It's been roughly six decades since the Blue Ridge Parkway's general management plan was tinkered with, so it shouldn't be too great a surprise that parkway officials are working on an update. However, what parkway officials are proposing might not sit well with everyone.

For instance, being proposed by the revision is closure of Roanoke Mountain Campground, which offers 74 tent sites and another 30 RV sites. Also being considered is "development of paved, multi-use trails parallel to, but separate from, the parkway in the four urban areas of the parkway -- Waynesboro, Roanoke, Boone/Blowing Rock, and Asheville -- to enhance opportunities for pedestrians and bicyclists to safely recreate within the parkway corridor where traffic levels are higher and opportunities to link to regional trail systems are available."

These and other changes are being considered because parkway officials have noticed changes in how folks are utilizing the parkway. For instance, they've seen a drop in the number of people looking to camp inside the parkway -- hence the proposed closure of the Roanoke Mountain campground -- as well as folks heading to specific areas of the parkway for recreation rather than traveling the entire reach of the 469-mile roadway.

For more details on what parkway planners are considering, check out this story in the Roanoke Times.