We should combine our outdoor tourism interests
A trend of articles of late has suggested tourism offers significant economic impact in the Eastern Panhandle. There have also been articles about creating safe trails for bicyclists and hikers. I have a suggestion for combining these interests.
You provide a safe riding/walking path between the C&O Canal near Shepherdstown to the biking/walking path constructed along the new Route 9 and duplicate this path between Berkeley Springs and Hancock. You would detour touraist dollars off the path in Maryland and bring them into West Virginia.
Further along the ride you would return these folks to the C&O Canal. With well stationed brochures you can bring these folks to points of interest, restaurants and inns anywhere between Charles Town to Berkeley Springs.
The investment of building and maintaining these two paths and the brochure/map stations is minimal compared to the return on the investment by tourist dollars.
Look around you have new bicycle stores in Harpers Ferry, Martinsburg and Shepherdstown. You just had the state’s best turnout for a marathon with the Freedom Run. Sustain the tourist dollars and build these safe biking/hiking pathways.
Reuben Cohen
Shepherdstown