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Wow. This thread is depressing. I live in Downtown(ish) Pittsburgh and haven't been to Morgantown proper in years (went hiking at Cooper's Rock last year, though). My partner, who is from Missouri, recently asked me about Morgantown. I told him it was a college town like State College, PA (Penn State). I said I would take him down for a day-trip sometime soon. Sounds to me like it's not worth the drive to visit Downtown Morgantown if we'll just be aggressively accosted every other block by people wanting money. I could just stay in Pittsburgh for that.
These are the overlooked victims of the opioid epidemic. Right now nobody is talking about the opioid epidemic because fewer and fewer are people are dying from it now that naloxone (narcan) is so widely-available. Just because they're not dying, though, doesn't mean that the problem is solved. They just roam the streets all over this part of the country like zombies---high/strung-out, screaming at seemingly nothing, swearing at random passersby who deny them pocket change, etc. I don't know what the solution is, but "at least we have narcan so they don't die..." isn't good enough.
Should we still visit Downtown Morgantown, or should I just take him to Cooper's Rock?
Wow. This thread is depressing. I live in Downtown(ish) Pittsburgh and haven't been to Morgantown proper in years (went hiking at Cooper's Rock last year, though). My partner, who is from Missouri, recently asked me about Morgantown. I told him it was a college town like State College, PA (Penn State). I said I would take him down for a day-trip sometime soon. Sounds to me like it's not worth the drive to visit Downtown Morgantown if we'll just be aggressively accosted every other block by people wanting money. I could just stay in Pittsburgh for that.
These are the overlooked victims of the opioid epidemic. Right now nobody is talking about the opioid epidemic because fewer and fewer are people are dying from it now that naloxone (narcan) is so widely-available. Just because they're not dying, though, doesn't mean that the problem is solved. They just roam the streets all over this part of the country like zombies---high/strung-out, screaming at seemingly nothing, swearing at random passersby who deny them pocket change, etc. I don't know what the solution is, but "at least we have narcan so they don't die..." isn't good enough.
Should we still visit Downtown Morgantown, or should I just take him to Cooper's Rock?
If you like craft beer, Morgantown brewing is worth stopping at downtown and I've never had any issues around it. The waterfront area is nice and has a couple good restaurants to eat at (my favorite being Table 9). The WVU arboretum is very nice and I've never heard of anyone having issues over there.
It is almost like the city council is purposefully causing/willfully allowing the immediate downtown area to be neglected and rot so the land value downtown drops so it will be cheaper to buy up later for gentrification and new developments...
Very possible, Matt. It makes $ sense to the city & developers to make it appealing & then; make it become alot of loot for pocket of developers to buy up cheap & sell high!
This is all unbelievable for me to read. I used to live in the Pittsburgh, PA metro area for about 4.5 years and, owning a car at the time, decided to take a trip down to Morgantown, WV in perhaps 1982 or 1983 (having never been to West Virginia before and curious about this being a university town). I was expecting some commercial activity and whatnot to complement the university campus but assumed it would be rather low-key (i.e., not a booming city/university town like Ann Arbor, MI or Madison, WI or Boulder, CO and a multitude of other places around the USA that are full-blown cities/metro areas).
Well, I arrived and was driving into downtown Morgantown and, man-oh-man, was I surprised!! So very very very many good-looking retail establishments, restaurants, multiplex movie theatre(s), entertainment and recreational attractions, cultural sites, etc. etc. etc. etc. . . . covering block after block after block after block after block ad inifinitum! And a state-of-the-art "Morgantown Personal Rapid Transit (WVU PRT)" monorail system like you'd see in Disneyland or Disneyworld (I parked my car and rode the PRT around the entire campus). Morgantown very much impressed me as a booming, cosmopolitan, forward-thinking, and well-developed (i.e., not just a small-to-modest university town like I was expecting to encounter but a full-blown well-developed CITY in the true sense of the word). And WVU and its campus itself was quite impressive. And, with its medical school and its attached WVU Hospitals, Morgantown is served by a Level I Trama Center hospital (the best type of hospital to be served by).
I've told people over the decades (living on the East Coast after my 4.5 years in metro Pittsburgh, PA) how impressive Morgantown was. And here, in this thread, I am reading that many retail establshments, sites, and institutions are gone and that the city has been taken over by a massive population of the homeless/dispossessed and miscreants . . . resulting in greatly-reduced city amenities and attractions and notably affecting public safety and public cleanliness and upkeep. Like WOW!!! Who would've expected that this would come to be??!?!?!!!!!?!!????
Wow. This thread is depressing. I live in Downtown(ish) Pittsburgh and haven't been to Morgantown proper in years (went hiking at Cooper's Rock last year, though). My partner, who is from Missouri, recently asked me about Morgantown. I told him it was a college town like State College, PA (Penn State). I said I would take him down for a day-trip sometime soon. Sounds to me like it's not worth the drive to visit Downtown Morgantown if we'll just be aggressively accosted every other block by people wanting money. I could just stay in Pittsburgh for that.
These are the overlooked victims of the opioid epidemic. Right now nobody is talking about the opioid epidemic because fewer and fewer are people are dying from it now that naloxone (narcan) is so widely-available. Just because they're not dying, though, doesn't mean that the problem is solved. They just roam the streets all over this part of the country like zombies---high/strung-out, screaming at seemingly nothing, swearing at random passersby who deny them pocket change, etc. I don't know what the solution is, but "at least we have narcan so they don't die..." isn't good enough.
Should we still visit Downtown Morgantown, or should I just take him to Cooper's Rock?
Morgantown is much better than State College! That place is just the campus grounds and Beaver Stadium. Nothing else.
It is almost like the city council is purposefully causing/willfully allowing the immediate downtown area to be neglected and rot so the land value downtown drops so it will be cheaper to buy up later for gentrification and new developments...
Really hope this is the case, but I doubt the city council is that well-connected
To be honest, most development looks like it will move over to Westridge. That area probably won't be annexed by the city any time soon (there's a river separating it after all) and there's no weird $3 a week user fee or the other proposed tax increases (like 1% extra sales tax).
$3 doesn't sound like much, but the fact it already exists on the books means it can go up over time. How about $10 a week? What if you've one of these small business hot dog shops or something? Each employee you bring on needs to sell a lot of hot dogs to cover just the user fee after costs of doing business and other taxes.
It is disappointing however that most of the things popping up at Westridge right now are just preexisting businesses that are relocating over there. Maybe they ran the numbers and it's cheaper to be in Westridge, with the added bonus of being in a new building. I think the locations they used to be in Morgantown are still empty though, so hopefully someone moves into them before they stay vacant for too long.
Really hope this is the case, but I doubt the city council is that well-connected
To be honest, most development looks like it will move over to Westridge. That area probably won't be annexed by the city any time soon (there's a river separating it after all) and there's no weird $3 a week user fee or the other proposed tax increases (like 1% extra sales tax).
$3 doesn't sound like much, but the fact it already exists on the books means it can go up over time. How about $10 a week? What if you've one of these small business hot dog shops or something? Each employee you bring on needs to sell a lot of hot dogs to cover just the user fee after costs of doing business and other taxes.
It is disappointing however that most of the things popping up at Westridge right now are just preexisting businesses that are relocating over there. Maybe they ran the numbers and it's cheaper to be in Westridge, with the added bonus of being in a new building. I think the locations they used to be in Morgantown are still empty though, so hopefully someone moves into them before they stay vacant for too long.
If anyone is going to get Westridge it would be Westover or Granville. Morgantown is cut out of that deal. They'd have a larger tax base if they included Mylan but they Mylan threatened to leave if they ever got annexed.. you can see the enclave on the map of the land they want to annex.
West Ridge already voluntarily annexed itself into Westover (happened a couple months ago). So both West Ridge and Gateway are a part of Westover now, however they are exempt from some of the permits and signage regulations apparently.
Wow. This thread is depressing. I live in Downtown(ish) Pittsburgh and haven't been to Morgantown proper in years (went hiking at Cooper's Rock last year, though). My partner, who is from Missouri, recently asked me about Morgantown. I told him it was a college town like State College, PA (Penn State). I said I would take him down for a day-trip sometime soon. Sounds to me like it's not worth the drive to visit Downtown Morgantown if we'll just be aggressively accosted every other block by people wanting money. I could just stay in Pittsburgh for that.
These are the overlooked victims of the opioid epidemic. Right now nobody is talking about the opioid epidemic because fewer and fewer are people are dying from it now that naloxone (narcan) is so widely-available. Just because they're not dying, though, doesn't mean that the problem is solved. They just roam the streets all over this part of the country like zombies---high/strung-out, screaming at seemingly nothing, swearing at random passersby who deny them pocket change, etc. I don't know what the solution is, but "at least we have narcan so they don't die..." isn't good enough.
Should we still visit Downtown Morgantown, or should I just take him to Cooper's Rock?
I work downtown and the panhandling varies from day to day. You could walk a few blocks and two people approach you or some days it's none. I personally haven't had any get hostile when I say "no" Just be prepared to see more "odd" people than in previous years. You are talking about one day so it shouldn't be a big deal. You might enjoy a visit downtown and have no issue that day. Just remember how many people who are working in the retail stores, restaurants, law offices, banks, etc. who are normal everyday citizens. That's what I tell myself as I have to deal with it regularly. What is hurting the city is that for some people seeing it ONE time is enough not to come back.
There isn't the crime element yet as far as muggings, purse snatchings, etc. I have to leave my office late frequently and still feel ok walking to the parking garage by myself. I feel we are at a crossroads now. Citizens are getting fired up about the problem before we get to that point which is a good thing.
Even though no one is getting hurt/robbed my coworkers saw drug activity today at lunchtime. I won't sugarcoat it. Right on High street a few guys in a business doorway (they were open BTW) pulled out some foil, a spoon and proceeded to light it. Crack or heroin use right out in the open. It's unbelievable. But someone could walk by 15 minutes later and not see a thing. These could be dealers selling their product and not "homeless". No one knows. We just shake our heads as it's all being normalized. Although, some of the guys I work with don't accept it either and DO say something at times to their face and haven't had repercussions from the transients.
You mentioned the drug addicted "zombies" you see too. We have also said, "It looks like the Walking Dead out here sometimes." LOL Sorry if I sound like I am preaching, but this is how societies break down and we have lawlessness. There are more of us than there are of them and we need to be heard by our local gov't's. It's not fair that we have to change our behavior and not have freedom because the junkies are trying to take over.
I am not an expert on addiction, but one thing I have read and seen on TV is the first thing an addict needs to do to stay clean is stay away from other addicts. It is a huge mistake to allow them to loiter in groups and set up tent encampments. It's just exacerbating the problem IMO. I think this is why some of the cities that tolerate it are having an increase in problems.
This is all unbelievable for me to read. I used to live in the Pittsburgh, PA metro area for about 4.5 years and, owning a car at the time, decided to take a trip down to Morgantown, WV in perhaps 1982 or 1983 (having never been to West Virginia before and curious about this being a university town). I was expecting some commercial activity and whatnot to complement the university campus but assumed it would be rather low-key (i.e., not a booming city/university town like Ann Arbor, MI or Madison, WI or Boulder, CO and a multitude of other places around the USA that are full-blown cities/metro areas).
Well, I arrived and was driving into downtown Morgantown and, man-oh-man, was I surprised!! So very very very many good-looking retail establishments, restaurants, multiplex movie theatre(s), entertainment and recreational attractions, cultural sites, etc. etc. etc. etc. . . . covering block after block after block after block after block ad inifinitum! And a state-of-the-art "Morgantown Personal Rapid Transit (WVU PRT)" monorail system like you'd see in Disneyland or Disneyworld (I parked my car and rode the PRT around the entire campus). Morgantown very much impressed me as a booming, cosmopolitan, forward-thinking, and well-developed (i.e., not just a small-to-modest university town like I was expecting to encounter but a full-blown well-developed CITY in the true sense of the word). And WVU and its campus itself was quite impressive. And, with its medical school and its attached WVU Hospitals, Morgantown is served by a Level I Trama Center hospital (the best type of hospital to be served by).
I've told people over the decades (living on the East Coast after my 4.5 years in metro Pittsburgh, PA) how impressive Morgantown was. And here, in this thread, I am reading that many retail establshments, sites, and institutions are gone and that the city has been taken over by a massive population of the homeless/dispossessed and miscreants . . . resulting in greatly-reduced city amenities and attractions and notably affecting public safety and public cleanliness and upkeep. Like WOW!!! Who would've expected that this would come to be??!?!?!!!!!?!!????
Unbelievable! Truly unbelievable!
Thanks for all of the nice compliments about Morgantown back then. I started WVU in 1984 but had many college friends as a senior in HS in 1983. Who knows, we may have met. LOL
Many of us are trying to preserve a large part of what you described. Much is still here. Some things you mentioned (medical for one) are even getting better. The city makes attempts at nice "appearances" that are new. We have quaint gas look streetlights, they always plant flowers and put up hanging baskets, etc. It's just all of the other stuff we mentioned here overshadows it.
Some of us won't go down without a fight and see our city overrun with transients like this. I lived in D.C. for a while and took a huge pay cut to come back here as it is a SAFE city and has all of the amenities you described above. The people running it now aren't from here and couldn't care less if they turn it into the same cesspool they came from (and ironically left).
This is the official statement from our city manager about the panhandling problem beginning two years ago. It's a joke and explains how we got to where we are today - witnessing our formerly nice town turning into a big transient camp.
Many of us here were right in suspecting that he is telling the police to stand down. He said in 2017 he doesn't want to see a "police state" downtown and wants to approach the problem "holistically". WTH? These are strung out junkies we are dealing with that everyone knows can get violent. Now we have NO police during the day and their very presence without saying a word would be a deterrent. This is how we got to open drug use downtown in 2019! Funny how he doesn't mind the "police state" when the students get back. The police are on every corner then and we made national news for the police dept's aggressive actions recently.
Morgantown City Manager Paul Brake said if you were to talk to his city's merchant community, “they would say there absolutely is a problem.” Whether it rises to the point that council has to step in is another issue altogether.
“It's a difficult issue,” he said. “We have this conversation with our merchants, we can't become a police state where we go down the street and say, 'What are you doing here? What are your intentions?' I think we're going about it from a much more holistic perspective — by increasing investments and activity in the downtown area, making it more vibrant and having a greater number of people going to the downtown, the criminal element will seek other areas. That's my approach, anyway.”
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I started WVU in 1984 but had many college friends as a senior in HS in 1983. Who knows, we may have met. LOL
This is how we got to open drug use downtown in 2019! Funny how he doesn't mind the "police state" when the students get back. The police are on every corner then and we made national news for the police dept's aggressive actions recently. 
