Do you believe Norfolks Light Rail will thrive?? (Chesapeake, Hampton: oceanfront, credit)

[djchriscruz]

I personally think its a waste of money and not many people will ride it. It does not take long to get around norfolk by car and parking does not cost more than $10 depending on how long you park. There's no heavy traffic in norfolk that compares to big cities like DC. Also people in Hampton Roads are just too accustomed to driving their own cars. I think the only people that will use it are Norfolk State students.

[DarkWolf]

Have you seen what Light Rail does to other cities , causes growth to occur....it may seem like a waste now but 10 years form now when Norfolk is a thriving city you'll credit the Light Rail with part of that.... Look at Philly , Charlotte , Phoenix , Seattle , and San Diego....for systems that have generated positive results and those systems are still growing...

[Coconut1]

No, and that's how the naysayers want it.

It doesn't go through to Portsmouth, it doesn't go to Hampton or NN, it doesn't go to VA Beach, it doesn't go to the base or to ODU... it doesn't go much of anywhere.

This will be the only line of the Tide for a loooooooong time.

It's unfortunate and a sin, but people around here are simply too stupid to know how to create a successful metro area or city for that matter. Like the report that came out last year said, "Hampton Roads: Old, slow and not too bright"

I applaud Norfolk for doing this, but it cannot do it on its own.

[D train outta nowhere]

I wish this was a serious answer from HR on alleviating the problem of gridlock on the 64 to and from the naval base. Haven't read in the VA Pilot what it hopes to accomplish.

The move toward light rail is interesting; Japan - it's so easy to get around on their rail system. No fuss & muss with cars necessary.

It is nice that we are trying to start somewhere, but really, it's for people who just want to go btwn Eastern VA Medical Center in Norfolk, past JANAF, the Norfolk (Hampton?) University and Newtown Rd.?

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That's it?

[djchriscruz]

I just dont see any real benefit to riding The Lightrail if you already have a car. You can get to every one of the lightrail stops pretty fast by car and easily find parking.

[JeffConn]

Originally Posted by D train outta nowhere

It is nice that we are trying to start somewhere, but really, it's for people who just want to go btwn Eastern VA Medical Center in Norfolk, past JANAF, the Norfolk (Hampton?) University and Newtown Rd.?

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That's it?

The Norfolk line is a STARTER LINE! Yes, you have to start somewhere. The DC Metro started with a 4.6 mile line with 5 stations, and i'm sure there were the naysayers going "It doesn't go anywhere" there also. There are already preliminary talks about extending the Tide to the airport, NOB, the oceanfront, Portsmouth, Chesapeake, and to the Peninsula!

[djchriscruz]

Originally Posted by JeffConn

The Norfolk line is a STARTER LINE! Yes, you have to start somewhere. The DC Metro started with a 4.6 mile line with 5 stations, and i'm sure there were the naysayers going "It doesn't go anywhere" there also. There are already preliminary talks about extending the Tide to the airport, NOB, the oceanfront, Portsmouth, Chesapeake, and to the Peninsula!

The DC metro helps alleviates the biggest complaint of NoVA/DC residents: TRAFFIC. There's barely any traffic in Norfolk except maybe a 30 min backup during rush hour. It's pretty easy to get in/out and around Norfolk by car and there are no tolls going into the city.

[Upsilon]

Originally Posted by JeffConn

The Norfolk line is a STARTER LINE! Yes, you have to start somewhere. The DC Metro started with a 4.6 mile line with 5 stations, and i'm sure there were the naysayers going "It doesn't go anywhere" there also. There are already preliminary talks about extending the Tide to the airport, NOB, the oceanfront, Portsmouth, Chesapeake, and to the Peninsula!

That would be cool if they did that and linked those locations. I would totally ride it to the airport and the ocean front and even work if it drops off near the town center.

[rtandc]

Thrive? It will be lucky to survive. Norfolk is not Philly, Charlotte, Phoenix, Seattle, or San Diego and never will be with or without light rail. And the hopes of it running to ODU or the base one day...Just how is it supposed to get there? Every planner that has ever looked at this project has stated it is impossible to run it down Hampton Blvd.

Could it run to the ocean front one day? Sure if Va Bch is stupid enough to buy into it but that day is years off if ever. Now even if Va Bch started breaking ground today the cost is estimated to be a billion dollars just to run the track from Newton Rd to the ocean front.

People that want light rail talk about “Oh I can’t wait for it to run to cities like Chesapeake or across the water? Hello? Are you taking in your life time? If so I hope you are very young. Because again how is it going to get there? It’s not like there is some magical open space for the train to run from point A to point Z. It would require people’s homes and businesses be bought and torn down to obtain the right away space needed for the trains to operate. That would cost billions of dollars and take years in court just to settle the law suits to obtain the land even before the first piece of track is laid…

Look at Norfolk; the city had to spend over a million dollars in taxpayer money just to buy one small office building on York Street. Now times that by 100, or more like a 1000 or 5000 when you are talking about light rail running across Hampton Roads. One other thing to thing to think about, after light rail is built the money train does not stop running. Norfolk is expecting the 7 mile starter line to cost almost 7 million dollars a year just to operate…And we all know Norfolk and how they do their math, so if they expect 7 million a year you can bet it will be much more then that…..Where do you think that money is going to come from?

So for the people that can’t wait to ride light rail, my best suggestion would be to move to a city that already has it. Because unless the 7 mile starter line in Norfolk satisfies you completely, wanting anything more in Hampton Roads is decades away at best especially after Norfolk screwed the pooch so bad on this starter line.

[xGrendelx]

There seems to be a lot of naysayers, that's for sure. However, amongst the people I associate with, we're all looking forward to it. I don't know if it will thrive. I don't know of any starter line that THRIVES. What would constitute a thriving line anyway? All I know is that I will use it. I think it's important to support your city's growth, especially if you deem it as positive growth. No, Norfolk is not Philadelphia or San Diego, but that doesn't mean it shouldn't provide descent public transit for its citizens. Size doesn't really have much to do with it. It's about efficiency. And light rail is efficient. That's been proven time and time again. Cities with fewer people than Norfolk have LRT systems similar to the Tide, and people ride them. Take Salt Lake City, for example. I've ridden their trains myself, and I wasn't the only one on it.

The bottom line is that public transit does not suit everyone's needs, and it seems that the people who don't use it don't understand the need for it.

HR is very much defined by car culture, and the reactions to light rail seem to say that that way of life is being threatened. No one is saying you have to get rid of your car, but for those of us who want to, public transit fits our lifestyle. The naysayers aren't the only people who live and work in Norfolk, but they might be the loudest.