Located on the banks of the Ohio River, the City of Huntington, West Virginia constructed floodwalls along the riverfront after a devastating flood in 1937. While effective, these floodwalls separated the city from this riverfront asset for decades. Re-establishing a direct connection with this natural resource was at the forefront of the design approach. The resulting master plan reconnects Huntington to the Ohio River, enhances citywide connectivity, and improves pedestrian access, flow, and enjoyment. The plan identifies opportunities to increase views and connection to the river, develops improvements to existing riverfront parks and recreational opportunities, and recommends methods to spur economic development. 

 

Two unique study areas were identified for this master plan: Downtown Huntington and Guyandotte Neighborhood. While specific recommendations for each area vary, opportunities to improve upon the brand, experience, connections, and destinations in each area are outlined. These include ways to increase the visual and physical permeability of the floodwalls, redesign existing riverfront parks, increase demand for private development, enhance the streetscapes, increase transit options, create multi-use trails, and develop unique destinations throughout greater Huntington. Additionally, opportunities for travel and recreation on the Ohio River are outlined, including a water taxi, transient boat slips, and river boat tour docks. The master plan also outlines the design, implementation and action plans necessary to transform Huntington into West Virginia’s Great Riverfront Destination.

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The Huntington Riverfront Master Plan was led, designed, produced, and managed by landscape architects. The team of landscape architects worked on all aspects of the project including establishing the vision, facilitating engagement, completing the master plan, conceptual design and recommendations, and setting up an implementation framework. The design team partnered with engineers and funding experts to ensure the feasibility of the recommendations and provide guidance to the City for moving forward with the implementation of the master plan.

 

This project celebrates the diversity of landscape architects as experts in many of the various aspects that create successful spaces and destinations. The initial analysis and subsequent recommendations encompass everything from park and urban design, economics, history, recreation, transportation, and tourism, showcasing the broad skill set of landscape architecture professionals.

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The Huntington Riverfront Master Plan incorporates many different aspects of landscape architecture, including destination park design, riverfront and shoreline design, transforming auto-centric streets into pedestrian friendly environments. This is accomplished using road diets, enhanced streetscapes and complete street concepts, transit and trail planning, and urban design concepts. The design team consisted of experts in each of these categories, working together to create a singular master plan that, once implemented, will transform the entire city of Huntington, not just aspects of a revitalized riverfront, into an urban and recreational hub for West Virginia and the surrounding region.