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Norfolk Off-Topic

Weaver24 — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 03:48:34 +0000

Telmnstr, on 18 November 2009 - 02:33 PM, said:

What's the deal with the guy running against Fraim. Sounds interesting. Good, bad?

Personally we need change...but within reason. I don't know this guy but I know he attends almost all council meetings and he always makes comments and you can see in the minutes on the city website. I want to know more about him before I decide but alot of our leadership is OUT OF TOUCH and we MAY need some change. It is too soon to tell if I will vote for Mr. Montague...but I will look closely to his campaign. I think we need new and fresh ideas to further progress our city...even though he is old.

Norfolk Light Rail and Transit

varider — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 22:29:03 +0000

cpeakesqr, on 20 November 2009 - 09:26 AM, said:

Sorry Dave, I cannot do that.

-HAL

I don't get it?

Norfolk Light Rail and Transit

cpeakesqr — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:26:13 +0000

varider, on 19 November 2009 - 05:01 PM, said:

Virginia Beach extension FIRST!

Then Naval Station.

Sorry Dave, I cannot do that.

-HAL

Norfolk Light Rail and Transit

ronsmytheiii — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 05:06:37 +0000

varider, on 19 November 2009 - 04:01 PM, said:

Virginia Beach extension FIRST!

Then Naval Station.

Why not both? HRT mentioned the Navy base extension along with the Virginia Beach one, and connecting Oceana with Norfolk Naval Base would seem extremely attractive to the navy to me (dont have to build the train stop right at the base, just have an express bus from the gates to the station) The navy would give us significant political capital.

Also remember guys this is an engineering evaluation, it only deals with systems not politics. In put A get B. Ans as a NASAspapceflight.com moderator, I can tell you politicians can take any technical report and spin it to their own advantage (Ares I), so dont view this as a forward plan.

Norfolk Light Rail and Transit

varider — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 21:01:09 +0000

Virginia Beach extension FIRST!

Then Naval Station.

Norfolk Light Rail and Transit

ronsmytheiii — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:00:23 +0000

vdogg, on 19 November 2009 - 08:56 AM, said:

An extension towards the naval base first does make sense, but I fear that if we don't pursue the beach line now we'll lose a lot of the momentum that's been gained over the past year. We need to do it now while there is still public support for transit at the beach. Public support, particularly in Va. Beach, can be a fickle thing.

It could be good for both efforts, I would be willing to be the New Starts program likes to see data confirming the potential of a program. Even if it is not number one, the Virginia beach extension comes out looking good

Norfolk Light Rail and Transit

vdogg — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:56:31 +0000

Norfolk Light Rail and Transit

ronsmytheiii — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 12:51:32 +0000

Quote

On Wednesday the planning organization reviewed a still-evolving computer model developed by a Virginia

Department of Transportation consultant to evaluate and rate projects. VDOT is paying the consultant, Kimley-Horn and Associates Inc., $150,000 for the work.

The model, based on similar models used in other states, ranks projects on criteria that include congestion, safety, cost-effectiveness, land-use compatibility, road condition, economic vitality and project viability.

Quote

A test was run using 43 projects. Separate rankings were developed for highway projects, bridge and tunnel projects, and transit projects. Expanding light rail to Norfolk Naval Station came out on top among transit projects, with a Virginia Beach light-rail extension second.

http://hamptonroads....portation-needs

Norfolk Project Database

varider — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 11:59:49 +0000

Oh wow, my fault.

Norfolk Project Database

vdogg — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 09:53:56 +0000

Believe it or not, it is slightly behind schedule. There has been talk that it may not actually be in full operation until 2011 so I moved the date back to December 2010 as a compromise.

Norfolk Project Database

varider — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 03:58:28 +0000

Cool new function, I'll be sure to help out with the list.

But Vdogg; minor, minor thing about the "light rail." Construction should be over in October 2010, not December.

Norfolk Project Database

vdogg — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 03:35:59 +0000

I plan on on retiring the projects listing threads in both Norfolk and Va. Beach and adding the data from these threads to the new project databases we have for each respective city. Example Needless to say, this is a daunting task and I don't quite have the time to do it all myself. Anyone can add a project to the database however so what I plan to do is unlock each of the projects threads and let people take information from them and add it to the database as they see fit. Any unmentioned urban projects may also be added to the list (no subdivisions please ). Once a particular project with all pertinent information has been added to the database, and this information has been reviewed for accuracy, I will lock that project from any further editing. If you have added a project to the database, please either send me a pm or post in this thread that you have done so so that I can review it, lock it, and delete the entry from the original projects listing threads. Thanks in advance for your help.

Norfolk Off-Topic

usermel — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 22:10:24 +0000

I dont know who the new guy is running against Fraim. Havent seen the news for the last couple of days! I hope he/she is worthy whoever they are because Fraim has credibility in my book and cant be beaten easily by anyone without strong ties in Norfolk and a political background as well! L.G.N.M

Downtown Norfolk Progress

urbanlife — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 21:17:37 +0000

varider, on 18 November 2009 - 05:10 AM, said:

But think about those companies, how many of them would want to be in a downtown anyway? That would be like me saying, do you know how big Portland's downtown would be if Nike, Columbia, and Intel built all their office buildings downtown? Those companies dont want to pay the taxes that come with being downtown...thus they end up way the hell out in the suburbs.

Norfolk Off-Topic

Telmnstr — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 19:33:22 +0000

What's the deal with the guy running against Fraim. Sounds interesting. Good, bad?

Norfolk Stores and Retail and Resturants

mikeas — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 18:14:05 +0000

I just would had rather seen it built street front with all the parking and drive through in the rear to encourage more pedestrian friendly developments. That whole area around ODU is going to continue to build up into an urban center over the next decade.

Norfolk Stores and Retail and Resturants

lil-bear — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 15:06:43 +0000

mikeas, on 10 November 2009 - 12:33 PM, said:

What I dont get about that area is that the city is allowing them to build with a setback from the street yet in their planning documents they promote pedestrian developments that front the street. That is quite a big Dunkin Donuts though, I swore it was going to be a bank until they put the sign up.

I went to the DD last night. The first floor is the resturant, and the 2nd floor are francise management offices.
It's definately an improvement for the corridor!!!

Downtown Norfolk Progress

varider — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 12:10:32 +0000

First off, that Mobile building is only 35 floors, and is a hodgepodge of office, hotel, and parking.

But regardless, it all goes back to the way our metro grew and is growing.

We have Dollar Tree out in Greenbrier, Amerigroup in Va Beach off 64, Stihl out by Lynnhaven, Smithfield,etc. If all those were in downtown Norfok we would have some 40+ floor towers.

The sad thing is that we probably wont' see another 20+ floor office tower in downtown Noroflk for 5 years, unless we get a company relo.

Honestly, I'm turning to Virginia Beach for the skyline. I'm already liking the Town Center [I was down there last night and it looks beautiful and even though it's much smaller than DT, for about two blocks it feels like a real "city" haha. And it's clean and no gaps between buildings]. I think downtown Virginia Beach will turn into the urban core of the region. Armada Hoffler is taller than any building in Norfolk and the Westin is HUGE. Plus the retail concept is there and the parking garages are well placed. Since it's a "master plan" development, everything fits just right.

Downtown Norfolk Progress

usermel — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 07:52:52 +0000

varider, on 16 November 2009 - 06:09 AM, said:

Hampton Roads is unique in having 7 independent cities that are contiguous. And actually our metro is one of the denser one's in the southern United States. We really aren't that spread out. Downtown to Town Center = 9 miles. Town Center to Oceanfront= 11 miles. Downtown to Greenbrier = 10 miles. Downtown to Old Town=.5 mile Downtown Norfolk to Downtown Newport News=15 miles. But I do think we are better off with more than one downtown, and if you look at like you said, Oakland and San Fransisco, Minneapolis and St. Paul, Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, etc., Dallas and Ft. Worth, etc. we should be able to fully function with our current city boundaries.

And Portland sounds like it's not for everyone.. Lol.

If Hampton Roads combined the seven cities, we would become the 5th largest in America. Don't you think that would help for business relo's and sports teams?

Well, not really. The picture I posted wasn't Norfolk's full downtown and is misssing Dominion Tower, SunTrust, Wells Fargo, and the ugly civic buildings. But I get what your saying.

I don't think people think this area is rural. Whenever I'm out of town, I tell them I'm from Virginia Beach and they say, "Ohh, I vacationed down there, Nice area," or "I was stationed in Norfolk, cool place.," I've even heard "When are ya'll going to get a sports team" [I was in Philly] lol.

This doesn't feel like a small town IMO. When you travel from say.. Busch Gardens back to the Southside, you can tell your in a major metropolitan region. Miles and miles of developed land with insane amounts of traffic, city busses everywhere, and airplanes landing, etc. Even downtown Norfolk can feel like a real City if you catch it at the right time on the weekday. And the Virginia Beach Oceanfront in the summer feels real big-cityIsh at night.

Downtown is growing at a fine rate right now. The problem is it sat dormant for like 25 years. It's now playing catch up.

I agree with all your points totally. I can say at least they finally are making progress in the last 7-10 years! Light rail will add not just help transportation WISE but, also add charecter to the area(Norfolk and other cities it ends up in over time)! I am fortunate to have been all around the U.S and to every state in the USA. Also, been to international cities around the globe via my career! That said, thats why im so eger to see the growth I see in ther places here. Most often I see growth in far smaller metros and one example is Mobile,Alabama I believe it is. Mobiles a great town by the way but, size wise not as big as our yet again the have one of the tallest buildings in the south. And Va Beach has even passed Norfolk with The Westin. Norfolks beauty and location is perfect for growth in all aspects of the word(growth). It just has become frustrating to see time pass and not get the signature Fortune 500/1000 company not named NorfolkSouthern here that cares about the area!!!! L.G.N.M

Norfolk Off-Topic

usermel — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 07:32:34 +0000

Whats great about this topic is we all are positive and want more for Norfolk and that's good. You all seem to agree on the most important facts about the city! While not the most important,why Norfolk hasnt yet gotten over 30 stories must be related to something we have no knowledge of. And as Varider stated it has some great features about it as a city(Norfolk). Namely cost to do business is attractive here in the whole region and state! I guess when we get the 1st one over 30 stories that is another Fortune 500/1000 company to go with Norfolk/Southern we will creaate a domino effect causing more attraction from other businesses similar in importance. My main concern truthfully is jobs. We lose many smart young intelligent men/woman to Atlanta and D.C and Charlotte that its normal for young adults to graduate and move away. Nobody thinks twice about it! The reason I want more growth downtown is so it attracts those who go to school here to stay!

This creates a culture that we see in the other cities were the financial centers employ many college grads!!!! We have all the beauty it takes to keep people here from Norfolk to Va Beach up to the Peninsula but, we need more than a military based economy to survive in the future! One BIG hit by the government that rids us of any of the military personal that stores and home builders etc. depend on will be hard to handle. We need to re-think how business is done in our military area and FOCUS on LIFE with the strong military presence and after(if that happens) military presence! L.G.N.M

Norfolk Off-Topic

mlsimons — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 03:53:10 +0000

On Thursday the council is expected to accept the new plan for Hampton Blvd/Colley Ave
http://www.norfolk.gov/Planning/PDFFiles/CHB_Draft_Plan.pdf

Norfolk Light Rail and Transit

Norfolk4Life — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 02:38:19 +0000

while in the short run, that might be bad and inconvenient, it would add credibility to our system and increase momentum to build more lines

Norfolk Light Rail and Transit

varider — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:57:37 +0000

I think it may have been norfolk and hrt trying to cut costs for a better new starts rating. There is gonna be a problem if demand outpaces capacity,especially a tides or admirals game

Norfolk Off-Topic

Norfolk4Life — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:01:34 +0000

agreed to most of that above. The best way to get there is most likely for people like us, who actually are involved and care about what happens, to run for elected office. I live in Norfolk and I will probably run for council soon. I am 22 right now and have very limited resources however. If you live in Virginia Beach, you should puch the council to adopt a ward system like Norfolk's so that you don't have to run city-wide for everything. It makes it cheaper and get more regular people in. I don't know much about you all but you only need to be a resident and 18 years old to run for city council.

Norfolk Light Rail and Transit

Norfolk4Life — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 14:54:42 +0000

i think their projected ridership was higher to start though. Because ours was lower, I don't think the feds would allow us to buy more unless we paid for them.

Norfolk Light Rail and Transit

varider — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 12:26:02 +0000

Norfolk4Life, on 17 November 2009 - 01:10 AM, said:

Norfolk and Charlotte use the same cars. In fact, they use the exact same cars. HRT bought our nine cars from Charlotte's contract with Siemens

Yeah, I know we have the same cars. But we have 9, while they have 15 or 16? Sometimes they have trains that are packed to capacity with doubled up trains. How will we look with one car trains.

Norfolk Off-Topic

varider — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 12:13:42 +0000

USermel,

I think both of us may be trippin' a little bit.

Charlotte is not some model city. I only make the compaison because they have the same light rail system and even as recent as the 2000 census, HR was bigger. They may become an average city if they lose Bank of America [the new CEO may move it to Manhattan], so I don't know how healthy that would be for their city. Norfolk has made huge strides in the past few years. Yeah, the mall isn't too urban, but it ain't bad. We now have a downtown waterfront stadium accessible by LRT. Great cruise ship terminal. Beautiful downtown park capable of hosting huge events, filled up 4 or 5 surface lots in the past 4 or so years. No city our size can claim those accomplishments. I actually enjoy our downtown, maybe even more than Charlotte. When you look at a picture of a city, yeah the skyline is what blows you away. But when you actually go to those cities, it's what's on street level. When I went to New York recently, I only looked up once, and that was to see the Empire State. I wasn't even impressed. Anyway, our "skyline" ain't bad either.

And to tell you the truth,

I'm looking to Virginia Beach to give us that "big city' skyline that I think me and you are looking for. Norfolk is 5X older than Va Beach, yet the Beach has a 40 floor tower, while Norfolk can't break 30. Plus if you look at the Oceanfront, it has a HUGE mid rise skyline

Norfolk Off-Topic

usermel — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 10:16:32 +0000

The skyline isnt the FOCUS but, it represents jobs and growth. The more buildings in most downtowns the more people who work inside them. Of course some buildings around the USA are empty so lets noot go there. My point is take a look at the cities you visit. What forms our opinions most of the time is the eye test! Its like a pretty woman. She looks good on the outside and that how a man see's her(not all men) and not until they get to know her do they have a true opinion of her. People dnt tend to do cities that way. They just do the eye test! Our city and the others in the metro are great looking places with the beaches and rivers etc.! We just need that POP that makes Charlotte what it has BECOME. Key woord what Charlotte has BECOME. Love Norfolk and just tired of us lagging behind cities that we were once larger than, namely Charlotte and here come Raleigh and the other Carolina cities.

Norfolk Off-Topic

usermel — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 10:08:31 +0000

I agree we need the youth to come in all of the cities in the metros top posistions to give the area the edge it needs! Without question the old guard has dated ideas. They finally got rid of Orbendorf in Va Bech but, replaced her with a man not much better. We need a young progressive leader in Norfolk who thinks and PLANS BIG! I feel all the cities are to safe. Example: MacArthur Center. A mall is ok but, in traditional downtowns it doesnt fly. Its almost as if downtown is to dependent on the mall and thats not healthy. What make a city a city isnt a suburban oriented mall. Its the shops you walk and visit store by store.

Our downtown to outsiders is a business park in larger metros like Charlotte. We need a mayor and councilman/woman who see a BIG city in the future and have a plan that gets us there in 30 years. Most dont agree but skylines tell the story to those not familiar with a city when they visit. We have a skyline of a city starting up as far as growth. A city such as ours is behind and needs a mayor who will honestly address this issue! We do need a youth movement more than anything!!! L.G.N.M

Norfolk Off-Topic

Norfolk4Life — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 06:33:26 +0000

varider, on 16 November 2009 - 05:17 PM, said:

Looks like Paul Fraim has an opponent.

I'd rather a 70 year old widow not become the mayor. I feel like the youth are the future [although I'm extremely biased].

http://hamptonroads....mayor-fraim-may

Judging by your thoughts on Mr. Montague, I bet it would surprise you if I told you he was strong pro-regionalism. He is just as tired of the cities' bickering as you and I.