Portsmouth has it right. Looking years into the future, the city is pushing the Virginia Department of Transportation to include light rail in its plans for a new tube at the Midtown Tunnel.
With gas heading toward $4 or more a gallon, with bottlenecks still tightening at the water crossings, and with a growing appetite for smart growth, rail and public transportation should be part of any plan for every transportation project.
Indeed, the most startling fact about the Portsmouth effort - given that Norfolk and Hampton Roads Transit's new light rail line runs almost to the mouth of the tunnel - is that light rail wasn't already being considered. That it wasn't reinforces the fact that plans for transit, as smart and forward-thinking as they are, came in a disturbing isolation from the plans of the rest of the cities, or from the region itself.
"To be included in the project, however, Portsmouth leaders plan to quickly get buy-in from legislators and regional neighbors," wrote The Pilot's Jen McCaffery. "Portsmouth wants elected officials in Norfolk, Chesapeake, Suffolk and Isle of Wight to adopt a regional resolution supporting light rail through the Midtown Tunnel."
As much as a regional mass transit system deserves enthusiastic support from all of Hampton Roads, endorsing plans for the Midtown is only the first step, and may not even be the right one.
A light rail line through the Midtown would connect downtown Portsmouth and northern Suffolk to Norfolk's line, but what about the rest of the region? What about Virginia Beach? How does rail reach Chesapeake and points nearer the Downtown Tunnel? How does rail get across the James River? Should it?
Even for Norfolk, light rail raises as many questions as it settles between Newtown Road and the hospital complex. Does The Tide next go to the naval bases? To Old Dominion?
Some of the questions will be answered once the trains start rolling. Others won't be answered for years. In the meantime, the region as a whole must begin the task of planning for what a light rail system might look like beyond Norfolk's beginning.
Portsmouth's hopes - like the Norfolk line it builds on - are simply a start toward that wider regional conversation about where light rail goes from here.
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Re: Stinson
I looked at your map. Fairly ambitious; probably way too ambitious for even our children's lifetimes. Two disagreements:
1. Isle of Wight County, Surry County, and North Carolina have nowhere near the population density to make light rail work and qualify for Federal funding.
2. As for Virginia Beach, the Norfolk Southern Corridor will suffice for now. At some later point we may want to look at Newtown Road - Municipal Center via Princess Anne Road Corridor.
However, much of what you suggest is fairly sound.
Amazing Progress
It will be rather amazing having more ways to get around Hampton Roads other than by car. Taking a visit to Downtown Portsmouth for a movie or nice dinner will be an option. Hampton Roads is too car friendly and this is a step in the right direction.
Portsmouth: Leading the way in regional thinking?
Hard to believe. Portsmouth pushing forward.
And great to see.
I've given the thought of the future of light rail some thought. I believe the region must have a comprehensive light rail system to address what is going to become a more and more congested region. We can no longer rely on roads and cars. We must do something, or there will become a time when everything will come to a stand-still. If one believes that we can never become congested as, say, Washington, one needs only to look at the Washington of a quarter century ago. We are riding right behind Washington, and will continue to catch up unless we become regional in our thinking and begin to provide reliable, accessible, and comprehensive public transportation.
I was thinking last week about what I'd want a Hampton Roads light rail system to look like and crafted a musing which I've posted at Google Maps. Please take a look... and provide your feedback.
The map is at http://tinyurl.com/3be8sv.
I'd love your feedback...
And you can find my sometimes musings at http://tidewatermusings.peterstinson.com
Well, maybe
Considering the congestion at the Mid and Downtown tunnels, light rail connecting Portsmouth and Norfolk *might* be economically viable. However, because of the grade requirements of light rail, you will find some serious land use problems using a tunnel. A rail bridge might make more sense there.
But in any case, like any mass transit project, it should be financed entirely by bonds retired by fares, and no tax money or subsidy from fuel taxes. If it is economically viable, that will work, if not, the market has spoken and only fools thing they are smarter than the marketplace.
God, I Don't Believe It
A Virginian-Pravda editorial that I actually agree with 100%!
Virginia Beach will get onboard; if not in 2008, then 2009. In the interim, Virginia Beach needs to get improved bus service in place to qualify for Federal LRT funding.
Yes, the rail line needs to cross the James River. If not by The Third Crossing, then a rail bridge out of Portsmouth to Newport News.
Midtown Tunnel Tide
How does Light Rail reach Downtown Portsmouth from the Midtown Tunnel you ask? Easy. A High Street line (currently served by HRT Route 47) running from Churchland to Downtown Portsmouth. Currently, you can transfer buses at High St & Florida Ave. In addition, how about supporting (though I'm not sure how this would be done) a Downtown Portsmouth-Downtown Norfolk line. Maybe if Norfolk actually builds this proposed intermodal transportation center at Harbor Park (which includes light rail, bus, and high speed rail), why not have the Ferry goto this transportation center?