news-record.com

Jamestown wants to become a “pedestrian’s paradise” where people leave their cars at home so they can walk to local schools, shops and parks on a well-planned system of sidewalks, trails and greenways, according to officials who presented a new Jamestown Pedestrian Master Plan at a public meeting April 16.

Residents at the meeting showed strong support for the idea.

Two Jamestown Elementary School students, Emily and Sarah Smith, attended the meeting with their parents, Chuck and Jennifer Smith.

The family lives in the Forestdale East neighborhood. After the meeting, the two girls said they liked the idea of having more sidewalks.

“I’d like to have some sidewalks to the elementary and middle school so we could walk to school with friends and family,” said Emily Smith, 11, a fifth-grader.

“I think there should be more sidewalks,” said Sarah Smith, 8, in the third grade. “I would use them to walk my dog, Suzie.”

Some parents present expressed interest in a “Walking School Bus.”
Parents who might be afraid to have their children walk to school alone could have them join organized, parent-led groups of youngsters who walk to and from school together.

Emily and Sarah said that would be fun.

Christina Pond, Bill Jarrell and Jill Jarrell, three residents of the Jamestown Oaks development near Oakdale Road, called for new sidewalks along Oakdale.

Their neighborhood is about one mile south of Main Street.
“Jamestown Oaks residents would like to see a sidewalk down Oakdale for safety, exercise, and better access to Main Street,” Bill Jarrell said.

“I think it would help the whole community to concentrate on improvements in the business district, including sidewalks,” said Carl Galloni, who, with his wife, Jan, owns the Rivertwist Café and Rivertwist Gift, Garden and Design shop at 118 E. Main St.

New sidewalks should be wide enough to allow two people to walk comfortably, keep pedestrians safely apart from roadways and allow easy access to community resources, said Jesse Day, a regional planner at the Piedmont Triad Council of Governments.

The council is an umbrella organization formed to help Triad communities with expert help on planning and other issues.

The master plan has identified several areas for attention in sidewalk planning, including Penny Road, East Fork Road and Main Street near the railroad tracks.

The meeting was held to draw input from residents.
Residents can also complete an online sidewalk survey on the town’s Web site: www.jamestown-nc.us.

Mayor Keith Volz, Town Manager Kathryn Billings, Town Planning Director Matthew Johnson and Town Council members Larry Lain and Georgia Nixon-Roney attended the meeting.