Morgantown, West Virginia

Downtown Morgantown

With Ann in Rhode Island on business (darn if she didn't have a conference at Johnson and Wales University's  museum of cooking - lucky) I decided to take a day trip to visit Morgantown, West Virginia, home of West Virginia University. It's one of the few remaining small college towns within an easy drive of State College that I haven't been to yet, and has a reputation as not only a great college town but also as a great outdoors town. With only 3  months remaining here in for us in central Pennsylvania, the clock was running out on my regional explorations. Sunny weather, a February heat wave, and I was off down I-99 again - my favorite freeway drive here and the one that always seems to lead to scenery and fun.

Seneca Glassworks Shops

Three and a half hours later I completed my scenic traverse of the heart of the Appalachians and dropped out of the Alleghenies into the Monongahela Valley, 70 miles upstream from Pittsburgh. I love that I can drive all that way in mountains with only the small scenic cities of Altoona and Cumberland interrupting the views - an they hardly slow the traffic at all.

I parked just south of downtown on the recently renovated waterfront, right next to the bike path. I was surprised to see several new 10 story office towers, a similar hotel, and a conference center there. Obviously good things are happening in Morgantown. It apparently is one of only 2 metro areas in the state experiencing growth. I can see why. The beautiful setting, the university, the proximity to all manner of outdoors activities, and the short drive to Pittsburgh all make it a great destination.

Waterfront Bike Path on the Mon

Not only are new buildings springing up on the waterfront, they have restored the old Seneca glass factory there too, offering antiques, dining, and bike sales and rentals right on the path. I stopped in at Wamsley Cycles to pick a bike path map and talked to Chip Wamsley, who proved a wonderful store of local information.

Decker's Creek and Bike Path

Turns out there are 10 miles of paved path along the Monongahela River and Decker's Creek, with 23 more of limestone dust extending 19 miles at 2% grade up Decker's Creek and to the Pennsylvania border at Point Marion. And the grade from Point Marion to Connelsville, PA on the Great Allegheny Passage trail from Pittsburgh to DC has recently been purchase and awaits development. What an awesome non-motorized system that will be.

WVU Main Campus

Oh, and the white water folks hit Decker's Creek in spring, plying its Class III to VI rapids. Oh, and the local rowing club actually has a recruiting kiosk on the waterfront inviting folks out to learn crew with the team. Oh, and I saw nearly a dozen mountain bikers and a dozen more road bikers out on a weekday morning riding the trail. There are many mountain bike trails within a 20 minute drive on the ridge and several IMBA epics within a 3 hour drive. And some of the best downhill and cross country skiing in the the mid-Atlantic available within 2 or so hours. Heck there were folks camping in dome tents across the river from the trail (in mid-February). This is a great outdoors town.

The downtown was vibrant, if not as particularly pretty as some similar small cities I've visited recently such as Cumberland.

Engineering Campus PRT station

Much of the vibrancy of the town comes from the university. A place with a famously good football team and a strong sports tradition. And a very interesting campus. The main campus is in downtown Morgantown, hemmed in by steep hills. They long ago had to expand to several nearby hill tops. This created a logistical nightmare. So with the help of a federal research funding they build the PRT (Personal Rapid Transit) system. Opened in 1975, it connects downtown, main campus, engineering campus, and medical campus with 5 stops along a concrete and steel elevated track. The uniqueness of it lies in the use of small, electric, rubber tired cars that take you to your chosen destination with no stops.

It's 8.56 miles eventually cost $130 million, because of political pressures for swift implementation and the novelty of the technology, but it definitely works. 94% of its riders are WVU students, and between classes the cars are packed. I found that it's a bit hard for tourists to use though. Cheap at $0.50, I went to the station only to find coin and ID-only turnstiles - and no change machines. So I hiked back up the hill to the library where a librarian kindly made change for me. Not that it mattered in the end - the coin turnstile ate my money and then refused to let me pass. The students were great and swiped me in with their cards. Obviously not a lot of maintenance goes into the coin turnstile. Then you wait a car. They come every few minutes, disgorge their riders, then pull forward, light their sign with the next destination, and take on a new set of riders. These are you mates to your destination - no stops. If it isn't your destination on the sign, wait for the next car, it won't be long. They strive to keep the wait for any destination to under 10 minutes. You press a button indicating where you're headed when you swipe in. I waited maybe 5 minutes for the ride back downtown.

Heating Plant for PRT Tracks

Interestingly, there are steam plants (as well as high voltage substations) all along the route. These generate the heat that melts the snow from the concrete roadway the cars run on, and were one of the big causes of the cost overruns. But they are one of the most attractive steam plants I've encountered.

So the car takes off, no driver, and we head downhill to town at 30 mph. A fairly steep grade and the car's jumping around a rocking back and forth a fair bit - pretty exciting. At intersections there are no switches like in train tracks. That's when you realize these things are steering themselves. No injuries in 35 years with 16,000 average daily riders. And the city credits it with eliminating the gridlock caused by university buses in the 1960's, allowing the fast growth they've experienced since 2000 (at one time the lowest unemployment in the country).

I had a fun time. If I'd known they'd already lost their snow along the river, I'd have brought my bike. A pair of mediocre meals were the only fly in the ointment. Maybe it was bad luck and I missed the best, but I had better luck with dining in Cumberland - a city this reminds me of. Cumberland has a more dramatic setting, lovely historic neighborhoods, the Potomac River, the historic railway, and the Great Allegheny Passage and B&O canal rail trail, and easy access to the mountains, but not the excitement of a college town or the outdoors vibe. Both are great towns, for similar and different reasons. Stop by if you're in the area.