Making a case for light rail

In 1999, when Virginia Beach voters were deciding whether to pursue light rail, the concept had no champion at the Beach.

The City Council didn't campaign for it as a transportation strategy and land-use planning tool. Tourism officials didn't make the case for easing resort area traffic and parking headaches. Business leaders didn't push for a system that would help get their people around Hampton Roads more quickly.

The benefits of a line between downtown Norfolk, Norfolk Naval Station and the Oceanfront were lost on voters, and opponents preyed on their fears. The wording of the ballot question seemed to indicate a "yes" vote meant the City Council would finance and build the system. The wording aided the desired effect: light rail's defeat.

Eleven years later - and months away from the opening of Norfolk's 7.4-mile light rail line - some Virginia Beach leaders seem to have learned from their mistakes. As the Beach considers, again, whether to invest in its own 10.5-mile line, a coalition of business and community leaders has formed to promote light rail in the city.

Even before the environmental study is complete analyzing possible routes, costs, ridership numbers and how a transit system might be put together, representatives from environmental and planning groups, hotels, restaurants, real estate agencies, running and biking groups and members of Virginia Beach Vision are working on a marketing plan.

The group, Light Rail Now, realizes what the City Council apparently still hasn't: That without leadership on tough issues, cities typically punt. They keep the transportation system that was designed for the 1960s. They reject new ways of doing business in favor of the broken status quo.

But when civic leaders and local elected officials make a strong case for a major investment, when they give voters information, ask their opinions and listen, there's less animosity and more appreciation that the city has a bold plan that will help sustain it decades into the future.

Such was the case when Virginia Beach considered building new schools and a state-of-the-art convention center and preserving parks and open space.

For the next 18 months, city leaders must engage the public in a conversation about what city residents want in a transportation system. If light rail is the preference, what part should private industry play in building stations and other related facilities? If a multi-use trail can't be built along the rail line, are there viable alternatives for bikes and pedestrians?

If not light rail, then what?

Studies have shown that a quick, mass evacuation of the region during a major emergency is impossible. Already, the state is using its construction money to patch roads, not build them.

The environmental study of mass transit options in Virginia Beach, due next spring, will provide details on costs and development possibilities. If the city learned anything from the 1999 referendum, it should be that getting accurate information to the public and incorporating its feedback are critical in creating consensus on what Virginia Beach needs to thrive.

Light Rail Now is wisely beginning those conversations now.