Light Rail to come to Norfolk (Richmond, Alexandria: relocation, condos, hotels)

[Khaotic]

Does anyone else feel like Richmond is droping the ball? Why are other areas of the state more advanced, doing more preparation for the futrue than the state capital? All the arguing between executive and legislative is taking a toll on the city and no steps are being taken toward to progression.

Wouldnt it be great to hop on light rail, say in Chuch hill and ride it,to take in a VCU basketball game. I mean a simple line running along Broad St. would do economic wonders for the city.

When is Richmond gonna get on board with the 21st century?

I'm an implant on a job relocation for a 3 year assignment (2 years left). So I really dont know alot about the culture here. Maybe this is how the life long city residents want the city to remain.

I just think Richmond could be much more, than what it is.


Link:Norfolk light rail gets $18.9 million boost - News - inRich.com

[roanoker 4]

I agree Richmond needs some help. The suburbs around Richmond have become so vibrant and the "white flight" continues to Henrico, Chesterfield to the detriment of the City of Richmond. I think the people of the Richmond region do not embrace the City the way Tidewater people do for downtown Norfolk. I think downtown Norfolk has really come a long way in re:vitalizing the waterfront, cruise ship terminal, museums, office buildings, condos, Hotels, etc. Alexandria, Roanoke & Charlottesville have also done a great job of re:inventing the City. In MY opinion and no slap at Richmond but I feel the downtown area(while improving) is ugly, dingy and full of buildings that should be torn down. Its not a place I'd like to spend any time. We all know in VA that our dysfunctional city/county governments are to blame and I can't explain why some cities in VA are doing better than others. I can one day(not in my lifetime)see light rail/streetcars going up and down bustling Broad Street with outdoor restaurants, Hotels, retail, housing. If more people move to downtown Richmond then I think a light rail network will work. I'm sure a lot of people in Richmond are aware of this issue but its a matter of funding
and money. Be glad you have a rail link to DC from Richmond!!

[PBC4130]

Originally Posted by roanoker 4

In MY opinion and no slap at Richmond but I feel the downtown area(while improving) is ugly, dingy and full of buildings that should be torn down. Its not a place I'd like to spend any time.

See, I love the look of downtown. All the old, beat up buildings have character to me and every time I see VCU tearing down another one for some useless building, it saddens me. Richmond always prides itself on the history of the city and its painful to see more of it removed each time something like this happens.

Originally Posted by roanoker

. I can one day(not in my lifetime)see light rail/streetcars going up and down bustling Broad Street with outdoor restaurants, Hotels, retail, housing. If more people move to downtown Richmond then I think a light rail network will work.

I like the idea of a light rail, lord knows no one wants to "GRTC me, its so easy!" but again, the idea of booting out all of the ghetto ass stores on broad to make way for more hotels, restaurants, housing doesnt appeal to me though. While I dont shop there, they seem to be getting business and I know some really awesome kids opened up HENRY there recently. I guess Im somewhat stereotypical but when you start to "clean up downtown" you lose some of that flavor that makes it what it is.

[Khaotic]

Originally Posted by PBC4130

See, I love the look of downtown. All the old, beat up buildings have character to me and every time I see VCU tearing down another one for some useless building, it saddens me. Richmond always prides itself on the history of the city and its painful to see more of it removed each time something like this happens.



I like the idea of a light rail, lord knows no one wants to "GRTC me, its so easy!" but again, the idea of booting out all of the ghetto ass stores on broad to make way for more hotels, restaurants, housing doesnt appeal to me though. While I dont shop there, they seem to be getting business and I know some really awesome kids opened up HENRY there recently. I guess Im somewhat stereotypical but when you start to "clean up downtown" you lose some of that flavor that makes it what it is.

Are you from here? I see that alot of the people here just like things the way the are and dont want to evolve with the times..Which is cool, I guess. Each city has its own identity. From my understandings, Broad St hasnt always looked like this. I was told of thriving time in the 80's. So cleaning it up wouldn't be losing the flavor of what it is, but rather what it has become.

[NJRAMAL]

If the nation runs, Virginia walks. If Virginia walks, Richmond crawls.

[richmondpics]

In spite of Khaotic's best intentions in provoking an important discussion... this may become another Richmond bashing thread.

That said, Khaotic, I don't think you'll find many people that disagree with you. Light rail linking several major destinations throughout the city would be fantastic. I'd love to ditch the car in Carytown for a little shopping and Bev's Ice Cream!, head downtown for dinner, go to a VCU basketball game, and then to a friends place for drinks in Rockett's Landing.. all on light rail.

Believe it or not... we are moving towards having it eventually. BRT is in the works along the Broad Street corridor, initially linking Willow Lawn with a new transfer station at Main Street Station (part of a multimodal center that will eliminate a lot of the loitering on Broad). The route is envisioned to eventually link with Rockett's Landing and maybe even Short Pump. I'd like to see another route spurring off at VCU's Monroe Park campus that would link downtown with Carytown. Heck, why not a route to southside through Manchester and on to Forest Hill Ave/Westover Hills Blvd. BRT is our first step. It will test the sustainability of the routes, and allow changes to maximize routes before we lay any permanent rail.

Believe it or not, Richmond was the first city with an electric street car system in the world (1888 or so). Many of the city's oldest neighborhoods are old street car suburbs... and in many places you can still see the old trolley tracks. Richmond grew up on light rail. It's amazing that we had the right idea over 100 years ago, ditched it for the almighty auto, and are now playing catch with ourselves...

Unfortunately, the biggest obstacle isn't a will to make it happen, that's in place IMO. The biggest obstacle is obtaining federal/state transportation funding because Richmond can't undertake the cost on its own... I'm not sure if any city has single handedly funded light rail recently. We are blessed with limited congestion for a region of our size (spare places like Hull Street and out in Short Pump) which doesn't bode well for trying to secure light rail funding... We'll be fighting for funding with cities that have much more congestion... Norfolk is within one of the top 5 most congested areas in the country. We need more people downtown, more businesses, etc... Broad Street is transforming quickly. I recently touched on this in the thread on Richmond vs. Atlanta.

Most people in Richmond, lifelong residents and newcomers, know it has so much potential but too many people are apathetic about it. Young people, progressive/creative folks, and newcomers are our best hope for change. I like Richmond a lot, but it can definitely become an even better place.

[roanoker 4]

The impression a visitor has of Richmond is what they see downtown. I have never identified with all of the strip malls on every corner as far as the eye can see in the Richmond suburbs. I think an architect/planner could build newer and cleaner structures similar to the old style architecture. I would like to see more open plazas, public art(not Civil War), water fountains, trees and brick walkways/streets(although very expensive!). I think some cosmetic improvements would help or it would be a start. I also couldn't believe how they turned that beautiful neo-classical train station on Broad Street into a science museum!! At least in the back of the museum they have a little streetcar that runs around the building. I guess I love cities and I think Richmond is a "diamond in the rough". I never thought downtown Norfolk would ever come back to life so miracles do happen.

[richmondpics]

Did you participate in the new Downtown Master Plan process at all? It calls for a lot of the same things you are looking for.

Richmond's Union Station (designed by John Russell Pope) sat vacant for years before the Science Museum was established there, breathing new life into a stunning but empty building. The other alternative was demolition, which was oddly popular for architecturally significant buildings in the mid-late 20th century. We're fortunate to still have it.

And with a nationally top ranked sculpture program at VCU, I'm also amazed there isn't more public art.

[roanoker 4]

I didn't participate in the Richmond master plan since I don't live there. I did participate about 20 years ago in a master plan for downtown Roanoke, with heavy involvement from its citizens. Its very difficult in VA with our cities' limited resources but the citizens here got involved with the repening of Hotel Roanoke and the City Market area. A major flood hit this City in the mid 80's that destroyed much of the old parts of downtown and Roanoke got much federal aid to build new streets. It turned out that the downtown looked so inviting, businesses and private individuals started to invest downtown and this investment continues today. A new $66m Art Museum is scheduled to open downtown in the Fall. I do believe the government must provide some assistance. Nofolk Southern Railroad(which was once headquartered here) started the investment in the old Hotel and city market area. Since they moved their HQ's to downtown Norfolk they have been the guiding force in downtown Norfolks' renaissance. A mixture of private/public involvement is needed I think. The Master Plan is an ongoing process here
and Roanoke City(with no help from the County)is much more progressive in planning than neighboring counties.