Hampton Roads Transportation

[mlsimons]

It would go around W. Ghent and then over several rail lines at the Lamberts point coal terminus, then, from what I've heard, it would extend down Powhatan Ave all the way to the current maglev line at ODU. It would then turn and proceed directly under the maglev right down the middle of ODU's campus (I would imagine this would be the slowest part of the trip, probably around 25mph). At Hampton Blvd the line would finally merge into the median between 46th and 47th street heading all the way up to NOB.

Its best to just look directly on maps.live.com to get the whole picture.

[Henry_Ryto]

O

By flyover i mean a bridge to get the line into the median so it does not have to cross any lanes of traffic.\

Dont forget we need an airport line as well. Though quick shuttles between millitary station and the airport can do for now.

What I've personally suggested is a modification of MAX Route 960. Currently the 960 runs 19th/Pacific(Oceanfront)-Silverleaf P & R - downtown Norfolk. As LRT would probably mean terminating the 960 at the Newtown Road Station, realign the 960 19th/Pacific-Silverleaf-Newtown-Airport. That means not only airport access from the terminus of the rail line, but two-stop premium express bus service from the Oceanfront.

[adctvmonkey]

New Virginia Rules Target Cul-de-Sacs

There was an interesting front-page Metro article in the Washington Post that talks about new state regulations trying to improve connectivity among neighborhoods to reduce the burden on main roads, improve fire and emergency responses, and basically, to save maintenance costs.

[jeffconn]

Jamestown ferry service vital to residents, officials say

VDOT is trying to save some bucks by reducing Jamestown-Scotland Ferry service from 24/7 to 16 hours a day, and reducing the number of ferries. That would be the equivalent to shutting down a stretch of I-64 for 8 hours every day, and closing one lane each way during the open hours.

[url=http://www.tidewaternews.com/news/2009/mar/25/vdot-shouldnt-consider-cutting-vital-ferry-service/]VDOT shouldn

[adctvmonkey]

I used to occasionally take the ferry when going on rural retreats in Surry. It takes about 40-50 minutes from Williamsburg to Surry, but going all the way around to the James River Bridge adds 30 minutes, not to mention almost 5x the distance. I would say it's essential to the well-being of Surry residents.

Edited March 28, 2009 by adctvmonkey

[jeffconn]

To answer my own question, I found this post by Russell Manning on my Bloglines today:

VDOT: Jamestown-Scotland Ferry

Essentially, getting rid of the Jamestown-Scotland Ferry would add about 50 miles and at least 50 minutes to a Surry-Williamsburg trip. Imagine having to take the following route to get from Lynnhaven Mall to downtown Norfolk.

Needless to say, getting rid of the ferry will be a huge hardship to the people of Surry County. It should stay as is.

Edited March 28, 2009 by jeffconn

[varider]

Hey guys after spending a few days in DC I really saw the benefits of MetroBus and MetroRail to the DC area. I was thinking... Everything DC has we have in our "Transit Vision Plan For Hampton Roads." Light Rail from Williamsburg to Virginia Beach... Commuter Rail bringing people from the suburbs into the Urban Job Centers, Express Busses running frequently. I really think that this area would truly become a MAJOR Metropolitan Area if everything in the Plan comes to fruition. The TOD would be unreal. Urban developments would pop up from Suffolk to Chesapeake, to Williamsburg. It would be amazing.Businesses would flock to Hampton Roads. Norfolk would explode with developments in St. Pauls Quadrant, Town Center would explode, Even Downtown Newport News would come up. But the big question is... will of this really come to fruition?! Will the funding be available?! Will NIMBYS keep the train away?! HR could have one of the top 5 mass transit systems in the country. What are your guys thoughts..

[mlsimons]

Hey guys after spending a few days in DC I really saw the benefits of MetroBus and MetroRail to the DC area. I was thinking... Everything DC has we have in our "Transit Vision Plan For Hampton Roads." Light Rail from Williamsburg to Virginia Beach... Commuter Rail bringing people from the suburbs into the Urban Job Centers, Express Busses running frequently. I really think that this area would truly become a MAJOR Metropolitan Area if everything in the Plan comes to fruition. The TOD would be unreal. Urban developments would pop up from Suffolk to Chesapeake, to Williamsburg. It would be amazing.Businesses would flock to Hampton Roads. Norfolk would explode with developments in St. Pauls Quadrant, Town Center would explode, Even Downtown Newport News would come up. But the big question is... will of this really come to fruition?! Will the funding be available?! Will NIMBYS keep the train away?! HR could have one of the top 5 mass transit systems in the country. What are your guys thoughts..

I completely agree and want to see it happen too. I am however concerned a little on the macro scale. DC has always had a stronger economy than our own, with higher paying jobs. I'm worried that even with the Craney Island expansion that HR will not have enough export employment providing that strong economic base. Does anyone else see this as a problem?

[varider]

I think that our region actually could support a metro like transit system. You guys saw that the region is #1 for jobs centered in the center of the city. Now I know that's not saying it has the most jobs but at least all of our jobs are centrally located. Downtown Norfolk has tons of jobs and once Wells Fargo and Westin are done that will most likely increase by about 2000 more jobs... Town Center will have a lot of jobs by 2015.. and everyone knows the oceanfront has a lot of jobs during the summer... We have the Naval Base which is the regions largest supplier, I could go on and on. With Craney Island expansion the population will probably be nearing 2 million if not surpassing that. I can really see light rail, commuter rail, and streetcars running in every city in Hampton Roads. It will just take hard work, good representatives, and some good old stimulus money. Just kidding about that.

[varider]

looks as if the "Transit Vision Plan" has been finalized.

link #1

link#2

CAUTION:LARGE PDF FILES

The Plan looks great guys. This is a monumental step for HR. At least we have a comprehensive and quite detailed plan on the table. All we need now is funding. Forget referendums.

Edited April 16, 2009 by varider

[414Matt]

looks as if the "Transit Vision Plan" has been finalized.

link #1

link#2

CAUTION:LARGE PDF FILES

The Plan looks great guys. This is a monumental step for HR. At least we have a comprehensive and quite detailed plan on the table. All we need now is funding. Forget referendums.

I only skimmed this, but there doesn't seem to be much in the plan for Va Beach except for light rail to the oceanfront.

[lammius]

I only skimmed this, but there doesn't seem to be much in the plan for Va Beach except for light rail to the oceanfront.

I skimmed too, but picked up on a mention of the Shore Drive corridor, and plans to do an alternatives analysis in the future to determine the best mode.

I'm surprised there isn't more in Norfolk, actually. I'd love a Granby streetcar from downtown up through eastern Ghent, the Zoo, Riverview, and Wards Corner if that place is ever redeveloped.

[varider]

I think they did the plan great. Not too much, not too little. This plan is actually quite feasible. I can only imagine the good this plan will do for redevelopment in run down neighborhoods. The TOD will truly be incredible. That of the D.C. area. && you guys must remember Norfolk is already served by many busses. The plan recommended increasing frequency and stops. That in itself will be great for connections to trains, ferries, ect.

Edited April 16, 2009 by varider

[varider]

everyone take this survey: http://survey.constantcontact.com/survey/a...dvncy/questions

The HRMPO is in the process of creating the 2034 LRP for Transportation. I think we need to encourage them to find funding for the Transit Vision Plan.

[varider]

http://hamptonroads.com/2009/04/feds-void-...-plan-toll-road

The Federal Highway Administration has revoked approval of an important document required for the Southeastern Parkway, a 21-mile toll highway that would link Virginia Beach and Chesapeake.

Last year, the highway administration gave its "prior concurrence" on a preliminary environmental impact statement for the parkway. The decision to revoke it came after further discussions with the Environmental Protection Agency and the Corps of Engineers.

"It's something that happens in extreme cases," Doug Hecox of the highway administration said. "The circumstances have warranted another look. Not every project survives the environmental review process."

The federal action is the latest challenge for the road, which has been talked about since 1986 and could cost upward of $2 billion. A plan to compensate for the wetlands, habitat and stream impacts could cost $127 million alone, documents show. The project also has no funding. The proposed source for the cash disappeared when a regional transportation authority was struck down last year by the Virginia Supreme Court.

Virginia Beach City Manager Jim Spore called the reversal a "major setback" to the project, which officials have been planning for more than 20 years to relieve Interstate 64 traffic and provide a more direct route between two of the commonwealth's largest cities.

Virginia Beach and Chesapeake sent representatives to Washington this week to meet with highway administration officials who were concerned that federal environmental agencies won't sign off on a project that could destroy 170 acres of wetlands.

Scratch the Southeastern Parkway && use that 2 billion dollars to fund 50 miles of light rail. Who's with me?

Edited April 19, 2009 by varider

[MissySchmidt]

looks as if the "Transit Vision Plan" has been finalized.

link #1

link#2

CAUTION:LARGE PDF FILES

The Plan looks great guys. This is a monumental step for HR. At least we have a comprehensive and quite detailed plan on the table. All we need now is funding. Forget referendums.

This is not the final TVP. There is a marketing phase to come, complete with more opportunities for public feedback, before the plan is finalized. (This comes directly from the Transportation Engineers at the Hampton Roads Transportation Planning Organization-HRTPO, formerly known as the Metropolitan Planning Organization-HRMPO.)

Also, the MPO board voted affirmative to initial approval (final action coming next month, after public comment) of MPO by-laws changes including changing HRMPO to HRTPO. The survey that is circulating: http://www.hrmpo.org/keephamptonroadsmoving/index.asp comes from Andy Pickard who took over HRTPO's long-range planning section. Both the survey and the TVP are inputs to the 2034 LRP which Andy is developing.

Be sure to take the survey and be heard!

[varider]

Hmm.. So the 2034 LRP is the final report? && will it include sources of funding?

[rusthebuss]

Hmm.. So the 2034 LRP is the final report? && will it include sources of funding?

probably not....the are just setting feasible goals for the future

[varider]

probably not....the are just setting feasible goals for the future

oh okay.

& does anybody know how we are going to get funding for all of this light rail expansion? If it were up to me I would set up a gas tax fund specifically for LR, but as someone said earlier Hampton Roads doesn't do too well handling taxpayers money appropriately.I know the federal government has plenty of funding programs such as "new starts" and such but do you think the feds will fund our whole regional transportation system? that would take forever, I think we have to some of it on our own. Stimulus money isn't going to be around forever.

[MissySchmidt]

probably not....the are just setting feasible goals for the future

Just received word from the Principal Transportation Engineer (Andy) who is working on the 2034LRP; he says they WILL have sources of funding included.

[mlsimons]

Im writing a comprehensive plan review for Norfolk's 1992 general plan...I though you guys might find this part interesting.

"There has additionally been other goals directly related to traffic and mobility that I found interesting. The topic of regionalism was discussed in the general plan as a transportation funding initiative. The 1992 opinion at the time stated,

Edited April 20, 2009 by mlsimons

[cpeakesqr]

Im writing a comprehensive plan review for Norfolk's 1992 general plan...I though you guys might find this part interesting.

"There has additionally been other goals directly related to traffic and mobility that I found interesting. The topic of regionalism was discussed in the general plan as a transportation funding initiative. The 1992 opinion at the time stated,

[varider]

Just received word from the Principal Transportation Engineer (Andy) who is working on the 2034LRP; he says they WILL have sources of funding included.

Thats great. Gives me some hope that we can actually find money to build our wonderful transit system. I'm sure even though it will outline sources of funding, it will still be a task to acquire that funding.

[mlsimons]

More red light cameras....this is my experience!

"But if you enter the intersection of VB blvd/Indy blvd going under 45...say 35 or 25mph, which is not illegal. If the light turns yellow as you enter the intersection you will not make it all the way through by the time it turns red, and you will receive a ticket. I have seen this many times, which is why I wait for decent space when traffic is slow and jam it out to 45 mph really fast right before I enter the intersection. I do this, which is certainly not the safest way to proceed in heavy traffic, but in order to assure I do not receive a ticket. I say this just to prove the system is flawed!"

[varider]

http://www.wavy.com/dpp/news/local_wavy_to...tunnel_20090421

WAVY article on the new midtown tunnel & accompanying tolls. Thankfully Fraim said "unfairly high tolls will not be tolerated." && guys I was under the impression that Portsmouth was going to fund the extra space for light rail in the new midtown tunnel? There won't be another opportunity for the next 50 years.

The developer says it hopes to begin construction in the Summer of next year and complete the project in the next three to four years.