As industries changed and transportation shifted to trucks and automobiles, Star City's riverfront and adjacent rail corridor saw less use. In 1983, concerned by the disappearance of America's rail network, the U.S. Congress created the Rail-banking Program, preserving rail corridors through interim trail use while reserving the ability to restore rail service if needed. By 1996, the Chessie x Seaboard Corridor, formerly FM&P, was abandoned, rail-banked, and paved for public use, and Star City became one stop on the 29-mile Mon River Rail-Trail, used by walkers, cyclists, runners, and cross-country skiers and managed by the Mon River Trails Conservancy. In 2015, the reclaimed Quality Glass site north of Star City became the Van Voorhis Trailhead for the Mon River Trail. Under Mayor Allen Sharp in 2005, citizens built the Tugboat Depot playground in Edith Barill Park from children's design ideas, while memorial trees and benches along this section of the Rail Trail were led by Morgantown North Rotary Club. The 2001 Star City Riverfront Revitalization Master Plan directed development of public amenities including Edith Barill Riverfront Park, a universally accessible fishing deck, and the John F. Kennedy and Veterans' Memorials. Between 2018 and 2021, under Mayor Herman Reid, Edith Barill Park was improved through restaining wood structures, replacing an old dock with a kayak and canoe launch, stabilizing and landscaping the riverbank, replacing the boat ramp, and adding a pavilion that now supports a weekly Farmers Market. These citizen-driven projects gave Star City's riverfront new life and purpose for public enjoyment.