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ANALYSIS : AFRAMEWORK FORDOWNTOWNBLACKSBURG

CHAPTER 2

NAV I GAB I L I TY

The Huckleberry Trail begins in Downtown Blacksburg on Draper Road between Clay Street and Miller Street. The trail could be strategically connected to other nearby green spaces. Linking Downtown’s existing green assets to the Huckleberry Trail will emphasize Downtown as a destination point to the region. The town should continue other efforts to implement its Bike Master Plan and recent Prices Fork Safety and Mobility Study to create more ways to get people Downtown. The option of biking in Downtown needs to be highly visible in the areas of greatest pedestrian and business activity.

Transit Buses and shuttles operated by Blacksburg Transit are the public transportation options in Blacksburg. Multiple transit lines go through Downtown and fifteen percent of Blacksburg Transit rides are taken along Main Street. However, only seven percent of Blacksburg Transit riders are non-students. The large amount of non-students are most likely driving into and around Downtown. This creates more traffic throughout Blacksburg and puts pressure on Downtown’s parking. If the routing and timing of transit shifted to better serve non-students, While there are some bike routes both on and off street Downtown, additional routes would improve accessibility and reduce traffic congestion. Some streets could manage new bike facilities due to their width. In places where streets cannot feasibly accommodate a full bike lane, there are other options—such as sharrows, the elimination of on-street parking, and contraflow lanes—that can help to accommodate cyclists. New bicycle parking facilities, particularly as part of new redevelopment, are also important pieces of bike infrastructure. more non-students could use public transportation to access Downtown. Bike Infrastructure Blacksburg has transit assets which provide opportunities to improve access to, through, and around Downtown. Improving bike infrastructure would greatly improve traffic.

Bike infrastructure

WONG PARK

47 Downtown Blacksburg Strategic Plan

HENDERSON LAWN

MARCIA’S PARK

MARKET SQUARE PARK

HUCKLEBERRY TRAIL

Opportunity for north-south bike/pedestrian corridor