Residents press council on water use, data centers and Vision Zero funding during public comment

Seven members of the public used the council’s hearing of citizens to press for specific policy changes. Ken McLeod of Pedal Safe Roanoke thanked council for recent safety planning and urged dedicated Vision Zero funding and accountability measures, proposing a Vision Zero line item in the operating and capital budgets and a public dashboard to track progress.

"To accomplish the goal of 0 traffic deaths ... will take three things, funding, accountability, and strategy," McLeod said, and suggested school‑zone speed cameras as a potential local revenue source tied to safety goals. Teacher Jack Leff urged the council not to rely on post‑facto detection technologies to reduce violence, arguing that education, food security and community programming are the proven prevention investments.

Several speakers raised concerns about proposed data‑center development and regional water use. Misty Vickers told council she had "lost my trust" after the water authority accepted study funding from Google, warning that a data center could consume millions of gallons per day and urging the city to press the Water Authority and Botetourt County for stricter oversight. Catherine Hatnam asked the council to exert every control it has over data‑center zoning and to press the Water Authority to protect the region’s water supply.

Commenters also thanked council for the Raven repeal and urged the city to pair technology decisions with investments in schools and community services. Council thanked commenters and said the manager’s office would relay citizen concerns to relevant agencies and follow up where appropriate.