Virginia Beach Light Rail and Transit

[Urbanlooker]

http://insidebiz.com/news/beach-council-members-envision-commuter-rail-system-branching-out-town-center

Sooo a light rail hub in town center?

[urbanvb]

I always envisioned TC has a hub. They city purchased the old Circuit City building a few years ago which was a great move. That site hopefully could accommodate a parking garage and a terminal from which other spokes of the line could begin. Town Center could be an area to be reckoned with if light rail really takes off.

Edited March 27, 2014 by urbanvb

[urbanvb]

Looks like the city is now looking at extending LR only to TC. Va Beach mayor is saying the TC location could be an area where riders change to another form of transportation such as Maglev. Oh my... 

 

http://hamptonroads.com/2014/03/va-beach-explore-braking-light-rail-town-center

Edited March 28, 2014 by urbanvb

[vdogg]

Looks like the city is now looking at extending LR only to TC. Va Beach mayor is saying the TC location could be an area where riders change to another form of transportation such as Maglev. Oh my... 

 

http://hamptonroads.com/2014/03/va-beach-explore-braking-light-rail-town-center

I'm losing faith. These people are idiots. And why does it take several more months and $500,000 more dollars to study a shorter option? Get over maglev already! I can honestly say that if they support this, none of them will be receiving my vote in the future.

[BFG]

Looks like the city is now looking at extending LR only to TC. Va Beach mayor is saying the TC location could be an area where riders change to another form of transportation such as Maglev. Oh my... 

 

http://hamptonroads.com/2014/03/va-beach-explore-braking-light-rail-town-center

Why must VB City Council insist on doing things differently? Everyone else wants the Tide coming to their city...VB will extend it far enough to shut everyone up, then go with Maglev? They're being difficult for the sake of being difficult.

[carolinaboy]

Looks like the city is now looking at extending LR only to TC. Va Beach mayor is saying the TC location could be an area where riders change to another form of transportation such as Maglev. Oh my... 

 

http://hamptonroads.com/2014/03/va-beach-explore-braking-light-rail-town-center

Dumb.

[VBIllini13]

Why must VB City Council insist on doing things differently? Everyone else wants the Tide coming to their city...VB will extend it far enough to shut everyone up, then go with Maglev? They're being difficult for the sake of being difficult.

 

I honestly think that Council is still in the honeymoon phase after being wooed by Maglev on their field trip to Atlanta. I wouldn't read too much into this and think that Maglev will be "just another alternative" in a couple of months.  I honestly think that Council will end up extending light rail to the Beach and then also have a couple of lines in addition to that jetting out from Town Center.

[HRVT]

I honestly think that Council is still in the honeymoon phase after being wooed by Maglev on their field trip to Atlanta. I wouldn't read too much into this and think that Maglev will be "just another alternative" in a couple of months.  I honestly think that Council will end up extending light rail to the Beach and then also have a couple of lines in addition to that jetting out from Town Center.

 

I really hope you're right. I really hope that they don't see a smaller pricetag for a "comparable product" and run with it. Maglev hasn't been viable anywhere yet and Virginia Beach can't afford to take that risk in the hopes of a smaller pricetag for a disconnected system.

 

I don't mind so much exploring the proposal of simply extending to TC for now, though I don't see the merits in waiting around for extension to the oceanfront. Especially with the potential arena looming, it would be necessary to get the LR there as quickly as possible. I do like the idea of TC becoming a potential hub for future light rail spokes. I think Harbor Park would be another solid hub choice for Norfolk, transporting folks to Greenbrier, and then either to TC or Harbor Park, and wherever they wish to go from there..

[urbanlife]

"Imagine Virginia Beach with a grand central station of sorts at Town Center, with commuter rail lines extending north to Little Creek, south to Chesapeake, east to the Oceanfront and west to an already-established light rail in Norfolk."

 

I do like this first paragraph.  For VB it would make sense for them to look at the TC being a transit hub for the city.  Getting the light rail to there and then planning additional routes in the city would be the way to go for VB.  Though how they would plan having several trains moving in and out of Pembroke is beyond me, that would require quite and engineering accomplishment to make a reality with the amount of traffic that area has.

[vdogg]

The stupid, it hurts. I mean, why?

http://hamptonroads.com/2014/04/following-one-or-both-tracks-virginia-beach

So...full steam ahead on this maglev bs because nothing can possibly go wrong using the same company that promised ODU maglev. Seriously, if we're gonna be doing stuff like this I'd rather not have it at all. So much for regional cooperation. :/

[varider]

An attempt at Maglev would be quite lame. The good news is that extension to TC will probably happen ASAP. How do you expect people in the VB area to transfer from Light rail to maglev? VB is not thinking about the rest of the region at all. If the city is serious about an arena, I think they need to be serious about a light rail system with a capacity to alleviate traffic. 

[vdogg]

Thank you Gov. Mcauliffe! This is way more than I was expecting and it is nice to see that sanity is prevailing on this maglev crap.

http://hamptonroads.com/2014/04/state-sends-draft-light-rail-offer-va-beach

The state is willing to pay up to half the cost of extending The Tide to Town Center, according to a draft offer provided to city officials last week.

But there’s a catch. The letter draws a line in the sand on magnetic levitation, or maglev, technology, saying the city could not place a maglev project on any of the routes being considered for traditional light rail if it wants money from the state.

[varider]

Things are starting to click around this region.

 

[BFG]

I like that Gov. McAuliffe is looking out more for this region's needs, and not just what Richmond or NoVA has going. Not to say prior governors have not done so, but he's realizing Hampton Roads is a pretty big market.

 

As for the stipulation, no argument from me. You have a proven system in Norfolk. Why stray from it?

[Urbanlooker]

I don't why the cities leaders can't work to further the region as whole. Let's hope one day that the state won't have to intervene in order for them to work together.

[vdogg]

I'm really disappointed in Sessoms stance on this one. From the updated article, it seems like he really wanted to pursue maglev. I cannot fathom why this is. He is an intelligent man and I would have expected him to at least investigate what happened down the street, and have a tiny bit of skepticism. I hope the state remains firm on this point and does not negotiate.

[BFG]

If VB didn't have a reason to reconsider maglev before, they should now...

 

Virginia still owed $7M after maglev failure

http://insidebiz.com/news/virginia-still-owed-7m-after-maglev-failure

 

From the article, emphasis mine:

 

The line at ODU was intended for students, but technical issues spoiled its debut. The infrastructure still exists, but maglev trains aren't running on it. While maglev operates in other countries, there are no maglev transit systems in the U.S.

 

It makes me wonder if VB simply wants to make history here and become the first U.S. city to do so, esp. since big brother Norfolk couldn't get the job done in the early-2000s. I'm only half-joking but seriously, I really hope they come to their senses on this one.

Edited April 22, 2014 by BFG

[vdogg]

If VB didn't have a reason to reconsider maglev before, they should now...

 

Virginia still owed $7M after maglev failure

http://insidebiz.com/news/virginia-still-owed-7m-after-maglev-failure

 

From the article, emphasis mine:

 

 

It makes me wonder if VB simply wants to make history here and become the first U.S. city to do so, esp. since big brother Norfolk couldn't get the job done in the early-2000s. I'm only half-joking but seriously, I really hope they come to their senses on this one.

It's not a joke, I think that's exactly what it is. VB city council acting like children.

[vdogg]

Great news for light rail.

http://hamptonroads.com/2014/04/official-beach-agrees-conditions-lightrail-grant

[zeppelin14]

If Virginia Pilot articles are going to be posted, please copy and paste the scropt here. I can't read it and am not going to subscribe and pay to read it.

[vdogg]

Well, the article has since been updated, and... I'm over this.

In an interview after his speech, Layne said the agreement means that magnetic levitation technology, or maglev, no longer is an option at the Beach.

“Virginia Beach is free to make any mistakes they want,” Layne said, “but not with state dollars.” He called maglev an “unproven technology.”

Councilman Jim Wood disputed the assertion that Beach officials have agreed to dropping maglev.

"That's completely not true," Wood said.

[HRVT]

It's almost as if Va Beach officials WANT to divide up the region. Oh wait.....

[vdogg]

You know what? I'm not done, haha. I'm so irritated right now I could throw something, need to vent. How stupid can you be, seriously? I have come to the conclusion that our city council has the collective IQ of a gnat, and that's being generous. Here comes the state, practically dragging bags of money into council chambers saying "please, take this cash off our hands", and you're going to stomp your feet over maglev? Really? This is what you choose to make your Alamo? When is another opportunity like this going to arrive? It reminds of little kids. They're not getting exactly what they want so now they're going to take their ball and go home, ridiculous. Let's be real here, there will be NO federal money. None. Not in the foreseeable future at least. If we don't take the states money where are we gonna get the cash to support this? I think it's time to start writing letters, someone needs to get through to these folks. If they mess this one up, I'm am voting against every single one of these people in the next election.

[mistermetaj]

You know what? I'm not done, haha. I'm so irritated right now I could throw something, need to vent. How stupid can you be, seriously? I have come to the conclusion that our city council has the collective IQ of a gnat, and that's being generous. Here comes the state, practically dragging bags of money into council chambers saying "please, take this cash off our hands", and you're going to stomp your feet over maglev? Really? This is what you choose to make your Alamo? When is another opportunity like this going to arrive? It reminds of little kids. They're not getting exactly what they want so now they're going to take their ball and go home, ridiculous. Let's be real here, there will be NO federal money. None. Not in the foreseeable future at least. If we don't take the states money where are we gonna get the cash to support this? I think it's time to start writing letters, someone needs to get through to these folks. If they mess this one up, I'm am voting against every single one of these people in the next election.

If maglev actually worked, I could swallow this decision. However, the cheap version being proposed to the VBCC is not tested on anything other than a straight track, doesnt move as fast as light rail, and failed once at ODU. This, like the Cordish proposal for Waterside, reeks of lobbying and bribery. This is not a prudent business decision by the city.

[jeffconn]

I have to wonder about Wood. What is his deal with AMT? Anybody who's lived in Hampton Roads since 1999 can see how lousy AMT are at doing Maglev. If they really want to build a Maglev line in VB, make it a north/south line from Town Center. That state money is only for extending the Tide to the east. Don't turn it down, morons!