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What about the clean water situation in Charleston? Has that been solved? Do/Can people boat or fish in the area?
The water is as clean as it was before the spill. It was safe to be in a week or two after if happened (not that anyone would want that in January, mind you).
I wouldn't totally term Morgantown as sprawlly. Yes, a lot of commercial development is geared towards the outskirts of town, but the topography helps to facilitate density. When I say the urban core, I mean around High Street and the downtown campus. The Evansdale campus, while not downtown, is compact enough to where I wouldn't term it sprawl.
Huntington is kind of midwestern, yes. The city itself is flat, but that's because it's in a bottom by the Ohio River. It is bounded by hills/mountains to the south, the river to the north, and more hills and mountains in Ohio just past that. Topographically, it's similar to Charleston, with tons of recreation and wilderness right next door.
And as far as biking, it's plodding along in terms of growing the culture. Morgantown has a good bit, especially with the awesome rail trails, but riding in town can be dangerous or even just daunting, due to the hills, curves, and traffic. Commuting is easy in Huntington and Charleston as the cities are flat with undercapacity roads. Both cities are expanding bike/ped paths and routes (Huntington's Paul Ambrose Trail for Health, PATH, for instance), and Huntington actually has the only dedicated (though unprotected) bike lanes in the state on 4th Ave.
And you're always welcome in WV! If you check out Charleston, definitely check out Huntington, too. I was surprised by the quality of the town when I moved there, and I only continue to love it more.
Actually, one small error to point out here. Wheeling also has dedicated and unprotected bike lanes, and like Morgantown, Wheeling has an outstanding (although not as large) rail trail system that comprises something like 16 miles of outstanding and well developed trails.
Also, it is much more often the case than otherwise that a state's primary education center(s) are very different than it's political center/capital. The Columbus model is actually quite unusual. In PA, State College is some distance from Harrisburg, In Indiana IU is removed from Indianapolis, in Virginia, Richmond is some distance from Blacksburg and Charlotteville, and so forth. In cases of states with large capital cities, they usually have a commuter oriented school of some sort or an urban focus school located there, but not the major education focus for the state. In states with small capital cities, like ours, there is usually simply a capital city and another city with an educational focus. Many primary state universities are Land Grant schools that require large tracts of rural areas not far distant to meet their mission, and state capitals rarely provide such a scenario unless they are located in the Midwest.
Last edited by CTMountaineer; 09-07-2014 at 02:40 PM..
I'm surprised by how most of the available land in the Charleston area has already been built up or developed, even if some of this development is low-density. Kanawha City in particular is extremely cramped, and towns like Marmet, Quincy, and others in the upper Kanawha Valley are really constrained by geography in terms of where they can even expand. Even in the Sissonville area it really is fully developed, not in terms of huge subdivisions but there's not really large tracts of open land that can be easily built up.
I've read that Sheetz wants to come to Kanawha County but they can't find a large enough plot of flat land to build a store that size. Walmart is having trouble finding a piece of large flat land to build another store in this county which I think we really need one in northern Kanawha County. I wish there was a Walmart closer to Sissonville for sure. Even in Corridor G its amazing how much work had to be done to the landscape to facilitate all that development. Building newer subdivisions would require blasting more hills and of course Moderator cut: removing political commentary . The geography really increases driving distances for example there's no quick shortcut from Sissonville to Elkview without going down 77 and back up 79, and while the 77/79 interchange is right next to the airport, its below the mountain, and to get to the airport from Sissonville its an extra 15 minutes driving down to the city and up Greenbrier street from the capitol building.
The mountainous geography of Charleston is beautiful but is a great challenge to development and this has actually forced places like downtown, Kanawha City and South Charleston to become extremely dense. Even Cross Lanes and St. Albans don't seem to have lot of buildable flat land. I personally like low density semi-rural areas that are within a 25 minute drive to suburban style amenities like shopping centers, restaurants, movie theaters, etc. Moderator cut: more political rambling .
Huntington is MUCH more flat than Charleston and is one of the flattest places in West Virginia along with the area around Point Pleasant. These feel the most different from the rest of the state because of the geography. Huntington probably has more room to expand and the presence of Marshall University guarantees a constant economic base the way WVU helps Morgantown. Moderator cut: even more politics .
Last edited by mensaguy; 09-08-2014 at 04:50 AM..
Reason: WARNING: One more political comment WILL result in big infractions.
Actually, one small error to point out here. Wheeling also has dedicated and unprotected bike lanes, and like Morgantown, Wheeling has an outstanding (although not as large) rail trail system that comprises something like 16 miles of outstanding and well developed trails.
Also, it is much more often the case than otherwise that a state's primary education center(s) are very different than it's political center/capital. The Columbus model is actually quite unusual. In PA, State College is some distance from Harrisburg, In Indiana IU is removed from Indianapolis, in Virginia, Richmond is some distance from Blacksburg and Charlotteville, and so forth. In cases of states with large capital cities, they usually have a commuter oriented school of some sort or an urban focus school located there, but not the major education focus for the state. In states with small capital cities, like ours, there is usually simply a capital city and another city with an educational focus. Many primary state universities are Land Grant schools that require large tracts of rural areas not far distant to meet their mission, and state capitals rarely provide such a scenario unless they are located in the Midwest.
In at least half the states, the capital is the largest city and many capital cities like Annapolis, Harrisburg, Tallahassee, Carson City or Sacramento are very small and of America's largest cities only Atlanta, Phoenix, and Boston are state capitals. WV is one of the few states where the capital is also the largest city.
Okay technically Huntington's metro area is larger than Charleston's ever since Putnam County got transferred to the Huntington metro, but the populations stats from the Huntington metro also include areas in Ohio and Kentucky. I think the Charleston metro would still be larger if Ironton, Ashland and South Point were not counted toward Huntington. I think Charleston-Huntington should be a combined metro area like Dallas-Fort Worth and Morgantown, Fairmont, and Clarksburg can be combined into one metro especially given how close Fairmont is to Morgantown and now even Clarksburg with its technology industries is connected with the university and its research.
I'm not living there, but it seems like the city has enough beauty, and an interesting location, to grow and be way more than it currently is.
Maybe it's fine as is, but it seems quite small for the capital of a state. With it's natural resources in beauty, doesn't seem like it's just a matter of time, before it becomes 'discovered' much like an Austin, capital of Texas? Or Madison for Wisconsin?
Or is most of the momentum for that moving more towards Morgantown?
Many state capitals are small. All a state capital means is the legislature meets for 30-60 days here. A lot of state capitals like Annapolis, Harrisburg, Pierre, Bismarck, Olympia, Salem, Carson City, Jefferson City and Tallahassee are actually tiny. Most of America's major cities are not state capitals.
Pittsburgh has an issue with mountains and terrain. I have to say the natural environment is one of the reasons the city is one, if not the most, of the greenest in the country. Hills aren't necessarily a bad thing.
Hopefully more similar discoveries are made in this area. As important as coal is, if we are blessed with natural gas reserves in Kanawha County we should also place an emphasis on developing those as well.
Many state capitals are small. All a state capital means is the legislature meets for 30-60 days here. A lot of state capitals like Annapolis, Harrisburg, Pierre, Bismarck, Olympia, Salem, Carson City, Jefferson City and Tallahassee are actually tiny. Most of America's major cities are not state capitals.
I fully agree. In fact, in New York State, Albany is quite removed from New York City and is not even close to being in the same league size wise. Charleston's current population is as much a carry over from the area's once prominent role in the chemical industry, similar to Wheeling's position in the steel industry. The difference is state government has provided some insulation from population loss in Charleston's case, and the Caperton and Manchin administrations' emphasis on bureaucracy buildup have helped to provide funds and funnel money from the rest of the state there.
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