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Because those cities are either a lot larger or booming. When Parkersburg or Portsmouth start building on the waterfront, then Huntington will have a problem. Huntington has a lot bigger issues than building on the waterfront. Would it be nice and would bring more people downtown, absolutely. But let's bring in businesses, people, and grow, then the money will come to make nice improvements like that.
And for your follow-up question, money. That's all it is. You can't make tens of millions appear out of thin air. Something like the Scioto Greenway in Columbus was $44 million and that didn't include a 30 ft. floodwall demolition.
Huntington does have bigger problems, but from what I've seen over the last decade or so, they're not spending money to correct them either.
You hit on something with the last two sentences of your first paragraph. What comes first? Bringing people and business in first, or give them another reason to come? What's to attract people and businesses now? The shrinking population? The amount of citizens living below the poverty line? Something like a nice riverfront could be the catalyst to help with the quality of life in the city.
Or we can look at it from the other perspective. Perhaps the riverfront is a lost cause because its hard to see how and when the city will reverse the trend of losing population.
But let's bring in businesses, people, and grow, then the money will come to make nice improvements like that.
Yeah, we are not doing that either. It's all the exact same problem. Backwards, woe is me, closed off thinking. Zero drive, zero out of the box thinking, zero ingenuity...just excuses. Excuse after excuse for 100 years.
Quote:
Originally Posted by 304eer
Because those cities are either a lot larger or booming.
Yeah they are, and I wonder why...because someone tried.
You can turn things around, if you want to and have people smart enough to make it happen. Many cities have.
We in WV watch everyone else pass us by and instead of trying to get there ourselves...we make every excuse why we shouldn't try.
Huntington does have bigger problems, but from what I've seen over the last decade or so, they're not spending money to correct them either.
You hit on something with the last two sentences of your first paragraph. What comes first? Bringing people and business in first, or give them another reason to come? What's to attract people and businesses now? The shrinking population? The amount of citizens living below the poverty line? Something like a nice riverfront could be the catalyst to help with the quality of life in the city.
Or we can look at it from the other perspective. Perhaps the riverfront is a lost cause because its hard to see how and when the city will reverse the trend of losing population.
The riverfront would be a fantastic resource for the city, but it doesn't bring in jobs. Right now what I see happening is the city would spend tens of millions developing something nice, but without more business and people moving downtown, it would become a haven for homeless and drug users and ultimately making less people want to go down there. In my opinion, you have to do some other things around the city first to turn around the population and job loss. Then it makes the money and effort worth it to do things like redevelop the riverfront.
Yeah, we are not doing that either. It's all the exact same problem. Backwards, woe is me, closed off thinking. Zero drive, zero out of the box thinking, zero ingenuity...just excuses. Excuse after excuse for 100 years.
Yeah they are, and I wonder why...because someone tried.
You can turn things around, if you want to and have people smart enough to make it happen. Many cities have.
We in WV watch everyone else pass us by and instead of trying to get there ourselves...we make every excuse why we shouldn't try.
It's exactly what happened with Kinetic Park. Supposed to be this high tech hub and turned into some restaurants hotels and car dealerships because no one put in enough effort attracting high tech businesses.
It's exactly what happened with Kinetic Park. Supposed to be this high tech hub and turned into some restaurants hotels and car dealerships because no one put in enough effort attracting high tech businesses.
Boy you nailed it! I was actually just thinking about that.
Kinetic Park has failed on so many levels even beyond failing to attract the businesses the "Park" was designed for (which is obviously the biggest thing).
The following two things may sound petty but it signifies the thinking, inability to follow through, and the half ***** nature around here:
1. Unlandscaped "Park". They build a "park" (and yes I know it's not a park like Ritter park) but they barely landscape it. It still looks half done to a degree. I mean if you go to a city that has it together...that entire property would look pristine, inviting, landscaped, and first class. We build this high tech park and it looks wild and unkept. It's like when it opened it already looked neglected and still does to this day.
2. The TACO BELL debacle...not just that it is there (if that is not bad enough)...but that for 3-6 weeks if not more it got the "anchor" spot on the large new signage. They originally listed the businesses by proximity to the sign...so when the sign went up...Taco Bell got the first/ "anchor" type spot. LOL. You can't make this stuff up. The first business you list at your high tech "Kinetic Park" is...(drumroll)...Taco Bell. I guess they got enough complaints to take it off. But the point is, if your formula for listing businesses puts Taco Bell at the top of your "high tech" development's signage...you, ugh...change your formula. It's embarrassing.
Boy you nailed it! I was actually just thinking about that.
Kinetic Park has failed on so many levels even beyond failing to attract the businesses the "Park" was designed for (which is obviously the biggest thing).
The following two things may sound petty but it signifies the thinking, inability to follow through, and the half ***** nature around here:
1. Unlandscaped "Park". They build a "park" (and yes I know it's not a park like Ritter park) but they barely landscape it. It still looks half done to a degree. I mean if you go to a city that has it together...that entire property would look pristine, inviting, landscaped, and first class. We build this high tech park and it looks wild and unkept. It's like when it opened it already looked neglected and still does to this day.
2. The TACO BELL debacle...not just that it is there (if that is not bad enough)...but that for 3-6 weeks if not more it got the "anchor" spot on the large new signage. They originally listed the businesses by proximity to the sign...so when the sign went up...Taco Bell got the first/ "anchor" type spot. LOL. You can't make this stuff up. The first business you list at your high tech "Kinetic Park" is...(drumroll)...Taco Bell. I guess they got enough complaints to take it off. But the point is, if your formula for listing businesses puts Taco Bell at the top of your "high tech" development's signage...you, ugh...change your formula. It's embarrassing.
Exactly. Now imagine something similar happening to the riverfront. As much as I want that to get redeveloped, you gotta turn around the city in other areas first.
In a recent article in "The Waterways Journal Weekly" there was discussion of shipping ISC's on Tow Boat Barges. As Huntington is the busiest/largest Inland Port in the USA it would make sense for Huntington to try and accommodate this manner of "good's" transportation. It could create business goods and services unseen before in the town. Remember Columbus, Ohio, not far to the north, and Pittsburgh, PA, at the headwaters of the Ohio River, are both International Inland Ports now. Could it make sense and attract business for the Jewell City to become something like an International Inland Port also ? Perhaps a hub for multi-modal ISC shipping. (UPS & FedX in our area are both located near the Ohio River) And ship & receive these small ISC's ? But this would require some more development of infrastructure to achieve. Containers could be trucked to the Tri-state Airport and their contents shipped out via air freight to other further destinations thus further developing the airports usefulness.....and potentially creating jobs.
Article: "New Company Float Freight Expands Project, Container Service"
At the Mountwest Community Technical College Maritime school in Guyandotte, WV I once spoke with Capt John Whitley (when he was alive) about the potential for a multi-modal support industry in Huntington. He was quite optimistic about this and we were talking then about the day we would see ISC shipping on the Ohio. At that time there had been discussion of the proposed Bridge to be built at 7 Mile which would connect the Lawrence County Bypass with the Merritts Creek Bypass leading out to I 64. All that was missing was the link between Chesapeake, Ohio and Proctorville, Ohio in that bypass. Should that be finished and the Bridge built then there would be an effective "outer belt" around Ashland, KY....Ironton, Ohio, Proctorville, Ohio and Ona, WV.(with the Huntington Mall at Ona) Further the Industrial Park located on SR 52 in South Point would connect to the Port of South Point and the Greater Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce located there.
It only remains to be seen if there would be any action on this by the leadership of the area.
That would be something for the city to look into for sure. Anything to add to the economy and long term stability of the area.
I keep waiting to hear some kind of update on the riverfront development that was supposed to occur. Very little has happened with no updates that I’ve seen. I’m sure like almost everything else, the pandemic has pushed things back.
With the "Outer Belt" around the River Cities I mentioned above more industrial parks could be located near it such that those who don't want "industry" or viaducts/overpasses going thru their residential areas could be
relieved of those worries. Out on the outer belt much of that area would be outside the B&O Tax zones.
The CSX runs thru WV into KY along the Ohio River and the N&S Railroad crosses at Kenova, WV into South Point, Ohio. It would be realistic & easy enough with some development to load ISC's from barges to rail and truck. It wouldn't be difficult to ship any specialty goods via air freight from the Tri-State airport. Even the Lawrence County airport in Chesapeake could facilitate small specialty items as FedX has operated from that facility before. (It may serve the Maritime industry with small items needed quickly as it would be near the Port of South Point, Ohio)
The biggest problem I see is that "politicians" just don't have much knowledge or understanding of Industry & Logistics. (or for that matter the vision to see the resources they have at their disposal to bring something like this to fruition) And they are the ones we expect to make things like this happen when we elect them.
In a recent article in "The Waterways Journal Weekly" there was discussion of shipping ISC's on Tow Boat Barges. As Huntington is the busiest/largest Inland Port in the USA it would make sense for Huntington to try and accommodate this manner of "good's" transportation. It could create business goods and services unseen before in the town. Remember Columbus, Ohio, not far to the north, and Pittsburgh, PA, at the headwaters of the Ohio River, are both International Inland Ports now. Could it make sense and attract business for the Jewell City to become something like an International Inland Port also ? Perhaps a hub for multi-modal ISC shipping. (UPS & FedX in our area are both located near the Ohio River) And ship & receive these small ISC's ? But this would require some more development of infrastructure to achieve. Containers could be trucked to the Tri-state Airport and their contents shipped out via air freight to other further destinations thus further developing the airports usefulness.....and potentially creating jobs.
Article: "New Company Float Freight Expands Project, Container Service"
At the Mountwest Community Technical College Maritime school in Guyandotte, WV I once spoke with Capt John Whitley (when he was alive) about the potential for a multi-modal support industry in Huntington. He was quite optimistic about this and we were talking then about the day we would see ISC shipping on the Ohio. At that time there had been discussion of the proposed Bridge to be built at 7 Mile which would connect the Lawrence County Bypass with the Merritts Creek Bypass leading out to I 64. All that was missing was the link between Chesapeake, Ohio and Proctorville, Ohio in that bypass. Should that be finished and the Bridge built then there would be an effective "outer belt" around Ashland, KY....Ironton, Ohio, Proctorville, Ohio and Ona, WV.(with the Huntington Mall at Ona) Further the Industrial Park located on SR 52 in South Point would connect to the Port of South Point and the Greater Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce located there.
It only remains to be seen if there would be any action on this by the leadership of the area.
Hate to break it to you but Huntington lost that title. Tri-State is sitting about 4th right now on inland ports behind Mid-Ohio, WV-OH (newly recognized port); St. Louis; and Cincinnati. Both Huntington's port and Pittsburgh's have collapsed by 50% volume since 2010 due to the collapse of coal and the opening on the new port in Mid-WV therefore "stealing" stats from Pittsburgh and Tri-State
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