The residents of the city of Huntington must now drive outside city limits to obtain goods and services that, at one time, could be obtained in downtown Huntington. A round-trip to the Huntington Mall, represents a 40-minute drive, and added fuel costs.
The citizens must find a way to make our downtown vibrant again. We have the population; we have the infrastructure; and we certainly have the history.
HuntingtonNews.Net hopes that our city will once again be a magnet for commerce.
As it stands now, we have no department stores left downtown. The selection of clothing downtown, as opposed to 25 years ago has shrunk from over 40 stores, including five department stores, to less than ten clothing stores.
We must all reassess how our city government has contributed to our downtown's current condition. Obviously, something has to change. For if we continue on the current course our downtown is on, it will only get worse.
We must come up with a plan to take advantage of Huntington's assets, i.e. fire department, police department, and all the services that come with a big city, and overcome our handicaps. By handicaps we mean high taxes, bureaucracy involved in starting a business in the city of Huntington, and the perception that downtown Huntington can no longer support a thriving business community.
Over the coming months, HuntingtonNews.Net will publish some ideas for downtown Huntington's renewal. We will also examine past mistakes, so hopefully we will not repeat them. An example of past mistakes was the destruction of thriving businesses to make way for the SuperBlock, over 20 years ago.
If you have any suggestions for this series, please don't hesitate to email the Editor .
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