Beckley requests Raleigh Schools' land for overlook
May 21—The city of Beckley is planning to add an overlook near the East Beckley Bypass over Cranberry Creek, but first they'll need to acquire property from Raleigh County Schools.
The property the city is looking to develop into a handicap-accessible overlook is located on the west side of the East Beckley Bypass, also known as Clarence W. Meadows Memorial Boulevard, near the Fire Captain Fred Burroughs Memorial Bridge.
The property, which is about three acres, is part of the Academy of Careers and Technology's property in Beckley. However, when the bypass was built, it divided this plot of land from the remainder of the school's property, rendering it somewhat useless to the school.
Therefore, the Beckley Common Council has sent a request to the Raleigh County Board of Education for the donation of the land to the city to create an overlook.
A motion to make the request of the school board was approved at a council meeting on May 9.
The planned overlook would also give people an overview of the Piney Creek Preserve, which encompasses 600 acres of former coal mining land that has mostly gone untouched in recent years.
Through a partnership with the West Virginia Land Trust (WVLT), which owns the property, and the city of Beckley, plans are also in place to open the Piney Creek Preserve to the public with trails that eventually connect to Beckley Rail Trail as well as New River Gorge National Park and Preserve.
"We need something for the people that come to visit the New River Gorge National Park," said Beckley Councilman Tom Sopher. "Not all of the people that come to the park are whitewater rafters or bikers or hikers. Some of them are just here to enjoy the beauty of southern West Virginia."
Just as the New River Gorge Bridge has become a focal point of the national park, surrounded by several trails and overlooks as well as an entire event hosted on the bridge, Sopher said he'd like to see that same concept duplicated in Beckley.
"A lot of the beauty that we see can be seen visually through overlooks at these bridges," he said. "The (Fire Captain Fred Burroughs Memorial Bridge), for instance, it's beautiful underneath of it. You'll go there, you'll take somebody there, you'll say, 'Come check this out, it's really cool,' just like you take them to the New River Gorge Bridge."
Raleigh County Schools Superintendent David Price said he is waiting to receive that letter from the city so that he can present it to the school board for a vote.
"To be honest it's a piece of property that the school board would never use, and the city would like to have it to use for an overlook and different things that they had planned for it," Price said.
Price said there has been some discussion with the city regarding the property, but no action can be taken on his side until the school board receives the city's letter.
Email: jmoore@register-herald.com
