Lynchburg wish list: Resolutions for city life

Many of us have pipe dreams for Lynchburg, grand ideas if time and money were no obstacle.

In the past year, I’ve heard rumblings for bike lanes, more public art, a roller derby team, better parking options downtown, sidewalks along Ward’s Road, a Chipotle Mexican Grill (there’s even a Facebook group called “Get Chipotle in Lynchburg” with 1,566 members and counting …), to name just a few.

To ring in 2009, I hit the streets and phones and posed this question:

“If you could make a New Year’s Resolution for Lynchburg’s future, what would it be?”

Here’s a sampling of the responses.

More trails, more runners

Riverside Runners owner Jeff Fedorko calls the Blackwater Creek Trail system a “jewel of the city.” So why not have more of a good thing?

Fedorko would like to see the trail extended toward Linkhorne Middle School to alleviate parking congestion at the Langhorne Road entrance, and more miles added all around.

He also wants a record number of people to participate in the 2009 Virginia 10-miler, a race he directs. His goal is to have 3,000 participate, which would be a big boost from last year’s 1,600 runners.

“It would be a community fitness resolution,” he says.

“The energy of that race carries on beyond race day and helps people keep fit.”

Remember the past

Ron Simerly, a volunteer at the Disabled American Veteran thrift store downtown, caught the history bug several years ago when he moved to Lynchburg from the Newport News area.

Simerly’s resolution: “Get more people downtown where it all began ... so Lynchburg doesn’t forget its own roots, its own history.”

He wants more people to soak up the city’s historic architecture, attend events like the James River Batteau Festival, and visit the historic cemeteries and other local landmarks.

A dance club

Twenty-somethings Derrick Walthall, a college student, and Michael Mcivor, an employee at TriTech Labs, lament that city’s lack of nightlife. The friends would like to see a dance club with an urban vibe, and more low-key places for teens to hang out and stay out of trouble.

“Some people feel like they’re sheltered and there’s nothing to do ... . We need to keep them doing something constructive with their lives,” Mcivor says.

Tammy Jones, born and raised in Lynchburg, echoes their sentiments. “More things for the inner city youth to do” tops her list. She envisions a place with sports, games and positive mentors.

More downtown living

Ralph Wilson, owner of Ninth Street Parlor by Chopper’s, wants to see the downtown flourish into a vibrant urban center. To him, more people living in lofts, apartments and homes in and around the city center will drive that development.

“We need more people living downtown, more residential. The more people we have living downtown the more business it can support,” he says.

Jobs! Jobs! Jobs!

More jobs in Lynchburg was a top resolution suggested by several residents. For Ed Johnson, who was recently laid off, it’s especially pressing.

“I’d like to see more jobs come to this area. The economy’s in bad shape. You’ve got to have a means of survival.”

Jerome Medley, a Lynchburg native who now lives in Philadelphia, says more jobs will help address the issues of poverty and crime.

“If people don’t have a job, they tend to do whatever they can to get what they need,” he says.

Keep up the good work/ Stay accountable

Husband and wife duo Keith and Robin Cheek own two small businesses on Main Street that have been around for years: the men’s clothing store Famous and Farmer’s Seed & Supply Co. Each views the city through a slightly different lens.

Keith says he’s content with Lynchburg; the public schools are good, crime is low and traffic is nothing compared with big city congestion. If he’d want to see anything change, it would be more development along the James River.

Other than that, his resolution is simply “to maintain our wonderful quality of life.”

Robin wants more accountability about how public money is spent. Her Lynchburg resolution:

“Elect people who are better stewards of our money, emphasis on our money.”

All about art

Two gallery owners on Rivermont Avenue, Kelly Mattox and John Morgan, say that nurturing the burgeoning art scene should be a top priority.

Morgan is an art professor at Sweet Briar and the owner of Rivermont Studio, which opened in September.

He wants the community to experience high quality art by professional artists from Lynchburg and beyond. His resolution: “Stimulate the community by showing new and vibrant contemporary art and artists.”

Mattox, owner of Avenue Arts Studio Gallery, wants to see forward momentum with the new Arts Council. Her resolution: “More promotion of the arts, from theater to symphony to opera to galleries to restaurants.”

Why art? “It’s more than just making a dollar and going to work. It’s something to look forward to, and it enhances the quality of life,” Mattox says.

Bridge the age gap

Denise Scruggs, director of Lynchburg College’s Belle Boone Beard Center on Aging and the Life Course, wants to see more programming that brings young people and senior citizens together.

“We’re seeing a disconnect, not just in Lynchburg but throughout the country, between young people and people over 50 and 60.”

To that end, Scruggs says that the center’s Consortium on Aging plans to connect more students, from elementary school through college, to senior citizens through volunteering, art and other opportunities.