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From the Streetscape Master Plan draft:
INTRODUCTION
BACKGROUND
The place that would become the Town of Round Hill evolved from a rural
post office and store in the mid 1800s to a thriving resort village at
the terminus of the Washington and Old Dominion Railroad by the late
1800s. The village formally became a town with its incorporation in
1900. Today it remains a thriving, family-oriented town of civic-minded
residents who cherish Round Hill’s authentic small town atmosphere and
quality of life.
Within corporate limits, and particularly downtown, Round Hill retains
the character and scale of a typical, 19th century Virginia small town.
Round Hill has seen little new development within its corporate limits
since the first half of the 20th century. Through good fortune or bad,
depending on one’s point of view, there was little new economic
activity within the Town in the mid to late 1900s when
automobile-oriented development changed the look and feel of many other
small towns in Loudoun County and the region. Today, the Town remains
walkable and generally pedestrian-friendly. However, new development
surrounding the Town has given rise to increased traffic volumes and
potential vehicular pedestrian conflicts on Town streets. New
development on the edge of Town has also created a need for
coordination of systems such as sidewalks, roads, trails and utilities
that will link the Town to areas of new development.
Since the incorporation of the Town of Round Hill in 1900, town leaders
have been charged with many incremental decisions that have shaped the
built environment of the Town. Streets, sidewalks, stormwater
management facilities and utilities were designed, constructed,
extended or improved as needed or in response to specific problems.
This system of incremental improvements fit both the pace of
development within the Town and the Town’s financial resources.
However, these incremental improvements have left Round Hill with an
incomplete sidewalk system, uneven streets, and driveways and drainage
problems. With new development occurring at the edge of Town and
increasing interest from the private sector in infill development and
redevelopment at the historic core of the Town, Round Hill is taking
proactive steps to address problems created by piecemeal improvements
and to manage and minimize the impacts of new growth.
Round Hill is actively participating in the design of portions of
trails, streets and sidewalks that will link the Town to new development
at its periphery. The Town also has various plans for new trails, signs
and improvements at the entrances, or “gateways” to the Town. To
coordinate various public and private endeavors in a comprehensive manner,
the Town commissioned a master plan for the Town’s major streetscapes. The
intent of this plan is to protect and enhance the visual character of the
town, and the safety and quality of life of its residents, by keeping
streets safe, attractive and functional. It will also help guide public
decisions and investments and protect private investments made by business
owners and residents of Round Hill.
WHY A STREETSCAPE MASTER PLAN?
The Streetscape Master Plan provides a vision to direct public and
private investments along the primary street frontages of the Town. There
are a number of key reasons to undertake a master plan for the Town’s
streetscape at this time:
PROTECTING TOWN CHARACTER
Round Hill’s unique visual and historic character is a legacy from
the past that is valued by residents, business owners and visitors. The
Streetscape Master Plan provides a way to protect that legacy by
establishing design standards for new public and private improvements in
the streetscape.
MAKING THE STREETS SAFER
By improving the clarity and legibility of vehicular and
pedestrian ways, the plan can help minimize conflicts between cars,
pedestrians and bicyclists and make the Town’s streets safer for all who
use them.
COORDINATING PUBLIC & PRIVATE EFFORTS
The Streetscape Master Plan can help guide decisions about the
improvements along the Town’s streets. Whether initiated by private or
public entities, improvements in the streetscape can be better coordinated
and achieve a more attractive and harmonious design when they are guided
by an overall design vision as described in the plan.
PROTECTING LOCAL INVESTMENT
The residents and business owners of Round Hill have all made an
investment in the community. Besides the value of the land and buildings,
that investment for many is also grounded in the small town atmosphere and
historic character of Round Hill’s streetscape. To protect that investment
over the long term, the Streetscape Master Plan ensures that there is a
coordinated vision and general design standards for future changes to the
streetscape.
WHAT IS A STREETSCAPE MASTER PLAN?
The “streetscape” is a term commonly used in urban planning and design
to describe the look and character of the public streets in a community.
It is primarily the “public realm” – those areas that are in public
ownership, but it also includes those private areas (such as building
facades, yards and open spaces) that are visible from the public realm.
Typical components of a streetscape are built elements such as sidewalks,
cross walks, plazas, street lights, signs, benches, trash receptacles, and
landscaping. They are organized into functional categories such as:
- Gateways
- Circulation-Vehicular/Pedestrian
- Signage
- “Wayfinding”
- Street/Sidewalk/Trail Design
- Parks/Open Space
- Built Character
A Master Plan for the Streetscape is primarily a set of design
recommendations for maintaining or enhancing the physical appearance and
function of the streetscape. It does not replace the zoning ordinance,
subdivision regulations or comprehensive plan for the Town. However,
portions of it may be incorporated into any of these documents by the Town
as follow-up or implementation steps. It is also not a construction plan
or set of construction standards. The Master Plan includes specific
recommendations for types and locations of improvements, but it is
important to recognize that it is only a guide for those who are designing
and reviewing those improvements. Any specific construction project in the
Town will entail more detailed study and may result in designs that differ
in detail but harmonize in spirit with the Master Plan’s overall vision.
In addition, the Town Council and Round Hill Master Plan Steering
Committee decided that the Round Hill Streetscape Master Plan needed to
look beyond the boundaries of the Town and address issues outside of Town
that will have a direct impact on the quality of life and the appearance
of the Town’s two primary streets. In particular, the Master Plan includes
recommendations for the “Gateways” to Town, including key properties that
will affect the visual character of those gateways.
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