The City of Roanoke, Virginia is nestled between the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Alleghany Highlands. Citizens of this community take great pride in their unique city, and as City officials prepared to investigate a streetscape improvement project on Crystal Spring Avenue just south of downtown, the knowledge of the citizens proved a powerful asset.

Two neighborhood meetings were facilitated by Anderson & Associates during the preliminary phase with a group called ‘Neighbors in South Roanoke’ to address the vision for the Crystal Spring area, examine needs, discuss potential existing problems, and to explore the ideas and solutions of the neighborhood group.

After the community meetings, A&A provided the City with an illustrative master plan and report which detailed a solution to resolve the need for additional parking, while enhancing the concept of this location as a neighborhood village center.

Project Manager Brad Ball said, "It was exciting to get in on the ground level of a neighborhood planning effort. With the help of neighborhood residents, business owners, and City staff we were able to create a concept that successfully addressed their needs in an equitable manner."

Roanoke’s City Council has begun reviewing the master plan and will decide how and when to move forward with this project. To learn more about streetscape improvements contact Brad Ball at 800.763.5596 or Ball@andassoc.com. &

In June 2005, Virginia Tech officials approached Anderson & Associates with a potential project. A&A was asked to design the intersection improvements for Virginia Tech’s first traffic signal. The plans and the actual work had to be completed by July 4; allowing A&A only five days to complete the intersection design. A&A worked closely with Virginia Tech and VDOT officials, and final plans were prepared and approved on time.

"The five day schedule was extremely aggressive, but I knew VT was under severe time constraints as well," said Project Manager Trevor Kimzey. "Two days after I turned over the final plans to VT, Tech’s crew had begun the work."

The turning lanes at this intersection were redesigned to allow for a proper turning radius and drainage improvements. The capacity of the pipes under the intersection was increased to allow coordination with plans for the area stormwater system to be upgraded upon completion of road construction. A&A also provided the design for new turn lanes, utilities, drainage, and grading which improved the overall level of service for the intersection, and laid the groundwork for the traffic signal to be installed later in the month. The labor on this project was completed by Virginia Tech crews to keep costs down and eliminate bidding delays.