MARION COUNTY

Buena Vista

Transportation: Of 454 miles of public roadway in Marion County, three percent is located in

Buena Vista.  98% of city streets and 59% of county roads are paved.  Both the city and county

have departments which maintain the roadways.  Buena Vista is the only incorporated

municipality in the county.

 

Recreation: Although neither the city nor county has formal recreation departments or

programs, both jurisdictions have recreation facilities. The city maintains a five acre recreation

area located on the north end of Rosa B. Lane. This city park has two lighted tennis courts,

a children’s playground, and one basketball court. A 1,000 feet, unimproved nature trail connects

the north end of the park with State Route 137/Oliver Street. The county maintains three softball fields adjacent to the airport in the south half of the county. 

Bicycle and Pedestrian Facilities: The City of Buena Vista has received Transportation Enhancement (DOT) funding to construct a walking path/multi-use trail connecting a public housing complex, the city park (see above), and the county’s middle school in the northern section of the city. The park currently contains an unimproved walking track and nature trail.  The nature trail is slated for improvement as part of the Transportation Enhancement grant.  Additional facilities used for exercise walking include tracks at Marion Middle School and Palmer School in Buena Vista.

Cultural Resources:  The current Marion County Courthouse in Buena Vista and the Old Marion County Courthouse in Tazewell (unincorporated) are listed in the National Register of Historic Places.  Pasaquan, a “visionary” folk art site, is located northwest of Buena Vista.

Education: Marion County Elementary School and Marion Middle School are located in Buena Vista.  Marion County’s high school students attend Tri-County High School in the Draneville community.  The high school is located several miles south of Buena Vista near the county line and serves both Marion and Webster counties.

Land Use: Agriculture/Forest accounts for 96% of the total county area, and the vast majority of this acreage is in forest/woodlands.  There are approximately 30 commercial sites accounting for 50 rural acres.

Approximately 20 Park/Recreation acres are located in the unincorporated area and include a private campground, a ten acre baseball complex adjacent to the airport, and a private baseball field on Pineville Road.  All three sites are in the southern half of the county.

Residential is the fourth largest land use in the rural area, accounting for 1633 acres.

In the City of Buena Vista, forest and residential development are the two largest land use categories.  Commercial development is concentrated around the courthouse square, the geographic center of the city.  Developed industrial acreage is located near the northwest and southeast city limits.  The city park is located just beyond the northeast perimeter of the central core.

The Middle Flint Region is characterized by rural, agricultural counties with relatively small, compact community centers.  The region is crisscrossed by a network of federal, state, and local highways and roadways that provide access to the area’s various communities and cultural and natural resources, and good inter- and intra-regional access.  The region has an abundance of cultural resources; the Flint River and Lake Blackshear provide the area’s primary natural resource attractions.  Schools are variously located in towns or in less accessible rural locations.  Because of acreage needs, recreational facilities also tend to be developed in less accessible locations.  Existing facilities generally do not incorporate pedestrian elements.

As an agricultural region with a relatively small population base, the Middle Flint area does not suffer from traffic congestion and, therefore, pedestrian and bicycling activity are, and are likely to remain, primarily recreational and fitness activities.  Nonetheless, cycling and walking should be encouraged and developed as viable transportation alternatives for those who desire additional mobility choices.  For example, cycling and walking are sometimes the only transportation modes available to the young, the elderly, and the poor.  Beyond providing a cheap and efficient means of getting around, these transportation alternatives also provide significant health benefits.  As obesity rates continue to increase nationally and represent mounting future public health costs, cycling and walking, whether for transit or pleasure, provides important exercise activity for communities. Promoting cycling and walking will require education programs that explain both the benefits of those activities as well as safety concerns for its participants and the general public.

As much of the cycling and pedestrian activity is likely to be recreational in nature, regional partners should also encourage tourism development for riders from outside the area.  The region’s abundant cultural and natural resources provide a unique opportunity to connect a large number of resources within a relatively small area.

Generally, the region lacks significant bicycle and pedestrian programs or facilities.  The development, promotion, and implementation of any programs and projects will represent significant progress toward the meaningful inclusion of cycling and pedestrian interests in area transportation planning, recreational enhancement, and economic development.