Piedmont Triad

The Piedmont Triad (or simply the Triad) is a metropolitan region in the north-central part of the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is anchored by three cities: Greensboro, Winston-Salem, and High Point. These cities are close together and lie in the Piedmont geographical region of the United States, forming the Greensboro–Winston-Salem–High Point, NC Combined Statistical Area.

As of 2012, the Piedmont Triad had an estimated population of 1,611,243, making it the 33rd-largest combined statistical area in the United States. The area is connected by several Interstates such as Interstate 40, Interstate 85, I-73, and Interstate 74, and is served by Piedmont Triad International Airport.

Historically, the Piedmont Triad has been known as a major manufacturing and transportation hub in the southeastern United States. It is also an important center for education, healthcare, and culture. The region plays a significant role in the history of the American Civil Rights Movement.

Sometimes, the Piedmont Triad is confused with the Research Triangle, which is a nearby urban area including the cities of Raleigh, Durham, and the town of Chapel Hill. Both the Piedmont Triad and the Research Triangle are part of the Piedmont Crescent, a heavily urbanized area of North Carolina that also includes the city of Charlotte.

Counties

In 2003, the US Census Bureau changed how it looked at big city areas. This meant the old Greensboro–Winston-Salem–High Point area was split into five smaller areas—three big city areas and two smaller ones. Even with this change, the region still works together like one big area.

Municipalities

The name in italics is the county in which the city is located.

Primary cities

• Greensboro Guilford – 299,035
• Winston-Salem Forsyth – 249,545
• High Point Guilford, Forsyth, Davidson & Randolph – 114,059

Secondary cities over 10,000 in population

• Burlington Alamance & Guilford 55,481
• Thomasville Davidson 27,183
• Asheboro Randolph 27,156
• Kernersville Forsyth & Guilford 26,449
• Clemmons Forsyth 21,163
• Lexington Davidson – 19,632
• Eden Rockingham 15,527
• Reidsville Rockingham 14,520
• Graham Alamance 14,153
• Lewisville Forsyth 12,639
• Archdale Randolph & Guilford 11,415
• Mebane Alamance & Orange 11,393
• Mount Airy Surry 10,388
• Summerfield Guilford 10,232

Other municipalities under 10,000 in population

• Alamance Alamance 951
• Bermuda Run Davie 1,725
• Bethania Forsyth 328
• †Biscoe Montgomery 1,700
• Boonville Yadkin 1,222
• †Candor Montgomery 840
• Cooleemee Davie 960
• Danbury Stokes 189
• Denton Davidson 1,636
• Dobson Surry 1,586
• East Bend Yadkin 612
• Elkin Surry 4,001
• Elon Alamance 9,419
• Franklinville Randolph 1,164
• Gibsonville Guilford & Alamance 6,410
• Glen Raven Alamance 2,750
• Green Level Alamance 2,100
• Haw River Alamance 2,298
• Jamestown Guilford 3,382
• Jonesville Yadkin 2,285
• King Stokes & Forsyth 6,904
• Liberty Randolph 2,656
• Madison Rockingham 2,246
• Mayodan Rockingham 2,478
• Midway Davidson 4,783
• †Milton Caswell 166
• Mocksville Davie 5,051
• †Mount Gilead Montgomery 1,181
• Oak Ridge Guilford 6,185
• Ossipee Alamance 543
• Pilot Mountain Surry 1,477
• Pleasant Garden Guilford 4,489
• Ramseur Randolph 1,692
• Randleman Randolph 4,113
• Rural Hall Forsyth 2,937
• Saxapahaw Alamance 1,648
• Seagrove Randolph 228
• Sedalia Guilford 623
• Staley Randolph 393
• †Star Montgomery 876
• Stokesdale Guilford & Rockingham 5,047
• Stoneville Rockingham 1,056
• Swepsonville Alamance 1,154
• Tobaccoville Forsyth 2,441
• Trinity Randolph 6,614
• †Troy Montgomery 3,189
• Wallburg Davidson 3,047
• Walkertown Forsyth 4,675
• Walnut Cove Stokes 1,425
• Welcome Davidson 4,162
• Wentworth Rockingham 2,807
• Whitsett Guilford 590
• Yadkinville Yadkin 2,959
• †Yanceyville Caswell 2,039

† Indicates municipalities in Montgomery and Caswell (counties usually locally included as part of Piedmont Triad)

Education

The Piedmont Triad has many schools for children and adults. Local school districts such as Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools, Alamance-Burlington School System, Guilford County Schools, and others help students learn from elementary through high school. There are also special schools like Wesleyan Christian Academy and High Point Christian Academy.

The area is home to more than 20 colleges and universities, including Elon University, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and Wake Forest University. There are also museums such as the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art, Old Salem, and the North Carolina Zoo that help people learn about art, history, and nature.

Economy

The Piedmont Triad has a mixed economy with many different types of jobs and businesses.

The area is well-known for its big companies in textile making, tobacco, and furniture. Cities like Winston-Salem, Greensboro, and High Point have many factories and offices for these industries. Over time, some of these older factories have closed down, but new technology and science companies are moving in. For example, Winston-Salem has a special area called the Wake Forest Innovation Quarter where scientists and tech experts work together.

Many well-known brands have offices or stores in the Piedmont Triad, including Cook Out, Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, and Honda Aircraft Company. The region also has several large shopping centers like Four Seasons Town Centre in Greensboro and Hanes Mall in Winston-Salem.

Transportation

Primary highways

Further information: North Carolina Highway System

The Triad has many highways that help people travel around. There are four big highways called Interstates and many smaller ones that connect the cities.

Interstate highways

• I-40, the main road going east to west. It shares a part of its road with I-85 near Greensboro. - I-840 (Painter Boulevard), part of a big circle road around Greensboro that is still being built.
• I-73, the main road going north to south. Some parts of this road are still being built.
• I-74, going across the area from southeast to northwest. Some parts of this road are open, and more are being built. - I-274, a planned road for a beltway around Winston-Salem.
• I-85, connecting the area to Charlotte. It shares a part of its road with I-40 before splitting near Greensboro. - I-285, a road connecting Winston-Salem to Lexington that is being upgraded. - I-785, a road connecting Greensboro to Danville, Virginia that is still being developed.

US highways

• US 29 goes northeast to southwest and often follows the Interstates.
• US 52 is the main north to south road through Winston-Salem and is planned to be upgraded.
• US 64 goes east to west through the southern part of the Triad.
• US 70 goes east to west and follows I-85.
• US 158 goes northeast to southwest and ends near Mocksville.
• US 220 is the main north to south road through Greensboro.
• US 311 goes between Danville and Winston-Salem.
• US 421 enters from the southeast, joins I-85, and then follows other Interstates before leaving Greensboro.

Air

Piedmont Triad International Airport (GSO)

Mass transportation

The Piedmont Authority for Regional Transportation (PART) helps improve travel in the Triad. PART Express Bus offers fast trips from the airport to each major city. Connections Express goes to medical centers. PART also plans to add train services in the future.

Government

The Piedmont Triad has a group called the Piedmont Triad Regional Council (PTRC) to help take care of the area. This group started on July 1, 2011, when two smaller groups joined together. The PTRC includes representatives from 12 counties and 62 towns in the Triad region.

Protected areas

The Piedmont Triad has many special places set aside for nature and history, called protected areas. Some of these places are partly or fully within the region:

• Blue Ridge Parkway, partly in Surry and Wilkes counties
• Boone's Cave Park, Davidson County
• Deep River State Trail, partly in Guilford and Randolph counties
• Guilford Courthouse National Military Park, Guilford County
• Hanging Rock State Park, Stokes County
• High Rock Lake, Davidson and Rowan counties
• Haw River State Park, Guilford and Rockingham counties
• Mayo River State Park, Rockingham County
• Mountains-to-Sea Trail, partly in Alamance, Forsyth, Guilford, Stokes, Surry, and Wilkes counties
• Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail, partly in Surry and Wilkes counties
• Pilot Mountain State Park, Surry and Yadkin counties
• Uwharrie National Forest, Davidson, Montgomery and Randolph counties
• Wil-Cox Bridge at Yadkin River Park, Davidson County
• Yadkin River State Trail, partly in Davidson, Davie, Forsyth, Surry, Wilkes, and Yadkin counties

Media

Newspapers

Here are some important newspapers in the Piedmont Triad area and the counties they cover:

• Greensboro News & Record, Guilford County
• The Carolina Peacemaker, Guilford County
• Greensboro Latino, Guilford County
• Hola Noticias, The Triad
• Winston-Salem Journal, Forsyth County
• Burlington Times-News, Alamance County
• Mebane Enterprise, Alamance County
• Courier-Tribune, Randolph County
• Thomasville Times, Davidson County
• The Dispatch, Davidson County
• High Point Enterprise, High Point, Guilford County
• Archdale-Trinity News, Randolph County
• The Stokes News, Stokes County
• The Reidsville Review, Rockingham County
• The Tribune, Surry, Wilkes, and Yadkin counties
• Mount Airy News, Surry County
• Qué Pasa, The Triad
• YES! Weekly, Guilford County, Forsyth County
• Triad City Beat, Guilford County, Forsyth County
• The Jamestown News, Guilford County
• The Stokesdale News, Guilford County
• Northwest Observer, Guilford County

Other

• The Old Gold & Black, a free daily student newspaper at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem

Television stations

The Piedmont Triad area is part of the Greensboro/Winston-Salem/High Point television designated market area (DMA). Here are the stations that broadcast to this area:

• WFMY-TV, 2, CBS, Greensboro
• WGHP, 8, Fox, High Point
• WXII, 12, NBC, Winston-Salem
• Spectrum News, 14, Greensboro (Charter Communications)
• WGPX, 16, Ion, Burlington
• WCWG, 20, CW, Lexington
• WUNL-TV, 26, PBS/UNC-TV, Winston-Salem
• WLXI-TV, 43, TCT, Greensboro
• WXLV-TV, 45, ABC, Winston-Salem
• WGSR-LD, 47, Independent, Reidsville
• WMYV, 48, My, Greensboro

Radio

FM stations

• WFDD (88.5, News/Talk/Classical music, NPR affiliate), operated by Wake Forest University
• WBFJ-FM (89.3, Contemporary Christian)
• WNAA (90.1, Variety), operated by North Carolina A&T State University
• WSNC (90.5, Jazz), operated by Winston-Salem State University
• WQFS (90.9, Variety), operated by Guilford College
• WXRI (91.3, Southern gospel)
• WKRR (92.3, Classic rock)
• WPAW (93.1, Country music)
• WWLV (94.1, Contemporary Christian)
• WPTI (94.5, Talk radio)
• WHPE-FM (95.5, Christian talk)
• WQMG (97.1, urban Adult contemporary)
• WBRF (98.1, Classic Country and Bluegrass)
• WIST-FM (98.3, Regional Mexican)
• WSMW (98.7, Adult hits)
• WMAG (99.5, Adult contemporary)
• WMKS (100.3, Contemporary hit radio)
• WYMY (101.1, Regional Mexican)
• WJMH (102.1, Rhythmic contemporary)
• WUAG (103.1, Variety), operated by University of North Carolina at Greensboro
• WTQR (104.1, Country music)
• WFOZ-LP (105.1, Variety), operated by Forsyth Technical Community College
• WVBZ (105.5, Mainstream rock)
• WKZL (107.5, Top 40 Mainstream)

AM stations

• WSJS (600, sports)
• WZOO (700, classic hits)
• WPAQ (740, Americana and bluegrass)
• WBLO (790, Spanish adult contemporary)
• WTRU (830, Christian talk)
• WPIP (880, religious)
• WPCM (920, sports)
• WPET (950, religious)
• WTOB (980, classic hits)
• WSGH (1040, Spanish)
• WGOS (1070, Spanish religious)
• WKTE (1090, oldies)
• WMFR (1230, sports)
• WCOG (1320, oldies)
• WPOL (1340, gospel music)
• WLXN (1440, Southern gospel)
• WWBG (1470, oldies)
• WLOE (1940, news/talk)
• WSMX (1500, Contemporary Christian)
• WEAL (1510, gospel music)
• WDSL (1520, classic country, bluegrass, and gospel)
• WBFJ (1550, Christian talk)
• WYZD (1560, Christian)
• WYSR (1590, Spanish)