Citizens of Christiansburg may notice a few exceptional things going on around town in the next couple of weeks.
One, some people may see a large balloon floating near Palmer Street. This is along South Franklin Street, near the by-pass exit at Cambria. The balloon will mark the height of a proposed tower, if a conditional use permit is approved by Town Council for land owned by Abbott Bus Lines. The related public hearing is set for Tuesday, Dec. 1.
Another notable thing about this wild intersection is that VDOT has found some money, and will conduct a study to determine if there is a means of fixing the problem they created when building the by-pass -- in order to help traffic flow at this very busy intersection and by-pass exit. Residents are familiar with the strange turn lanes and four-minute cycle for red lights, and may have noted an exit to nowhere that runs off the South Franklin exit. Along with nearly two acres of vacant land, near the Palmer Street area, drivers heading towards downtown wishing to go to Cambria must exit right, stop, turn left and go through this traffic light. That stop can be challenging due to traffic volumes and the adjacent entry into the town's Rec Center.
Television viewers may be aware, too, that WSLS-Channel 10 has been visiting various communities and broadcasting their evening news live. So residents may see more WSLS vehicles or camera crews out and about from Monday, Nov. 23 until Wednesday, Nov. 25. Viewers may want to watch and see how Christiansburg is portrayed -- hopefully, the new bus service will be featured as well as a possible tour of the new aquatic center or staff profiles. If they'd waited just one more week, Karen and Jay could have been riding on the bus, for free!
It's also time to plan ahead just a bit -- do you know when and where Christiansburg's annual Christmas Parade will be held? Are you a member of a local organization or a business that should be working on a float to enter? Maybe you can borrow that large balloon when they're done with it, and incorporate it into your design?