The City of Roanoke has done a great job of investing in its Greenway system and creating greenways that help connect the city. These investments include the impressive Lick Run Greenway bridge over I-581 that connects northwest Roanoke to the Valley View Mall. 

To maximize the Lick Run Greenway, one more bridge is needed. 

Avoid a Dangerous Intersection

Currently, the Lick Run Greenway has an awkward and dangerous intersection for people biking and walking that separates northwest Roanoke from downtown Roanoke. At the intersection of Orange Ave NW and Gainsboro Rd NW/Burrell St NW people using the Lick Run Greenway must cross between 8 and 10 lanes of traffic using two crosswalk legs with zero pedestrian signal phases or signal faces. There are pedestrian pushbuttons, but they are located on poles in grass, making them difficult to reach if you are biking. Without signal faces, the pushbuttons also do not provide any benefit, unless they subtly change signal timing. Even when used, I have waited more than a minute to be able to cross with the light, which is significant when the segment from Brown-Robertson Park to Downtown takes about 15 minutes according to Google. In my opinion, this intersection is one of the reasons that Google maps does not recommend using the Lick Run Greenway to access Downtown by bike from Brown-Robertson Park.

A bridge over Orange Ave NW to the field of the Booker T. Washington School Administration building could significantly improve the safety and comfort of bicyclists going between downtown and northwest Roanoke on the Lick Run Greenway. There could then be an improved mid-block crossing on Burrell St NW where it is a wide two lane road to connect the bridge to the Lick Run Greenway coming out of Washington Park (Burrell St NW could also use some traffic calming, additional crosswalks to the park, and continuous sidewalks).

Potentially Easier to Build than other Bridges

A bridge at this location would likely be shorter in distance and height than the MLK Bridge downtown. It seems likely that its cost would be less than the $3.5 million to complete that bridge. Its possible that a bridge at this location would cost less than the $800,000 that it took to complete the Lick Run Greenway bridge over I-581. Both sides of Orange Ave are slightly elevated over the roadway, which should help to reduce bridge costs. The city should consider spending enough to incorporate signage that currently overhangs the road at this alignment and to create an appropriate gateway to northwest Roanoke that recognizes its historic significance to the city and how many transportation investments have served to marginalize rather than improve the community.

This bridge would save minutes for every person looking to walk or bike on the Lick Run Greenway between downtown and northwest Roanoke or Valley View Mall. This bridge would make every person making that trip safer by avoiding 6 to 8 lanes that would otherwise need to be crossed and only crossing a lower speed, lower volume road. This bridge would be an investment in reconnecting Roanoke where so many historical investments have made it more difficult for Roanoke’s communities to connect. 

Maybe name it after Edward Dudley, America’s first Black ambassador, who grew up on Gilmer Avenue in Roanoke. It seems appropriate that a bridge making connections be named after a man who lived a life of bringing people together through diplomacy and was an avid Bridge card player.

Not in Current Plans

Right now, this investment is not on the Roanoke Greenway Plan or the RVARC Bike Plan as far as I can tell. This investment should be added in the next opportunity to update those plans and be a part of Roanoke’s 2040 Comprehensive Plan. There’s no good way to have a major greenway include an at-grade crossing of a major arterial roadway and 8 to 10 lanes of traffic. A bridge is the only way to truly make the Lick Run Greenway a transportation facility for biking and walking and create a safe and comfortable experience.

There are some projects in the RVARC Bike Plan that could change this intersection, but it is hard to believe that anything less than a bridge will provide a high quality, low-stress, experience. An unspecified improvement on Burrell Street from Orange to Liberty is on the Priority List. An unspecified improvement on Gainsboro Road from Orange to Gilmer is on the Priority List. An unspecified improvement on Orange Avenue from 5th Street to Williamson is on the Vision list. Hopefully, this post helps specify the best possible improvement for the Lick Run Greenway at this intersection – a bridge.