The Virginian-Pilot
©
NORFOLK
All the problems associated with building light rail in Charlotte, N.C., pale in comparison to the benefits already pouring in from the 1 -year-old system, the city ’s top business leader said.
Traffic congestion, cost overruns, schedule delays, a lawsuit and a recall referendum seem less significant now, Bob Morgan, president of the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce, told local leaders in Norfolk, where a similar line is planned.
“It’s amazing how quickly people forget the short-term nuisance of construction,” he said.
That’s because about $1.8 billion of new development has been announced along the rail line and ridership is about to shatter 20-year projections. Now, there’s a push to fast-track extensions.
“The face of Charlotte … will be totally different years from now because of our investment in transit,” Morgan said.
Morgan was in Norfolk on Thursday to address about 200 business, community and political leaders about light rail. Charlotte’s is the latest light-rail line to open in the United States, with a nine-mile route that runs from the downtown business district to the southern part of the city.
Norfolk is building a $232.1 million, 7.4-mile line from the medical complex on the west side, through downtown, to the Virginia Beach city line at Newtown Road.
The project has already run into cost overruns and construction delays even though trains won’t run until 2010. The most challenging part of construction is to begin next month, when work moves to the downtown core.
“There will be short-term issues to be dealt with,” Morgan said. “Construction is just a growing pain, but a growing pain is better than a dying pain.
“Over the long run, these things don’t matter. ”
Virginia Beach Mayor-elect Will Sessoms, who attended the luncheon, said he’s optimistic that the line will be extended into his city in the near future. A study next year will examine the costs and benefits.
“I believe the information will conclude light rail will be successful in Virginia Beach,” Sessoms said.
Charlotte’s Lynx light rail averages 16,000 passengers on weekdays, well over the 9,100 pr edicted for the first year of service, said Jean Leier, spokeswoman for the Charlotte Area Transit System .
Average ridership in 2025 was projected to be 18,100 per day, which Morgan predicts will be topped before the end of this year.
The transit system has already ordered more trains to meet the demand and is examining how to provide more spaces at park-and-ride lots.
Morgan said new mixed-use, transit-oriented development has sprung up along the line. There are numerous anecdotes about lifestyle changes, he said, including downtown workers living in condominiums or apartments near rail stations who have sold their cars and avoided insurance, gas and other costs while getting transit subsidies from their employers.
But the route to success was bumpy.
Morgan said the biggest mistake was that “we didn’t do a good-enough job selling the public during the construction phase.” As a result, some people lost confidence in the project.
The project came in about $65 million over the original $399 million budget and opened about six months late. The rising costs spurred a court battle with the contractor and a referendum to try to repeal the half-cent sales tax that funds light rail. More than 70 percent of Charlotte residents voted to support rail and keep the tax.
Morgan said there is now a growing movement to raise the tax to 1 cent so extensions can be built faster.
Debbie Messina, (757) 446-2588debbie.messina@pilotonline.com
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We agree that mass transit
is the way 2 go. Circumvention of the failure of "Massive Resistance" is why the Beach & Chesapeake were created. "White Flight", from Norfolk & Portsmouth, into the Beach & Chesapeake, caused the early explosion of growth. It's true some population growth came about due 2 base closings elsewhere, later on. However, if 1 researches the continued loss of population of Whites from early suburban areas of Norfolk & Portsmouth, 1 would see indicators that Whites were still fleeing the cities, well into the late '90s. Movement into the suburbs, nationwide, gained momentum at the end of WW11, as vets used the GI Bill 2 purchase homes. Cities that became less attractive 2 suburbanites are now becoming attractive, again, for the reasons people had moved 2 cities before the suburban explosion. Culture, conveniece, etc. Have a good 1.
I am very aware of the
I am very aware of the regions history. Virginia Beach and Chesapeake have become what they are due to the military, not white flight. The bulk of this areas people moved here inthe 80's after other bases were shut down and the people were sent here. In the 60's, 70's, and 80's suburbs became en vogue across the country. While part of this can be attributed to white flight most of these people moved outward for the chance to live the American dream of owning a home with a yard for the dog. The cities had were failing and becoming less attractive. Now to get back to the subject, we need trains. Regardless of the rhetoric on cost per user, the trains are cheaper than roads and other costs associated with cars.
Light Rail
Mass transit is the way to go. You have to start somewhere. When you look at the Washington DC METRO the area is not as big as it is because of luck. Having a rail system that carries nearly one million people a day helps out enormously. This is a system that spawns more businesses and growth. Not to mention helps relieve the traffic woes. When the system first started there was one line. The red line from Rhode Island avenue to Farragut North ( Only 4.6Miles). Now the system has 5 lines and over 106 miles combined. Now they are doing a project that will expand it all the way to Dulles Airport.(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Metro).
In order to make progress it takes time. Better to be in the game early than later. This is something that will benefit the Hampton Roads as a whole. The region needs to come together as whole city to be taken seriously by people who want to invest in the region. The region has a lot of potential. I feel that the tide is a good start if handled correctly.
asdfjkl;
To add onto AlanB's fact about Virginia Beach's density. You have to take into account almost half of the land is below the green line in pungo and blackwater, where development is restricted...so VB is actually a lot more dense many people realize. All of the Naysayers know they lost the fight and they are just mad, haha.
Actually, Norfolk'
had the nickname "Little New York", for decades. Reasons were, 1 larger city, with racial, ethnic & cultural diversity, "surrounded" by smaller cities, counties, suburbs & ex burbs. NYC'S mass transit system was largely in place, throughout the region, as city dwellers moved out to more remote areas of The Bronx, Queens & King counties. These lines, rather, subway, bus, or light rail, were more easily extended due to this fact, as migration moved out to Nassau & Suffolk counties. Mass transit, of many types, can & would work well in Norfolk & the entire Tidewater area. As more people move here from areas where people only drive if they're going out of town, more people will be ready to use mass transit to do much of their getting-around, in Tidewater.
Don, true we are not NYC
but by the time we decide we really need mass transit, it will be too late.
We put in water lines, sewer lines, roads all in anticipation of growth.
Mass transit is, for all intents and purposes, is another public utility and should be treated as such. Police, Fire Departments, Health Departments, water lines, sewage treatment are all necessary for a healthy and thriving community. Transportation is just as vital. We have to start somewhere and, with good planning, we can include Portsmouth, VB, the Navel Bases, Town Center, etc. But it will take decades, whether we start now, or 5 years from now when traffic is at a standstill.
Norfolk
was in line for a mass transit system, with a large bulk of the funding required, coming from the feds, over 30yrs ago. The leaders of the Beach were part of the reason that idea was never implemented into reality. The idea of a merger, of the entire Tidewater area, was often discussed, decades ago. Beach leaders were instrumental in blocking that idea's fruition. Monte Carlo style racing, the NFL, NBA, etc, all had genuine interest in this area, in the '60s & '70s. The same group of leaders help put those ideas out to pasture. We need to come into the 21st century. Easing our traffic flow, through light rail, bike lanes & trails, pedestrian friendly development, etc, is a start in helping us reach the goal of making this area an even better place to live & visit.
Len, Norfolk is not NYC
The distribution of jobs and bedrooms is very different, and not as favorable for mass transit.
Further, Norfolk has plenty of failed public/private development space for parking.
If 1 sees a pattern
in my comments, concerning the history of this area, then 1 sees actuality. Yes, 1 of the primary reasons that the small town of Va. Beach, was merged with Princess Anne, thereby creating the new "city" of Va. Beach, was to circumvent the failure of "Massive Resistance". The same is true of the merger of the small city of South Norfolk with Norfolk County, thereby creating the "city" of Chesapeake. "White Flight" occurred throughout the USA, for yrs. Are some of you really that uninformed on recent history? Henrico County"s population grew, due in large part to "White Flight" from Richmond. These are facts. They are offered within my comments simply as that, no more, no less. I lived in Manhattan, worked a high paying white collar job. I rode the sw daily, to work & play. Saw wealthy celebrities, using mass transit, daily.
Transit Oriented development
AH HA!, now we come to the real motivation. Charlotte spent $465 million for its toy train, but this is supposed to be OK because of $1.8 Billion in transit oriented development. So many fallacies in a single sentence.
First, the assumption is that this development would not have occurred without transit. That is false, the area was developing anyway, the transit availability at most determined the precise location of the development, and thus who would profit from it, but it did not create the need for growth. Second, the benefits did not accrue to those who footed the build. Taxpayers were forced to pay for it so a select few connected individuals could profit. In the private sector, this is called extortion.
Finally, the assumption is that this was the best use for that $465 million, that it could not have provided more public benefit if spent on something else,like roads and parking, or better, left in the hands of the taxpayers.