A Safer and More Walkable Future for Roanoke County
The Plantation Road / Hershberger Road / Hollins Road corridor is a place where people shop, travel, and live — but it is not a place where most feel safe outside of a car. Sidewalks are few and far between, crosswalks are missing, and bus stops are hard to reach. This project, with support from VWAI, set out to understand how the space could be redesigned for residents, workers, and visitors to feel safe accessing daily needs without a car. The project team combined technical analysis with community engagement to develop more than 10 near- and long-term recommendations for the corridor.
Team:
The project was led by a robust team comprising local, regional, and state representatives. Nathan Grim from Roanoke County Planning managed the project, with contributing stakeholders from VDOT, Valley Metro, Roanoke Valley Alleghany Regional Commission, and Roanoke County Development Services.
Goals and Vision:
The corridor project sought to transform a vehicle-oriented area into a safer, more walkable environment that better serves residents, employees, and visitors. The project’s primary goals were to:
- Perform a Road Safety Assessment with input from a wide range of stakeholders
- Engage the community to understand their experiences and identify barriers within the corridor
- Define the needs of existing and potential users to encourage walkability and improve connections to key destinations
- Identify actionable recommendations that can guide future investments in safety and accessibility
Background:
While the Hollins-Plantation Corridor has long served drivers, investments in walking, biking, or transit infrastructure have not kept pace. The road network reflects its patchwork history: Plantation Road is partly managed by Roanoke County and partly by the City of Roanoke, with a bike lane that begins only once the road crosses into city limits. This leaves a critical gap for those who want to walk or bike.
Building on the Roanoke County 200 Plan, VDOT’s Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Action Plan, and Roanoke County’s Safe Streets and Roads for All Comprehensive Safety Action Plan, the project set out to understand how the space could be redesigned for residents, employees, and visitors to feel safe moving around without a car.
To answer that question, the project team used the following strategies:
- Listening to residents: More than 200 surveys were mailed to property owners and residents, and additional surveys were shared at a nearby Walmart, Food Lion, 7-11, and Edinburgh Square Retirement Home.
- Centering seniors’ voices: A focus group at Edinburgh Square Retirement Home to bring seniors directly into the conversation and understand their daily challenges navigating the corridor.
- Bringing in experts: A road safety assessment to bring together representatives from Roanoke County, VDOT, the Virginia Department of Health, Valley Metro, the Roanoke Valley Greenway Commission, the Regional Commission, and bike and bus advocates.
Outcomes and Impact:
- Completed a Road Safety Assessment, establishing baseline conditions and actionable steps
- Integrated community voices into the development of corridor priorities that combined local needs with Road Safety Assessment data
- Collected insights from 51 survey respondents, highlighting broad demand for walkability and speed management
- Determined feasible near to long term recommendations:
- Transit stop improvements, such as seating and signage upgrades
- Speed studies to inform traffic calming
- New sidewalks and crosswalks, especially along Hershberger Road
- A connected bike/pedestrian network linking key destinations
- Lighting upgrades, including installation of three solar-powered push-button crosswalk lights at high-need stops using VWAI Special Project Funding