Town Council Hears Strategies for Enhancing Outdoor Spaces for Pedestrians and Bicyclists

The predominant theme at Tuesday’s 7 p.m. Front Royal Town Council work session at Town Hall was the pressing need for options for pedestrians and bicyclists that are both safe and preserve the natural environment in which those paths are being forged. The councilmen and women heard Justin Proctor and Lizi Lewis present on behalf of the Environmental Sustainability Advisory Committee (ESAC) and the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), respectively.

The Town of Front Royal faces several ongoing problems regarding its outdoor spaces where residents and visitors enjoy walking and cycling, and these problems require a team effort from multiple branches of the town’s local government. Both Proctor and Lewis indicated those problems represent opportunities. In each of their PowerPoint presentations, they mapped a vision for the Town going forward.

The Environmental Sustainability Advisory Committee (ESAC) might change its name soon to the Advisory Committee for Environmental Sustainability (ACES). Justin Proctor pitched the idea of the name change to the council, arguing that it would be an easier name to remember since: “it means someone doing something well.”

Proctor told the council that “a budget would mean less time writing grants and more time improving the landscape.” Re-imagining the Appalachian Trail (AT) connector trail is part of his proposed plan. The Appalachian Trail currently circles the town, and Proctor believes it is possible to make it easier and safer for people to come on and off the trail. At one point in his presentation, he said, “We are all looking for ways for people to walk and cycle this town safely.”

He also said, “We need to be proactive, not reactive.” That statement applies especially to the Happy Creek stream, which has been a sore point for this town in the past. “Born out of blood,” the solution to deforestation along the margins of this creek will be an ongoing task. On the morning following the meeting, in a phone interview, he described the riparian buffers that have been established along the margins of Happy Creek. “Any suburban stream needs a lot of care and love,” he said. “It is essentially an aquatic garden that just needs maintaining over time … we will forever be stewarding this creek.”

Letting trees grow naturally and allowing the recreational space to be a continuation of the natural space is Proctor’s passionate goal. Part of that natural approach will be installing streetlights that do not obliterate the view of the stars. “Brighter isn’t necessarily safer,” he told the council.

For the American Rescue Plan Act, Lizi Lewis presented a tourism grant to the council. Totaling $170,000, the grant covers several important projects, including a proposed trail at the Avtex site as well as improvements at the Bentonville boat landing, near Route 613. Lewis explained that the landing there is in urgent need of attention.

Other items on the agenda included a much-needed update to procurement policy, the first since 2002; regulations pertaining to the keeping of chickens in town residential areas; a sidewalk project on West Criser Road that appropriately echoed the theme of the evening; and the delay until October of a hearing related to 207 Cloud Street where a roof replacement has been halted in order to ensure that the new materials are in keeping with the historical integrity of the Town Historic District in which that house is located. The applicant wants to assemble more information.

Click here to watch the Town Council Work Session of September 5, 2023.