A map of the proposed park.
CHRISTIANSBURG — Work is underway on a nearly $18 million multipurpose park on 60 acres of old farmland in a predominant spot off of Peppers Ferry Road — a project that is expected to become an additional anchor in the town’s fast-growing northwest section.
Expected to be complete by November 2022, the project will include four rectangular sports fields, two picnic pavilions, a splash pad, an inclusive playground and nearly 2 miles of trails.
The park, along with the ongoing redevelopment of the Christiansburg Marketplace, are among a handful of developments that town officials anticipate will further drive economic growth.
“If the town doesn’t continue to expand and increase and doesn’t do anything, then the town’s not going to progress,” said Councilman Steve Huppert, a major supporter of the park. “This for sure is one of the big things the town is going to progress and move along, and give something to the people … In the long run, we think it’s just going to be a real economic boost, too.”
Huppert said he sees some of that growth being helped by athletic tournaments taking place at the park. He said he expects it to be similar to what currently occurs at the aquatic center, which regularly brings in people from out of town for swim meets.
Pending further town council approval, the park could see a second phase that would include an amphitheater and volleyball and pickle ball courts.
A separate but complementary project to the park is the proposed construction of a road that would connect Peppers Ferry to Cambria Street — and ultimately the area near the intersection of Cambria and North Franklin streets.
In addition to partly serving as access to the park, town officials say the connector road should more importantly seek to ease some of the traffic congestion on North Franklin Street and Peppers Ferry Road at the town’s busiest point.
When exactly the connector road will be built is still up in the air as Christiansburg is seeking state transportation funding for a major chunk of the project.
“As for the budget for the connector road, it will be adjusted since a smaller portion of it will be completed for access to the park,” Christiansburg spokeswoman Amy Southall wrote in an email. “The budget for the larger portion that is left to be developed will be determined when the town applies for SMART Scale funding in [the Virginia Department of Transportation’s] next round of applications.”
SMART Scale is a program that allows localities to request state funds for certain projects, which are graded and eventually submitted to the Commonwealth Transportation Board for approval.
The connector road project involves two phases, the first one of which would create a two-lane road extension from the Peppers Ferry and Quin W. Stuart Boulevard traffic signal to a planned roundabout at the intersection of Cambria and Providence Boulevard.
However, a section of the connector road will be built from Peppers Ferry to the park’s main entrance to provide interim access to the recreational property until the full road is constructed.
Christiansburg was awarded $425,000 through VDOT to help pay for that first early section, according to project plans. Most of that money will go toward building that section, while the remainder will go toward a bikeway to the park. The town is matching $115,000 of those funds.
The town council earlier this year agreed to name the connector road the Booker T. Washington Parkway in honor of the African-American leader.
Washington served as superintendent of the historic Christiansburg Industrial Institute from 1896 until his death in 1915. The institution was founded by a Union captain during the early part of Reconstruction to educate freed slaves and later evolved to a much larger campus where African-Americans could learn trades.
May 30, 2021 at 04:30PM
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Work underway on Christiansburg's major park; finish of connector road a question - Roanoke Times
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