I'll repeat a post I made on this topic 4.5 years ago:

As for the ridership numbers they're proposing? Pie in the sky. They say at a minimum 6k riders a day, I bet its 2/3 of that MINIMUM number. Sure it'll be a novelty at first for some people, but that will quickly wear-off. You will not get people standing in 85-100 degree heat and humidity for 10-15 mins on a daily basis 6 months out of the year to ride something that covers such a limited area; and having to pay something approaching $3 a round trip to boot.

So I correctly predicted the ridership numbers, and that's still 2/3 of what they said would be the minimum (6k) 4.5 year ago. It's wonderful when you can look like a hero by moving the goal posts a year before startup and then exceed that number cause you've reduced it to some ridicously low figure. As for my last sentence, well.... when you subsidize the cost of a pass to the tune $10/year then that has the effect of artificially bumping your numbers up and destroying your revenue. Wonder how the taxpayers of Norfolk are going to react when they start seeing the net annual operating costs come in each year and realize increased coffee and slurpee sales tax doesn't cover the difference. Wonder whether they would want 2500 paying full fare or 4000 paying next to nothing, $10/yr is a pretty amazing deal to businesses.

Well that is good news, I had a feeling the numbers would be higher than what was forecasted. Hopefully we will be hearing new talks of expansions soon.

Norfolk’s 7.4-mile starter light rail line, which launched six months ago Sunday, draws an average of 4,650 riders on weekdays and 4,850 on Saturdays. About 2,900 weekday riders was forecast.

The City Council on Tuesday officially killed the controversial deal to build a four-star Hyatt hotel near the Virginia Beach Convention Center, an action that opens the door to other proposals.

In reference to the arena proposal, Waterside is not the place for it, however Norfolk needs a stadium better than Scope. I went to the Tool concert at Hampton Coliseum Friday night and that arena is so bad. Small bathrooms, even smaller concession stands, awkward seating, and bad acoustics. Hampton Roads needs a big arena. Period.

I guess what I mean is, you would have a need to suggest a "build it and they will come" type of development.
I do not see art as a huge thing around here, but then again, I do not look for it either. It just seems like a stretch that the local gov. would give it anything thought. I do not want to talk bad about anyone, however, none of them seem like they deal in art at all. Every time something this big is suggested, someone has some stake in it.

Not sure how one would "measure art activity" but I would say, if there is enough people in the city and region with money, and if there is enough things that promote art, then it should be easy to establish an area and put together a committee to creat a driving force for it. I will say, I remember the Boardwalk Art Walk being a huge event each year, and I would be shocked if a city that size didn't have some form of art community within it...even Omaha has a nice arts district in their downtown.

Then I guess the real question is, how do you measure art activity in the area to see if it is worth developing into an arts district. Or do you just do it and hope that it works out?

It's gonna be awhile before they open. For one thing, they're gonna have to have a real floor! It's dirt inside there now.