Henry_Ryto

The low-end apartments across Parks Avenue from the convention center.

At last week's RAC Strategic Planning meeting, we were talking about trying to accomodate the other proposals. It probably won't be in the current 19th Street housing areas, but there is a desire to get it done. Yes, will one of these deep-pocketed developers buy the Cuffee Apartments, please?

1. Portsmouth has asked for LRT accomodations in the planned second Midtown Tunnel tube. 2. Newport News is looking at a CNU-Mary Immaculate alignment. Yes, that would mean eventually going through The Third Crossing.

It's The Perfect Storm brewing: 1. Norfolk - wants VB in yesterday to help it's case for TEA-21 funds to cover Operations & Maintenance. 2. VB Oceanfront businesses - traditionally opposed to LRT, but want the Resort Area - Town Center connection. 3. Developers - the same people have always wanted to do TOD in VB. Does City Council act in March? They'll certainly wait until after the transit public meetings, but almost certainly won't act during the Budget process (April & first half of May). If not March, we'll be waiting until at least June.

I was in a meeting this morning with an engineer who has done previous work on light rail locally. The issue came up in the wake of The Virginian-Pravda's editorial on LRT. We got talking about the Navy base and ODU. I mentioned going to ODU from EVMS via Colley Ave. He told us that has been looked at. The issue you run into is the Right-of-Way: you'd have to widen at points, plus remove some on-street parking from Colley. It would produce some difficulties, but I think it's fewer than going up Hampton Blvd.

vdogg, it's on there this morning, though the paragraphs are respaced. As for the last line, I changed the verb from the common saying to get it through. Yes, VNS has a political agenda to push. However, I've known Editor Morris Rowe for nearly 8 years now, so I got it in. If anyone else wants to write, e-mail Moe at [email protected]

On Sunday afternoon I e-mailed to Virginia News Source a reply to Reid Greenmun's piece. Vdogg was one of those on the blind copy. Let's see if VNS has the decency to publish it - unedited.

You could...but you'd end up exceding the reccomended maximum of property in TIFs. Since the local debt portion will be only about $60 million, I don't see local debt being a real problem. With 20 year bonds, that's about $3 million per year.

In 1999, the proposal was for a regional gas tax to cover the local portion. (Sales tax was the 2002 referendum.) The Deaniac game here is to infer that HRT is cooking the numbers, hiding the true cost of light rail. They would then spring much more on us later. Of course, it's b.s. However, they're banking on paranoid people.

Thanks, vdogg. I was just about to e-mail a few officials on how quiet the Deaniacs (hardly "loyal" opposition) have been. Reid Greenmun, or as I've come to refer to him Green Reednut, is Transportation Chairman for the Virginia Beach Taxpayers Alliance. He's out on the looney right, calling light rail "Marxist" and mass transit "socialism". I served with him for three years (2002-2004) with the CCO; he stormed out of the CCO (trying to destroy it on the way out) when he couldn't turn it into a vehicle for his extreme right wing agenda. As for him calling for a referendum on purchasing the NS ROW: 1. Everyone in Virginia Beach politics now knows Reid's tactic of calling for a referendum on everything he opposes. It's not about popular consent; it's about trying to kill what he doesn't want. (That dog don't hunt.) 2. Note his opposition is to light rail - but he calls for a referendum on the ROW. To point out the obvious, it doesn't necessarily have to be LRT down the ROW. (However, at this point, it's the only system that makes sense.) As I posted after the Council vote, there's a consensus at the top on doing mass transit down the ROW, the only debate is which system. Therefore, Reid's tantrum will go nowhere. To try to answer his 10 questions myself: 1. Norfolk is $31m per mile; I would expect VB to be about $33m, given the need for feeder buses on a scale Norfolk didn't need. (For the most part, Norfolk is simply rerouting it's already good bus service.) 2. Look up Norfolk's figure, then count on slightly lower given the infrastructure that will already been in place. Norfolk is hoping to draw TEA-21 funds to cover O&M, which it will be more successful at if it can get VB on board. 3. HRT 4. The train cars will have about a 12 year life span, if memory serves me correct. Norfolk's are being paid for - in part - by the state. 5. About $500,000 per bus, with 1-2 buses per station. We can always apply for a Federal grant to cover it, as is being done for the first of the trolley replacements. 6. That's why you do the Study - DOH! 7. The City Council has yet to commission a DEIS, though I've being urging one. 8. Back to Meyera's 12/11 comments, the major at-grade crossings will be bridged. The chutzpah in that question is that Green Reednut, on Bacon's Rebellion, angrily attacked the idea of bridging roads to give transit the right of way. (Why does it have to be the other way around, Reid?) 9. Ridiculous. Does Green Reednut expect a large influx of people simply to ride light rail? If it's such a drawing card, it's a great idea, isn't it? 10. The 1999 figure was $8.57. As I stated in the Norfolk thread, I would expect lower given the more realistic nature of this proposal.

If they're interested in public transportation access for the skateboard park, why not on one of the outlying parking lots at Military Circle? You could walk to the DTC there; in addition, light rail will be coming nearby.

The Dome site falls within 65-70 decibels.

I make the media again. Soricelli spoke to me after my remarks to City Council; I e-mailed him a copy.

Actually the VBTA is full of Libertarians and Messnerists-Greenmunists. There are pro-mass transit Republicans: Thelma Drake got Norfolk LRT Federal funding, HRT VP of Public Affairs James Toscano is a former Bob McDonnell aide, and I'm a former member of the Virginia Beach Republican City Committee.

The streaming video is up: My Comments are under Public Hearing for the Norfolk Southern ROW. Passage By Council is under Consent Agenda.

The 1999 figure was $8.57, but it will be less this time as bells and whistles were eliminated for a "bare bones" project. I tried to look up the figure, but someone at HRT IT apparently forgot to move the EIS when they changed over websites. (I can't find it.) I just e-mailed HRT Staff to try to get it reposted. 1999 was over $40 million per mile for construction; this project will be just over $31 million per mile. Yes, mass transit is subsidized, but so are the roads and parking for your car.

Uh...VBTA = Virginia Beach Taxpayers Alliance. A Deaniac group. (You thinking of the VBDA?)

In an e-mail I sent to Council last Friday afternoon on the upcoming public meetings, I warned Council one of my two major concerns was that the VBTA would try to dominate the meetings.

"HRT rep"? No, vdogg, that was me. I was the only speaker at the Public Hearing. City Council passed it 10-0. (Bill DeSteph was absent.) Even Reba voted "Yes". The video should be up Wednesday evening-Thursday morning. Yes, you can watch me all over again. There were my remarks, then the Council remarks that you caught. The suprising thing: no Deaniacs showed up in opposition. I felt like a Zero pilot over Pearl Harbor, astonished that no American fighters were coming up. The VBTA Transportation Chairman calls LRT "Marxist" (I'm not joking!), yet none showed up tonight. Go figure. I knew it should pass, as there's a consensus at the top to do transit down the Norfolk Southern ROW. In my remarks, I laid down markers for the coming public meetings and Norfolk Southern negotiations. The debate left is which system, "LRT or BRT?"

Ignoring them.

The simulation video being shown at today's Groundbreaking was Option B. The problem with changes now is that under the FFGA, all changes require FTA approval. It's unlikely the FTA would approve anything that would drop ridership (i.e. Ingleside) or threaten to do so (i.e. moving away from NSU).

I haven't heard anything official, but I don't see how HRT could make major changes at this point.

Those will focus on construction issues (i.e. how it will impact the neighborhoods).

The entire thing runs 1-3. The rail spike driving and speeches will be at 1:30. The FFGA Signing Ceremony was Invitation Only because of the limited seating in the auditorium. However, the public is invited Saturday with plenty of space in the parking lot.

You can just show up; that's why it's being advertised. About 500 invitations were also sent, including one to me.