Light rail extension OK'd, but process could take years

Transportation has changed each century. The 19th century brought us trains and steamships. The 20th century brought us cars and airplanes. So according to Reid, the 21st century will bring us...more of the 20th century?!?

No, oil production limits and emissions caps are going to change the way we do Transportation yet again. That is going to mean a much greater reliance on mass transit and rail.

to finally get our collective act together? Per Tata's bill---At least it's a start. Please remember, there are "centers" of employment in the region such as Norfolk's and Portsmouth's downtowns(real ones with courthouses and office buildings), shipyards, and if things go well we can soon begin planning spurs to ODU, the Naval Bases, the airport----we will never break our addiction (to oil) until we admit we have it!

I think I remember when the vote on this issue was done that the results were close. The no won by a very small margin. I know I voted yes and having lived in many large cities was shocked and appalled at the no votes. The only valid no reason I could see was the fear of it backing up current traffic more than it already is. Raising the rail solves that reason. The vote was done just about the same time the freight rail line was being deactivated. This line ran in the right direction and was open land already prepped for rail. The vote was perfectly times to take advantage of this land. I have yet to hear one good reason why it's a bad idea besides money.

Your stuck in the present and the past. It's called change. Just a hundred years ago horses were still considered ideal transportation. Trains are a good thng. It's just different from what you know.

This statement is the problem; "Housing and property costs in urban core areas will skyrocket as citizens will move closer to their place of employment." Once again - the majority of jobs in the Southside of Tidewater are not found in any urban center - they are service sector jobs that are spread all over the place. Light rail is far too expensive to replace roads and cars to serve the jobs in our region. If people move closer to their jobs they will still be living all over the region - because the service sector jobs are all over the region.

Anyone who say to trains has never seen what a great source of transportation they are. Yes, we need buses to take people to a light rail pick up point, which translates into very short bus rides. I try to use mass transit anytime it is convenient; so make sure it is convenient to as many as possible.

Daniel causey you see the economic impact gas prices truely have! There's a truth behind suburban sprawl, and that is that it was built upon the automobile! Which is fueled by GAS. Mass transportation will be to us now, what the interstate system was in the Eisenhower days. Light rail will work at gas prices reach to 5 dollars a gallon like it has in all Europe for many years now, do you see any sprawl there?? As for this area being a service sector area and spread out...look at the logic. Every area has to have an economic base to support any service sector jobs. We have the ports, the Navy bases, Downtown, universities, and tourism to name a few. Those working in these jobs will be forced to move closer to their jobs or change their job, which will in turn effect where the services are needed. All service sector jobs ALWAYS follow the economic base, be preparred to see a universal shift across America

Just like all the intelligent people said - As soon as The Tide is a go, Virginia beach will have to add to it. Congrats to Norfolk for FINALLY forcing Virginia Beach in to the 1980s, maybe one day they will catch completely up to the rest of the world.

You can build all the park and rides you want, but the choo-choo will only go down the tracks. Light rail is usless without an effective bus system to get riders to the stations. Based on HRT's record, they will never be able to figure that out. The MAX is a much better alternative since a bus is not stuck on tracks, but can go where the people are. Don't was money on silly trains, look to BRT or some alternative that is capable of going places where there are not train tracks.

There are plenty of people living in poverty in Va. Beach's city limits. The possibility of some poor riders visiting is not the reason Va. Beach leaders don't want light rail.
Ask the city leaders why the Barberton neighborhood lacked the bare essentials until the 80's. Or why the Burton Station neighborhood never did get city services. Or ask why Union Kempsville High was built with funds raised by parents of students wishing to attend high school close to home, instead of with public funds. Gee, just ask them why the city exist in the first place.

It is not that VB is behind Norfolk, it is that VB is afraid the under class would have an easier time getting out to Ocean Front. Norfolk is doing everything they can to get rid of the people living below the poverty line. Now, with energy the serious issue Wright's tourist line can actually be about public transit. No matter how ugly city politics are in both cities, there is now a priority on demand.

If all of the seven cities came together and used a little common sense, we all could benifit from light rail and save a lot of cents. Instead of playing around with projects such as the I-264 /lynnhaven interchange and the battlefield project, everyone should consider light rail in an elevated form that would run along our current interstates. Im sure that everyone employed at the naval base would be happy. There are not many people who even care about park and ride and this would be a great way to decrease traffic, save people money, and time. To those who oppose, please stop being stuck in your ways just because it would not benifit YOU ! YOU are not the only voices in Hampton Roads ...

Another steel elephant that we will be stuck with. Thanks Bob! Just as before, the only ones who will benefit from this folly is tourists going to and from the oceanfront to downtown Norfolk. It still won't do squat for traffic congestion as it will probably create more when the gates come down. What a waste!

As a resident of VB who works in downtown Norfolk, I can say definitively that there are plenty of VB residents who do want this light rail and WILL use it! I'm currently riding the HRT Max bus into work and would welcome a light rail system-provided there are more than two "Park and Rides" in the city.

I think it would make better sense to connect the light rail with the military installations and shipyards (Norfolk Naval and possibly Newport News). The biggest issue then will be parking near/around the train terminals.

Majority of VB residents do want light rail. Can't wait to use it to get to Towncenter from the beach and to go to Norfolk without thinking about anything but enjoying the ride.

The endless and thoughtless building in the suburbs will soon become a thing of the past. The long drives from point A to point B are taking their toll on the middle class. Communities in the future will be built upon some level of viable mass transportation. Housing and property costs in urban core areas will skyrocket as citizens will move closer to their place of employment. The opposite may be said of suburban areas. (Va. Beach and Chesapeake) In some suburban areas housing and property costs will decrease significantly as families will choose to move closer to the urban core where the jobs, mass transportation, and other amenities are located. Expect the housing vacancy rate in the suburbs to increase. In turn, the cost of housing in some suburban areas will drop. Again, the opposite will be realized in the urban core areas. With an influx of residents, urban core areas will experience

The sprawl of Va. Beach & Chesapeake, were caused primarily by White Flight, greedy developers & outright lies. The federal government was willing to pay the majority costs for light rail for Tidewater in the 70's. Va. Beach, through their misguided reasoning, shot the idea down. The NFL had genuine interest in placing a team in the Norfolk area in the late 60's & 70's. This time, Va. Beach demanded that the team have Va. Beach in their name, even though at that time, many people outside of Virgina had no idea of Va. Beach being anymore than a small resort town near Norfolk.
Some posters still have misinformation concerning method of payment for the light rail.
As Va. Beach allowed even more unattractive, poorly built sprawl, Norfolk warned the city leaders that Va. beach was straining the H2O system. Instead of working with Norfolk, Va. Beach dug out to Lake Gaston.

We need this light rail and we need it now! Let's push to get this done as soon as possible. Quite frankly I don't expect much out of Kaine, he's more concerned with rubbing the forehead of the Northern VA crowd. He sold us out long ago.

Daniel, nice vision of the urbanists dream of destroying the wonderful life we enjoy in our nice, non-urban neighborhoods. One huge flaw in your thinking however. Your premise is that somehow the urban centers are where all the jobs are. That might be true in some regions, but it is not true on the Southside of Tidewater. Our economy has migrated to a largely serivce sector employment base. The jobs are spread out everywhere, not located in any critical mass "urban center". Therefore you gleeful vision of the failed urban model doesn't really have any reality to back it up. The proposed Light Rail line doesn't connect any large residential ceters to any major employment centers. It is a Light Rail designed as an excuse for new mixed use urban development, but it doesn't offer Southside residents any useful way to get from their homes that are spread out to their jobs that are also spread out. If a retail workers does relocate closer to their job to reduce the cost of commute, their job is often located within a strip mall next to the a suburban neighborhood, not an urban center.

A big thanks for getting this bill out there. Now all we have to do is get the City Of Va Beach off their butts and start doing everything possible to make this a reality. Let's not forget spurs to the bases too...without them this thing is dead in the water.

So tata, being a member of the GA since 1984 is getting credit for this being the "best bill of his career"! A bill that has no funding, no timeline, no teeth, no mandate, and was thought to have no chance of passage. And on top of that it goes against the majority wishes of VB voters, and is being shoved down the VB throat like a dictatorship regime! Now thats a legacy I am sure he wants to be known for.

The comment that "citizens will move close to work" isn't all that doable. Have you looked at the cost of rentals and purchases of homes/condo's in downtown Norfolk? How many can afford that kind of money?

As a long term proponent of the extension of light rail, I guess I should applaud the introduction of this bill. Regretfully, I don't. It is a sham, a shrill joke, a diversion, and it actually appears from the interview for this article that the Delegate himself considers that to be the case. The intentional barrage of meaningless bills introduced at the last moment by the republican majority in the House reveals their utter disdain for the processes of government, which I have criticized when necessary, but which usually produce the correct result. The Legislature has certain functions, and so does the executive, and for a Delegate to put forth this kind of proposal with no due diligence, with no consensus nor consultation with the city, the HRTA, the HRPDC/MPO is an indication of the disdain of the General Assembly for the other branches and levels of government. They can't even attend to their own business, much less the business of others.

This is arguably the best bill produced in Del. Bob Tata’s career. This bill only provides a way forward to conduct a study concerning the feasibility of extending light rail to the Va. Beach oceanfront. Let me ask my fellow fellow citizens, do you think a light rail extension to the oceanfront is feasible? Gas is $4.00 plus, everyday in China there are an estimated 10,000 new cars on the road, similiar numbers can be spoken for India, there is geopolitical strife in the Middle East, (An Israeli strike on Iran will further drive up oil costs as the Iranians will cut off their supply to the Americans and only sell to the Europeans and others) oil speculators are driving the price of gas up on a daily basis, and there are no logical mass transportation alternatives in the Tidewater area. In light of all of this one thing is certain, SUBURBAN SPRAWL is coming to an end. The endless and thoughtless buil

Let's add six cents to the gas tax over the next six years. It's only pennies and nobody will even notice. Right?

jmo

So the big gub'mint elitist republicans want to run roughshod over the wishes of the voters of VB who voted against light rail. The republicans feel that the stupid citizens don't know enough to approve what the politicians want but the elitist republicans are willing to force the voters to pay for light rail against their wishes.

So Tata was sitting up there in richmond and realized that the GA had done nothing of value this session, so he decided to wipe his feet all over the Constitution and push this meaningless and tooth-less bill. I guess he needed something to put on his re-election signs. He gave up on real pressing state issues to create a sound-bite for November.

The norfolk choo-choo is so far in debt and over budget. They are looking anywhere, like to VB, for funding to bail them out. Before another tax dime is spent on a gamble, let's see the ROI. Bet the other cities will be gald they did not ride the tide of failure.

I support Tata's bill and am glad it passed. While it doesn't provide money, it does start the discussion. Well done by Mr. Tata! Now if you could just get the roads upgraded...

Thanks for the stunning revelation that designing and planning a project takes a while. And I thought you could just get an inflating train station at Walmart and drop it in.