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Norfolk Light Rail and Transit


urbanvb

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I agree with Henry_Ryto - if someone posts their ignorance and no one deems it as ignorance, it casts a gloom and perpetuates ignorance; however, if it is corrected, the logic of progress and reason itself is revealed to those searching for a solution. (I didn't mean for that to sound philosophical.)

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Your comments are amusing. I pretty much disagree with everything you said here. P.S, , why do you live here again?

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Born and raised. If you would like to counter, feel free to do so. But I have yet to see a compelling argument.

A co-worker of mine who may be loosing his job here has been looking, and another ex-coworker who got laid off a few weeks ago came to visit. Ex-coworker is young, smart, has a MBA. Ex interviewed at a nearby local company that is very large, is backed by the very rich of the area, and just built a very large new building downtown. My coworker who is looking put in for a job there, and it is looking good. But ex-coworker already interviewed there and said were talking about $50K-60K in salary. That's frigging weak, especially for a company of that size. Said apparently they cleared out departments so they can hire on cheaper people. Ex's apartment building is upping the rents $200-$300/month next lease due to how bad the construction is in the building and costs to fix (It's on Granby Street near Doumars, the new 4 story tall thing). He said everyone is looking to get out because it's too expensive, except for the daddy's little girls who's parents are rich and pay their rent. Ex's reason for staying is his girlfriend in Newport News, but he has been looking back in NoVA/DC due to the higher caliber of jobs up there.

You can shoot me, the messenger, but I'm just pointing out what I'm seeing on the streets. Give me stories that you are seeing, of companies paying really good, or doing really cool things.

Still time to submit your survey for your suggestions on the downtown light rail station (Kirn site).

Don't forget to post what you put in the reply (You can save off the XML file from the email client).

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I think Norfolk should concentrate on adding light rail to the airport. Maybe they could actually do the cheaper Maglev like Tel pushes for up to a light rail station. I think it will be a critical addition to add to the airport. I know this isn't as critical as adding it to the Naval base but its a hard second to that.

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Does anyone know if they company slated to do the NSU stretch of track project reaches through the Ingleside bridge crossing? As I was driving, I was poking my head over the interstate wall and notice construction and clearing. Can anyone confirm?

I think ingleside bridge work is through a different contract but both contractors are working in tandem at this point. The downtown contract was just awarded recently as well and that contractor will start work at the end of the summer.

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Does anyone know if they company slated to do the NSU stretch of track project reaches through the Ingleside bridge crossing? As I was driving, I was poking my head over the interstate wall and notice construction and clearing. Can anyone confirm?

I need to correct myself here. One company is responsible for constructing the span for Harbor Park to Newtown rd, and that company is Skanska. They were just awarded the other contract for the rest of the rail line through downtown so they will in fact be the only contractor working on building the track. The contracts for constructing the stations haven't been awarded yet. On a side note, Suburban grading is suing HRT because they were disqualified from competing, even though their bid was $350,000 less than Skanskas for the downtown line. This has already been reported in the pilot, but I don't think we've heard that last of this controversy. Stand by..... :unsure:

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In the real world, investing in public transit pays off

In the Daily Press' world, rising fuel prices have no effect on the wallets of the residents in our community. In the real world, people are struggling to keep up with the rising cost of gas and are changing their driving behavior accordingly, including turning to public transportation as a commute alternative. Hampton Roads Transit reported a 32 percent increase in ridership on commuter express bus routes in the last four months compared to the same period last year...

In the Daily Press' world, public transit is only effective in "Boston, New York and other big cities." In the real world, public transit is thriving in cities like Charlotte, N.C.; Salt Lake City, Utah; Portland, Ore.; Dallas, Texas; and Denver, Colo. The newspaper also says light-rail start-ups in other cities experienced "lower ridership (than their) optimistic projections." In the real world, six of the last seven actually exceeded their ridership projections on opening day.

Because not everyone in Hampton Roads uses public transit, the Daily Press asserts it's not a worthwhile investment. But in the real world, not everyone uses Warwick Boulevard in front of the newspaper's headquarters, yet we're all expected to pay for it...

^^^This is a pretty lengthy and scathing rebuke of the Daily Press by HRT due to a recent, anti-Transit, editorial the Daily Press ran. I haven't that article yet but I'm looking for it. Judging by the response penned by Michael Townes, it must've been pretty bad.

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Here you go It really is that bad. <_< Just another one of these "I don't use it, so no one else does either" rants.

I hope their readers realize that if fish wrappers like the Daily Press didn't have something like this to say, the paper would consist only of tire ads. They certainly don't do any real reporting outside of sports, if you want to call their sports page real reporting. This paper is better suited for the sticks.

Light rail concerns in Norfolk

This came out May 29th but I guess we missed it due to all the other news out at that time. I have a feeling that ingleside and NSU will both be a nuisance throughout the entire construction process.

Quote from the article: "Not all residents are against the project. James Williams has lived in the neighborhood for 32 years. He says residents were against the highway being built through the area, so he's not surprised so many are against the Light Rail."

That pretty much sums it up. After all, we all know that transportation is the main cause of crime.

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Wow, check out John McMullen's comment - what an incendiary imbecile. He's out of touch and has an open disdain for what he sees as "the poor - the drain on society." I hope bankruptcy is in his future.

I am not poor, live comfortably in lower York County, and can say that if there were convenient access to LR that led to Patrick Henry, Jefferson Commons, the Airport(s), City Center, Port Warwick, and down through Hampton, I would use it EVERY day I go out. I was thinking just today driving along Victory Blvd that if they tore down the defunct K Mart and replaced it with a parking garage, LR access and some support retailers (maybe a bookstore, fast food outlets and some kitschy retail?), that station could become EXTREMELY successful, if linked to a regional rail network. People like McMullen are the real drain on our society - preventing progress and innovation and clinging to a completely deranged perception of a region that has changed considerably since the 1930s.

/rant. :angry: GAH!!!

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Ok, that's it. It is time for open warfare. :lol: I pledge that from this day, till completion of construction, I will actively search out articles online pertaining to Norfolk's light rail and will both promote and defend Transit. Any article, board, or thread that I see (even Reid Greenmuns blog ) that is even remotely anti-transit I will reply too. I hope that the rest of you choose to do the same. We have to fight the ignorance and in cases outright propaganda that continues to be thrown at this project. I think we have the numbers to actually make a difference here and can at least start guiding the conversation in a direction of our choosing. So long as the anti-tax zealots are the only ones talking, their ideas are the only ones being heard.

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Don't lump all of us "less taxes" in the same lump as them. I believe that we don't need to be taxed as much because I believe that alot of the money is spent irresponsible and wasted. Less taxes doesn't mean that I don't think we should pay any taxes. I support this project as much as the rest of you guys.

I'm a fairtax.org kind of guy! ;)

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Don't lump all of us "less taxes" in the same lump as them. I believe that we don't need to be taxed as much because I believe that alot of the money is spent irresponsible and wasted. Less taxes doesn't mean that I don't think we should pay any taxes. I support this project as much as the rest of you guys.

I'm a fairtax.org kind of guy! ;)

:lol: I'm not Rus, i'm more referring to the ones that think any investment in transit is a waste of tax dollars and they should all be spent on roads instead *cough* Reid *cough*. Nothing wrong with tax reform, it's just that people who oppose transit predominantly choose to wrap themselves in the anti-tax flag.

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I should have rephrased that not all anti-tax oppose mass transit for everyone else. I know that you don't mean it in general. You were ticked off at the comment and did your vent. I think alot of politicians make choices due to their pockets. Thats why I'm more not on either side of the isles because neither side really cares about us down here.

Edited by rusthebuss
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It is a shame that there are so many people who are so incredibly anti-mass transit. I would think that in light of ever increasing gas prices and mounting traffic issues that people would be excited about the current efforts with the light rail system. Personally, the less I have to drive my car the better. I'm excited that a light rail stop is going to be located next to where I work. Now if only it would be extended to Town Center so my wife could also use it to get to work.

I know that people pick on the fact that the light rail system Norfolk is currently working on only goes to Newtown Road. It seems people miss the fact that this is just a starter rail. When I lived in DC I watched the Metro grow and grow ever year. Hopefully, our light rail system does the same.

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I think its the years of bad leaders for this area that promised the world and it didn't do anything for this area. The region needs to work together and we still need to work on that. The stigma between each other still lies around the region. Vabeach should have never jumped off the ship to begin with. We could already be riding the light rail from DT to the oceanfront. I think that alot of us need to organize and put some of ourselves in the right offices to put this region where it should have been years ago

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I'm anti-light rail.

I'm not anti-mass-transit.

I think light rail is redeployment of a system of the past, and not forward looking. I think elevated maglev is a forward looking technology. It's close to working, it doesn't obstruct traffic, there isn't friction to wear down parts, it's quiet. and it's not like old trolleys.

If your going to build something, build something great for the future.

I want very high speed maglev from Maine to key west, DC to San Francisco, Chicago to Texas. 500MPH+.

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I know that people pick on the fact that the light rail system Norfolk is currently working on only goes to Newtown Road. It seems people miss the fact that this is just a starter rail. When I lived in DC I watched the Metro grow and grow ever year. Hopefully, our light rail system does the same.

That's a point I've been meaning to make for a while. No system starts 100% complete. It has to start somewhere (as did the Metro in DC) and add as demand and resources grew.

As for McMullen, I'd like to see him take that same attitude about the poor up to DC. They have poor people too. But their Metro system works--extremely well. If he suggested there what he's saying here, they'd BBQ him.

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I'm anti-light rail.

I'm not anti-mass-transit.

I think light rail is redeployment of a system of the past, and not forward looking. I think elevated maglev is a forward looking technology. It's close to working, it doesn't obstruct traffic, there isn't friction to wear down parts, it's quiet. and it's not like old trolleys.

If your going to build something, build something great for the future.

I want very high speed maglev from Maine to key west, DC to San Francisco, Chicago to Texas. 500MPH+.

Due to cost, Maglev would be a harder sale than LR. And since it would doom it from getting done (and hence leave us with nothing), it's a cop-out. Apparently, the calls for something else suggest we think we know more than Charlotte, St. Louis, Seattle, NY, NJ, and tons of other cities and states around the country that want light rail.

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There will always be people who are against any kind of change, people who don't like poor people, people who want to help poor people, and people who think we should be flying in magnetic rockets by now. Our LRT is just a start, it won't be particularly fast and it won't solve our transit problems for a long time. It may even add some new problems in the short run. But it can serve as a placeholder for something better someday, and we can add density in a logical way along the lines and near the stations, stops and park and ride lots. We'll be really glad we supported this thing in 50 years. Long term thinking is very un-American. It takes some getting used to. Now, where's that next skyscraper proposal?

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