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Nice posts elewis. You've obviously put a lot of thought into this and I admire your passion. You seem to truly have an interest in this state. Did you say you are moving to Huntington this year? If so, I hope you use your passion here and get involved. If you like discussions like this, you might really like the Chat-N-Chews Create Huntington does.
Just to point out, Tim... It takes years to build a highway. My hunch is you could start upgrading Route 2 tomorrow and the Cracker and plastic plants would be done long before it would be completed. This something that shouldn't be postponed, in my opinion.
CT I don't really understand your logic on issues such as highway construction. One minute you are condemning highways such as the new US 35 and Corridor H because you feel they are highways to nowhere that are a waste of tax payer dollars. The next minute you are calling for the upgrading of route 2. For one, (like you stated yourself) Ohio has adequate highway infrastructure just across the river that pretty much runs the length of the river. So upgrading route 2 would be nice, but it is certainly not a priority by any stretch of the imagination. US 35 is improving a road which is ranked one the busiest and most dangerous roads in the state, and Corridor H when finished will provide a large chuck of our state access to highway and will act as a gateway for tourism and other types of commerce. Both highway projects should be priority.
Sorry CT, but it is very obvious that the only highway and infrastructure projects that you care about are in areas that you are biased towards such as Morgantown and the Northern Panhandle. Don't be a hypocrite
Nice posts elewis. You've obviously put a lot of thought into this and I admire your passion. You seem to truly have an interest in this state. Did you say you are moving to Huntington this year? If so, I hope you use your passion here and get involved. If you like discussions like this, you might really like the Chat-N-Chews Create Huntington does.
Thanks, Tim! Yeah, I'm finishing up my Master's at WVU in May, getting married the end of that month, and then moving to Huntington right when we get back from the honeymoon. My then-wife will be starting medical school in August. I'm going to try and be as active in the community (through church and otherwise) as I can. In fact, the next book on my purchase list will be a history of Huntington so I can understand all that's brought the city to where it is now.
Here's a preliminary conceptual site development for Fort Boreman:
That would be great for the area but I won't hold my breath. For it to succeed though it does need to be more than just a ball field. That was part of the reason the earlier attempt at a team didn't work. There was nothing to distinguish it from going to the park for a regular high school game.
Thanks, Tim! Yeah, I'm finishing up my Master's at WVU in May, getting married the end of that month, and then moving to Huntington right when we get back from the honeymoon. My then-wife will be starting medical school in August. I'm going to try and be as active in the community (through church and otherwise) as I can. In fact, the next book on my purchase list will be a history of Huntington so I can understand all that's brought the city to where it is now.
For books, let me first recommend Huntington: An Illustrated History By James Casto. This book starts with the ideas that lead to Huntington being attractive as the railroad terminus it became and progresses into the 1980s/1990s. Casto is our quintessential local historian. I myself have the Marshall Edition which adds some additional info about Marshall.
Next, you might check out a The History and Rebirth of Downtown Huntington West Virginia by Dr. Joseph B. Touma. This book gives some history but really shows you what Touma has done for downtown over the last 15-20 years. Some of the transformations of the buildings are amazing. This book really shows how the "Urban Renewal" of the 1970s destroyed some wonderful architecture and thankfully only covered others up. The thought behind this movement was good but highly misplaced.
Here's a link for Create Huntington as well. Create Huntington They have been highly instrumental in empowering local people to make things happen. A great example is a brewery. Last year, people really started talking about the need for a brewery and more craft beer options. This resulted in the Rails and Ales Festival, The Tap House, The Huntington Ale House (working on its own brew) and the soon to open Peddler (Brewery). Now I'm not a beer drinker but that's pretty impressive to go from nothing to all of that in less than a year. The Chat-N-Chews are really good as well.
Congrats on graduating, marriage and moving. That's a lot in a shirt time frame. Let me know if you need anything in your move.
Nice research Elewis, that Fort Boreman site sort of reminds me of the site WVU chose for their new ballpark. (Proximity to the interstate and strip mall). Just my preference, I would still like to see the park either downtown, or at city park. (City Park could become a neighborhood park on a smaller scale but comparable to Wrigley Field, giving it a lot of charm).
I guess one advantage of Fort Boreman site you proposed is that it will likely draw from the metro area much better since it's right off the highways.
CT I don't really understand your logic on issues such as highway construction. One minute you are condemning highways such as the new US 35 and Corridor H because you feel they are highways to nowhere that are a waste of tax payer dollars. The next minute you are calling for the upgrading of route 2. For one, (like you stated yourself) Ohio has adequate highway infrastructure just across the river that pretty much runs the length of the river. So upgrading route 2 would be nice, but it is certainly not a priority by any stretch of the imagination. US 35 is improving a road which is ranked one the busiest and most dangerous roads in the state, and Corridor H when finished will provide a large chuck of our state access to highway and will act as a gateway for tourism and other types of commerce. Both highway projects should be priority.
Sorry CT, but it is very obvious that the only highway and infrastructure projects that you care about are in areas that you are biased towards such as Morgantown and the Northern Panhandle. Don't be a hypocrite
We all have biases. It's part of being human. I'm human. What are your biases? Biases have little to do with this though.
Right now, as a state, the only real positive developments we have going on outside of my Morgantown and the Eastern Panhandle are in the oil and gas fields. Those are REAL, actual developments taking place right before our eyes. We have amazing oil and gas resources being developed in the Northern Panhandle. We have a huge cracker facility being built between Chester, WV and Pittsburgh on the Ohio River that will bring major employment to that region and result in plastics manufacturing plants that will provide many thousands of jobs. We have another cracker being announced for Parkersburg, that will also bring about that result there and all along the Ohio River in areas between, and to a degree south of there.
Development is going to take place in a major way in the Ohio Valley. People living there on both sides of the river will benefit from this, but the facilities will be built where the best infrastructure is in place to support them. Right now, that is on the Ohio Side. West Virginians living in the upper and middle Ohio Valley will be working in those facilities, but the bulk of the taxes will be paid to Ohio unless West Virginia gets on the ball and upgrades infrastructure along the valley. WV 35 is more of a feel good project that will reduce the time needed to get to the Columbus Zoo, but it won't do much to help with the plastics development. WV 2 will do just that. Corridor H might (but that is not certain) create some low wage tourism jobs in rural parts of the state. There is a huge difference in potential here. Accusing me of bias, or of being a hypocrite does nothing to change that.
The 5 or 6 minutes saved in upgrading the remaining sections of WV 35 pale in comparison to the 45 minutes it takes to drive from one side of our 10 square mile city to the other during our peak traffic hours. We have clearly demonstrated infrastructure needs here. Additionally, the industrial developments are obviously going to be taking place in the Ohio Valley. It is just plain crazy to see most of that happening on the Ohio Side when improved infrastructure would make a lot of it happen on the eastern shore, and have the additional benefit of supporting the Intermodal facility in Wayne County. Go ahead and call me names if you wish. That seems to be your style, and I have a thick skin, but we would all be better served if you would debate the issue with facts supporting your counter position. Mine is working on Rt. 2 will create a whole lot more jobs than working on Rt. 35 in this day and age.
Nice analysis Elewis. We need more thinking like that from the leaders in this area, so that projects aren't just thrown up with little foresight or planning. If and when the cracker plans are confirmed and finalized, I look for development along Corridor D between downtown and the Ohio River to really take off, Fort Boreman and Neal Run especially. I think a lot of businesses are already wanting to locate here, but are waiting for things to come together before they commit. Neal Run would make the most sense for commercial development, including a Target and a good modern supermarket. And they wouldn't have to worry about competing with Walmart on this end of town, at least not yet!
Nice research Elewis, that Fort Boreman site sort of reminds me of the site WVU chose for their new ballpark. (Proximity to the interstate and strip mall). Just my preference, I would still like to see the park either downtown, or at city park. (City Park could become a neighborhood park on a smaller scale but comparable to Wrigley Field, giving it a lot of charm).
I guess one advantage of Fort Boreman site you proposed is that it will likely draw from the metro area much better since it's right off the highways.
The ballpark in Morgantown is being located there for two reasons. The biggest one is there simply is not enough space available any place closer to town to locate it there. The second is it in this day and age thinking is that locating a facility like this in a downtown area creates as many problems as it solves. In that location, it has very easy access and plenty of parking, plus it helps to stimulate development in a less developed area. It is, after all, a Monongalia County park, not a City of Morgantown park. The City of Morgantown has a ton of development and a lot of people squeezed into a relatively small geographic footprint (10 square miles). The space available just doesn't support a project such as this.
I'm not familiar with Fort Boreman, but it sounds like as Silk said a similar development to what we have at University Town Centre. If that's the case, it makes sense that it will be just fine there.
For those unfamiliar, Fort Boreman has nearly direct access to US 50, and Ft. Boreman Dr. is a decorative-lighted boulevard up to the park an overlook. There are three rather large areas of graded land out there with all utilities, I do believe. However, there is nothing out there but grass. It's unfortunate, but it does offer a sort of blank canvas to plan a quality commercial and recreational area with the ballpark as the crown jewel.
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