ROANOKE, Va. – The plan to relocate Roanoke’s bus station and redevelop the lot it would leave behind hit a major roadblock on Wednesday.
During their meeting Wednesday, the Roanoke City Board of Zoning Appeals denied a special exception permit for the project.
The permit is needed to build the new bus station in the parking lot across from the Virginia Museum of Transportation.
Valley Metro, which had been overseeing the project, couldn’t say much but did say it will have to go back to the drawing board.
“We’re very disappointed in the decision, and were proceeding our options on how to proceed,” Valley Metro General Manager Kevin Price said.
The plans were part of the city’s Capital Improvement Program and would move the bus station from its current spot on Campbell Avenue to a lot on Salem Avenue. But some neighborhood leaders said the plans didn’t work for that part of town.
“I think the noise level, the pollution, the more people that are just traveling back and forth in the area wouldn’t be ideal in a residential neighborhood,” said Remington Hinshaw, president of Salem Avenue Neighborhood Business Association.
Hinshaw said he hopes to see something more along the lines of what is already in the area go in the lot.
“Putting a bus station in the middle of what’s becoming more of a residential area, especially with our building and with the West End Lofts behind us, just isn’t a smart idea,” Hinshaw said.
The museum, some area businesses and residents have fought the plan since day one.
Roanoke mayor Sherman Lea told 10 News on Wednesday night the city is disappointed and is looking at other options.