Roanoke, VA - As camping season on the Blue Ridge Parkway heads into the final months of the season, there is still no word about the fate of the Roanoke Mountain Campground.
Poor attendance for years has the Park Service wanting to turn the campground into a day park.
Roanoke City leaders and many in the community want to see it remain but improved.
Neither side is likely to prevail any time soon.
Roanoke City leaders expect to hear something soon as to which direction the US Park Service plans on moving in regards to the Roanoke Mountain Campground, and what they expect to hear is not what they want to hear.
"By earlier next year, perhaps sooner. We know that the park service's preferred alternative is to close the campground," said Tom Carr with the Roanoke Planning Department.
The campground has been on the chopping block for years as usage remains at the bottom of all Blue Ridge Parkway camps
Roanoke City leaders last year passed a resolution announcing their position, which calls for an improved site that would offer electricity and water to campers hoping to attract more campers and RVs. That only makes sense to those trying to push the Roanoke Valley's new brand, "Virginia's Blue Ridge".
"It really comes into play when you can say, 'Oh, there's an RV campground five minutes away or there's one an hour away.', It makes a big difference," said Pete Eshelman from the Roanoke Regional Partnership.
The problem is, no one has money.
"It will be a challenge to implement any of the improvements, at any place, that they have identified in their plan," said Carr.
According to the Park Service, who leases the land from Roanoke, there is no money to go with any plan regardless of recommendation.
The City of Roanoke has no money to partner up with anyone to bring their idea to fruition either, which has left everyone from park rangers to city planners believing the only thing that will change here in the near future is another season.
Roanoke City leaders working with the Park Service says the relationship between the two is unresponsive, leaving the impression that the Park Service will move forward with its declared preference.
The real guessing game is how long it will be before the money is available to implement that plan.
