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CVB warns of heavy weekend crowds, asks county to coordinate traffic and safety
Summary
Visit Mountaineer Country CVB development director Joe Via told the Monongalia County Commission that multiple events this weekend could draw an estimated 6,500–7,000 visitors and urged coordination with police and WVU to manage traffic near Exit 155.
Joe Via, development director for Visit Mountaineer Country CVB, told the Monongalia County Commission on March 18 that tourism activity in the county is strong and several concurrent events could bring thousands of visitors this weekend. "Tourism is definitely alive and well in Mon County," Via said, citing the NCAA women's basketball tournament, WVU baseball, a PA YMCA state swim meet and numerous youth tournaments.
Via estimated the combined weekend attendance at about 6,500 to 7,000 people and said the PA YMCA meet alone involved nearly 1,200 athletes, which he estimated would translate to roughly 3,000 attendees for that event. He added that Jurassic Quest would draw about 3,000 people over several days. "Exit 155 and that side of town this weekend is going to be extremely busy," he said, and identified peak traffic windows around midday to late afternoon.
Why it matters: the cluster of large events overlapping in the same corridors creates concentrated traffic and public-safety demands on local intersections and emergency services. Commissioners asked whether police assistance would be posted at critical intersections; Via said event organizers and the CVB were coordinating with partners, and he discussed outreach to WVU about their traffic plans.
Via also said some events use the county's tourism advancement fund and offered a rough return-on-investment figure: "I think the return on investment is almost 25 to 1," he said, describing that as dollars leveraged by event-driven visitation and marketing exposure.
Commissioners and staff acknowledged the coordination challenge and suggested contacts between event organizers, 911 and law-enforcement partners to finalize traffic-control plans before the weekend. The county's administrator and relevant departments will continue outreach with WVU and event promoters ahead of the series of events.
The public comment concluded with praise for the marketing exposure Visit Mountaineer Country brings to Monongalia County and continued offers to help coordinate logistics for large regional competitions.
