Louise Burke: James River champion

March 19, 2012 · 0 minute read
You may never have heard of Louise Burke, but if you’ve enjoyed the James River at any point, you owe her a debt of gratitude. Burke, 91, passed away March 9. Her obituary ran Saturday in the Times-Dispatch. Here’s a snippet:
 

Mrs. Burke, who died March 9 at 91 in a Henrico hospital, led successful efforts during the early 1970s to stop a proposed Richmond Metropolitan Authority expressway that would have overbuilt the most beautiful stretch of Riverside Drive — the city’s first scenic roadway. It also would have destroyed the area now comprising four riverside parks south of the James.