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VAGATOR

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Posts posted by VAGATOR

  1. A few points....

    -Tolls are coming....its the only tax the state would be willing to raise that would allow these super projects in Hampton Roads and NOVA to be built

    -You can toll the bridge tunnel, just require people to have EZ Passes, not very complicated, especially in the year 2006

    -The Third Tunnel and not an enlarged HRBT will be built. As the Pinners Point project has showed, expanding the Port of Hampton Roads into the largest on the East Coast is the a major goal for the state.

    -The Third Tunnel is the best option to relieving if done right. That means I-64 has to be enlarged to 4 lanes(one HOV) to Williamsburg and 3 lanes to Richmond, and second midtown tunnel and an expanded 158 out of Suffolk to I-95 Richmond. This would allow Suffolk, Cheaspeake, and lower Virginia Beach to avoid 1-64 all together, thus moving a lot of traffic of that road.

    -NOVA's population has probably doubled in the last 15 years. Clearly the state wasn't ready or expected that occurance to happen. When that kind of growth happen, traffic is going to be terrible. Personally, I think the roads up here in pretty good shape, just too many damn cars.

  2. The main problems with major league sports in Hampton Roads is lack of corporate support and traffic. To make it work financially you need the support of Richmond's business community, and traffic is so bad coming down I-64 into downtown Norfolk, it wouldn't work at the present moment.

  3. All you can say is damn. The NRHA was pretty much the devil. Those open spaces, especially around the Memorial were pretty much 30 year parking lots until the mall was built. Sad, and Norfolk wasn't alone.

  4. Kidda off topic, but I just rode the finished Pinner's Point project a couple weeks ago. Very nice and smooth. I wish Norfolk, Portsmouth and the state would get together, slap a dollar or two toll on the tunnels so we could get a second midtown tunnel.

  5. Are most flights in the DC area much more than here?

    In my limited experience, I have found out unless you book a ticket at least a month ahead, if you are trying to fly back to Washington on the weekend, no matter the airport, it will cost you dearly unless you catch the red eye. Since I'm from Norfolk, and I refuse to catch the redeye, it is a lot cheaper to fly out of Norfolk International.

  6. Does anybody else find it odd when Frank Batten wants build a tower in downtown Norfolk, within 6 months, they are already laying the foundation. yet this Hilton project with Robert Johnson has been lagging for years? This tower maybe built, I'm not sure, but I can bet you the Norfolk good ole boys(Fraim, Moss, Decker, Wright) will be dictating this project, not Robert Johnson. Some things never change.

  7. Thanks for congratulating sprawl, Virginian-Pilot!

    <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

    Actually, The City of Suffolk has tried to limited most of its growth to the Northern Part of the city which is very close to Portsmouth and Western Branch, redevelop their downtown and limit sprawl in the Southern parts.

  8. Jump ship to NC, ha ha ha. Sorry to burst your bubble, but the Hampton Roads region would play third fiddle in N.C. just like it does in Virginia. Sure Richmond deserves some of the blame for the traffic problems through out the state, mainly due the total incompetence of VDOT and lack vision regarding seeing potential problems in the early 90s, especially in Hampton Roads, but let

  9. Thank goodness that they are not building some $350+ million stadium (we all know that the price would rise in the end).  They were idiots not to build a huge stadium with ODU and then figure out a way to have something going on there every night.

    It would be a real treat to spend all that money and not even get a team.  Which would probably happen knowing Norfolk's luck.

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    Could you imagine ODU playing in an another downtown arena maybe a third full every night??? ODU did what was best for herself, build a 8,000 seat on campus arena which has spearhead development across Hampton Blvd. With the new Sprint Center and Charlotte Arena costing around 250 million, an estimate of 230 million by the city is very reasonable. Norfolk was real unlucky with the Hornets, since the state decided give the team 10 million dollars a year in order to move.

  10. The solution for the traffic problems in NOVA and Hampton Roads is a simple case of picking your poison, an increase in sales tax or toll roads. Personally, I see all the new projects in the near future (second midtown tunnel, Greenbelt, Third Crossing, 460 improvements) will be toll roads.

  11. I made a comment about the Norfolk area having a 10 billion dollar stronger economy than Richmond, that was a document released by the federal govt. and hamptonroads.com had the article about it. Norfolk area had a 5 billion dollar stronger economy than Raleigh, NC. We had the fourth largest economy behind : Atlanta, Charlotte, Miami in the southeastern section of the country.

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    I find that statistic very hard to believe. Sorry, but Norfolk or Hampton Roads doesn

  12. Man, i dont think ive ever heard of a state capitol being bashed so badly from another part of the state. So Richmond neglects the transportation needs of the greater Norfolk area (VDOT Hampton Roads District). What about the rest of the state or is it just the Norfolk area? Why has it been that way and how long has it been going around?

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    Until the late 60's, Politics in Virginia was dominated by the rural elements in state government. That lead to a lot of neglect regarding the cities of Virginia. What made people upset is that during the high flying 80's, it seems that Richmond got a majority of the road projects when you could clearly see problems on the horizon for the fast growing regions in Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads. That leads to the situation today, a growing traffic crisis in NOVA and Hampton Roads(who can at the least afford it due to a weak job market.) VDOT is broke and there are no solutions being offered at the moment, which will probably end up on tolls. Honestly, if you have driven on the older highways in Richmond i.e. 295 and 95, they aren't in that good of shape.

  13. Yes, I wouldn't consider northern VA - too expensive - then I might as well live in DC. I like both Richmond and Norfolk. One thing I'd like to know is which metro has the stronger job market - Richmond or Norfolk?

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    Richmond, head of state government, which means numerous high paying jobs, Headquarters for a few 100 law firms and Federal District Court, Federal Reserve, numerous Fortune 500 companies.

    My parents currently live in Northern Suffolk, but I lived in Norfolk for 10 years. I am 5 hours short from graduating from the University of Florida in history. Next fall, I will probably take a job in DC at a lobbying firm.

  14. Personally, the most fright thing about the transportation needs of this region, the Greenbelt, Third Crossing, Second Midtown Tunnel, 460 improvement, widening of I-64 in from Newport News to Richmond, these projects are not luxuries but absolutely essential for the growth of this area and they will cost billions.

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