Walk, bike, bus, roll. How accessible are Roanoke streets?

At the end of this year's national week without driving challenge, Roanoke accessibility advocates hope it gets easier to walk, bus, bike and roll around the city in years to come.

Cyclist Ken McLeod said he participated in the nationwide event to try a week without driving from Monday to Sunday. But he acknowledged before the week began that it's truly a challenge in Roanoke.

"For a lot of people, a week without driving is like going straight to running a marathon," McLeod said. "Think of the people who can't drive, and how they have to get around those ways every day. They don't have that option."

The national week is meant as an exercise in empathy, said McLeod, who is chairperson for a group called PedalSafe Roanoke. The vice chair, Paul Tulou, said the organization formed in 2022 to advocate for bike and pedestrian safety improvements.

"I'm not expecting it will be built next year, or even in five years," Tulou said. "We have to get some dollars and some focus around the issue to make something happen."

Since 2020, there have been more than 250 reported crashes involving pedestrians in Roanoke, with 18 fatalities, according to data from Virginia's Traffic Records Electronic Data System.

Some bus stops feel perilous for people who need wheelchair access.

Steve Grammer is an advocate for people with disabilities, and uses a wheelchair himself.

"We're used to not having sidewalks down busy streets, and even some sidewalks are a hazard for wheelchair travel," Grammer said in an email. "Safe crosswalks are not in place in key areas."

A Roanoke resident his whole life, Grammer said the city has made changes to improve transit, such as extended bus hours, but "is still lacking in some areas when it comes to accessibility."

"While I may be used to these types of experiences," Grammer said. "My goal of having a life like yours seems distant."

Grammer is a member of Bus Riders of Roanoke Advocacy Group. So is Laura Hartman, who said it's nice that she has options to drive, bike or take the bus.

"But a lot of people don't have a choice. They don't have a car, they don't have the ability to drive a car. Maybe it's financial, maybe it's health-related," Hartman said. "Whatever the reason, they need to have alternatives. We all need alternatives."

The website walkscore.com calculates walk, transit and bike accessibility across the United States. Roanoke's scores rank below Blacksburg, but above Salem on a list of Virginia localities.

"The optimistic view is it's not as bad as it could be. We are, I would say, middle of the pack for localities in Virginia," Tulou said. "The pessimistic view is that it's not a high bar, so lots of room for improvement."

Roanoke is scored 30 out of 100 on the Bicycle Network Analysis , which is calculated by an organization called People for Bikes. McLeod said scores beyond 50 represent a tipping point wherein more people consider biking as a feasible means of getting around.

"I think the city is moving in the right direction," McLeod said. "There are new things that they haven't done in the past that provide a more separated and safe feeling."

For instance, the city this year installed its first bollard-separated bike lanes on Ninth Street Southwest, and is following with a similar project for Shenandoah Avenue Northwest, he said.

"There's things to build upon," McLeod said. "Of course, the greenway system is an amazing asset. But getting people to and from the greenway system to places that they might want to go in the community is still a challenge."

Tulou said it might be hard to imagine now, but early streets were designed before cars. Roanoke used to have a network of street railways.

"Cities can transform themselves. They've been transformed from very walkable and transit-oriented cities, to our car-centric nature now," Tulou said. "It is a valid conversation to talk about transforming it at least some of the way back, to reclaim some of the walkability."

Grammer, the advocate for people with disabilities, said Roanoke needs wholesale changes to catch up to accessibility standards in other Virginia cities, listing Virginia Beach as an example. But he hears year after year from city leaders that it's not in the budget.

"After all these years, one would think there's been plenty of opportunity to allocate some funds for these basic needs," Grammer said. "The budget is done on a fiscal year, so every year would be an opportunity to budget funds."

City staff were unavailable this week to discuss Roanoke bike, walk and accessibility projects.

Grammer said Roanoke needs to put the disability community more on its radar, but people such as himself are often left feeling like afterthoughts.

"People living in the disability community only want one major thing," Grammer said. "A life like yours."

By making more people aware of the difficulties for non-drivers surrounded by car-centered infrastructure, he hopes to move leaders toward making some changes, he said.

Luke Weir

(540) 566-8917

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