come along the way.
“They really are building a new road network,” said Frank Maguire, greenway coordinator of the Roanoke Valley Greenway Commission. The complications are almost equivalent to that of building a road, if not more complex.
The Roanoke River Greenway is the backbone of the region’s greenway system, and it’s listed as the priority in the Greenway Plans spanning back to the initial plan written in 1995.
Other parts of the system, separate from the Roanoke River Greenway, are simultaneously being built. Roanoke late last month opened the newest section of the Tinker Creek Greenway at the 13th Street Northeast trailhead.
When measuring miles, most of the Roanoke River Greenway is finished, but, as Maguire said, they’ve completed “the easy parts.”
The sections that are remaining prove to be challenging because of a few factors, including right of way acquisition, environmental regulations, and technical design — not to mention the need to coordinate the work among multiple jurisdictions.
Megan Cronise, assistant director of planning in Roanoke County, said the costs of materials and labor continue to rise after the coronavirus pandemic. Cronise finds funding to make these projects possible.
“She says, ‘How much money do you need?’ and I say, ‘More,’” said Roanoke County engineer David Henderson, who retired this fall.
Connecting the valley in just five years: The first greenway plan
In 1995, the initial greenway plan was hatched by the Greenway Commission, with significant influence from Liz Belcher, the group’s former greenway coordinator, with the goal of a greenway stretching all the way from Montgomery County to Franklin County — a goal that planners are still reaching for today.
Almost 30 years later, local municipalities are still filling gaps to reach full connectivity.
More on the greenways
Read more about the segments of the greenway system that are still under construction:
Planners in 1995 wanted the greenways to link common destinations, such as schools, commercial centers, parks and libraries. They saw the system as a way to reduce traffic and provide alternative transportation options.
The Roanoke River Greenway remained the priority from the beginning, with smaller greenway sections branching from it in various directions.
Originally, the public wanted to see the Roanoke River Greenway completed in five years, as was stated in the 1995 plan. But, as stated in the 2007 greenway plan, it was becoming clear that “the original 1995 plan may have been too ambitious.”
Sewer and flood projects, right-of-way acquisitions with utility companies and increasing construction costs created challenges. Maguire said at least tens of millions of dollars of local, state and federal money have been spent so far.
Three short sections of the Roanoke River Greenway are currently under construction, each with unique challenges, totaling around 3 miles altogether. Smaller connecting sections are being planned and discussed for the future.
With these three pieces finished, residents will have access to 25 miles of uninterrupted greenway from a park in Roanoke County, through the city of Salem, through the city of Roanoke, to Explore Park and on to the other end of Roanoke County, Maguire said.
“And that’s huge.”
Commuting via car, bike or … skis?
The greenway system can be an asset in recruiting employees and companies to come to Roanoke.
Maguire said businesses like Blue Cow Ice Cream and the Green Goat restaurant are set up to face the greenway. He said the commission is trying to better measure the impact of the greenways on businesses in recruiting employees to the region.
“We know that there’s an impact there,” he said. “People are making use of it as a public space, and that’s what we want to have happen.”
For Stephanie Lareau, an emergency medicine physician and wilderness medicine fellowship director at Carilion Clinic, the greenways became her road to work upon moving to the area a few years ago. Before moving most of her work to Carilion Franklin Memorial Hospital, Lareau biked to work at sunrise.
Once, she even cross-country skied the greenway during a snowstorm to get to her shift at Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital.
The snow might not stop her from cycling, but the rain will, she said, after having to detour one day due to flooding on a low-water bridge. Some of her colleagues ride their bikes regardless of weather.
“Working in the emergency department, you have some stressful days,” Lareau said. “It’s kind of just a nice way to clear your mind and get a little bit of exercise on the way back from work.” She said biking to work is especially convenient for people who wear scrubs daily.
“Most of us are pretty, like, outdoorsy, active people, and that’s kind of what drove us to the area,” she said.
Lareau supports greenway expansions for interconnectivity, and encourages folks in the region to commute using the blueways through the Roanoke River, too.
“I’ve never actually paddled to work, but we’ve paddled to the hospital or paddled down to Blue Cow before to have ice cream,” she said.
Lareau said she mostly commuted by bike for personal enjoyment and exercise, but also acknowledged that it can save money and be better for the environment than short car trips.
Similarly, Dickens said she feels she’s doing the “right thing” when commuting via greenway.
“I feel like I’m doing my small part for the environment,” Dickens said. “But also, it is much more convenient to just pull the bike out of the garage than it is to get in the car and, you know, put on the seat belt and find a parking spot.”
Belcher said the commission has seen people who walk their kids to school using the greenway.
Greenway usage for alternative transportation is something that the county is trying to bolster and measure.
Some sections of the greenway already are equipped with counters that use heat sensors to track traffic. But, Cronise said, it’s hard to identify new bikers and walkers, and whether they’re there for recreation or other purposes.
The county is looking into conducting more studies to gain a better understanding of how residents are using the greenway and exactly how it’s benefiting local communities.
“Information like that would be helpful for us as we apply for grants,” Cronise said. Some federal grants reward money for organizations who provide options for alternative transportation and greener commuting options.
In 2017, a Regional Bicycle and Workforce Commuting Study was conducted, but with low responsiveness — only 27 respondents participated.
When asked how bicycling and walking appealed to them, a large portion of respondents cited exercise and environmental benefits as their top reasons to use the greenways.
Negotiating the last connection without eminent domain
The three projects that are currently being built are not the end of Roanoke’s greenway-constructing journey.
Planners are still brainstorming a way to bring the paved trails all the way to Green Hill Park in Salem. Some homeowners don’t want trails built on their property, but without their permission to do so, builders will have to construct two bridges crossing the Roanoke River, costing around $8 million more than if they were able to stay on the same side of the river, Maguire estimated.
There’s no timeline or funding attached to this plan yet. Planners are still weighing their options, and Maguire said the use of eminent domain will not be considered. The Greenway Commission has been negotiating with homeowners for years, and there’s still no end in sight.
Maguire said these projects take time, and the challenges ahead don’t dampen his hopes for a fully connected valley.
Coming Wednesday: Why this key part of the greenway has been so challenging to complete.