(Photo Illustration - MetroCreativeConnection - Editor's Notes by Christina Myer)

If higher gas prices have you considering alternate means of getting to work, maybe you’ve considered a bicycle. We’re not exactly the most bicycle-friendly region, but we’re getting better; and I stumbled across a Louisville Public Media piece this week that reminded me I could get from Parkersburg to almost Clarksburg for only the cost of whatever it took to fuel ME on a bike for six hours … if I wanted to.

The piece was originally a West Virginia Public Broadcasting story about the value of multi-use, long-distance trail projects such as the possible Parkersburg to Pittsburgh Corridor. In West Virginia, the major gaps are in Marion and Harrison counties, but improvements are being made all the time.

And communities are starting to talk about the benefits. According to WVPB, consulting firm owner Amy Camp is working with those in West Virginia and Pennsylvania who are trying to get more benefits from the trails.

“What we’re doing right now with that corridor is creating a master plan that will help us to plan for the future of the various trails and how they link together,” she said. “Our vision is for a place that has new thriving businesses and vibrant communities along this interconnected rail trail corridor.”

We’ve all been traveling and seen, in some faraway town, the businesses that have sprung up to serve those who use a trail, and draw in more guests. I’m guilty of thinking “Parkersburg should have something like this,” in more than one cute little town.

But we do. It’s just that the full vision for what our region’s trails could mean to our communities has not yet been realized.

For example, yes, there is hope that one day a person on foot, bicycle or horse could get from Parkersburg to Pittsburgh if they are determined enough. What if they wanted to head west? It still takes a little figuring to get to the Buckeye Trail or even the American Discovery Trail from here.

For that matter, there’s still a big leap from the North Bend Rail Trail to the Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail, which DOES intersect with the Appalachian Trail (and from there you can choose a direction and explore approximately 2,000 miles from Maine to Georgia … but that is strictly for hikers.

No, I’m not planning to abandon civilization and start wandering all over the country on trails (though I can’t say the thought hasn’t crossed my mind lately), but it would be nice to know that if I decided to, I could.

Though I’m (mostly) joking about these kinds of trails being a transportation option, they most certainly are important tourism, recreational, physical and mental health, and even educational assets.

“(Trail development) contributes to business attraction, resident attraction and retention,” Camp told WVPB. “When you do treat a trail as an asset, it helps to create more livable places.”

And, much as we love it, it is vital that we look for ways to make West Virginia more livable. We cannot afford to ignore ideas that might attract and retain residents.

If young people have decided it’s time to “take a hike,” we want them to know they can do so, right here at home.

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When the dust settled Wednesday, I had to wonder how many political operatives were in messed-around-and-found-out mode, scrambling to deal with the consequences of campaigns they did not actually believe would be successful. Maybe I’m wrong about that, but it’s hard to believe they expected the monumental upheaval they have wrought in Charleston. Time will tell whether that is good for West Virginia in the long run; but I’d be lying if I said it didn’t make me a little nervous.

Christina Myer is executive editor of The Parkersburg News and Sentinel. She can be reached via e-mail at cmyer@newsandsentinel.com.