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Virginia Beach Light Rail and Transit


vdogg

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The beach has a strong case, because they are offering the exact figure per mile that Norfolk paid. I think NS is going to have a hard time justifying this difference, as they appear to be gouging us. Va. Beach will not get it for free, nor are they asking too. They simply want it at fair market value, which in this case is the price that Norfolk paid.

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The beach has a strong case, because they are offering the exact figure per mile that Norfolk paid. I think NS is going to have a hard time justifying this difference, as they appear to be gouging us. Va. Beach will not get it for free, nor are they asking too. They simply want it at fair market value, which in this case is the price that Norfolk paid.

Property value is different in then that of the Beach

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Property value is different in then that of the Beach

It's not about property value in this case. The only thing this ROW is good for is public transit of some sort. Nobody is gonna build a house or condo on the ROW. I just don't agree with that argument. If you were talking strictly land then yes, I'd agree with you there. 2 acres of land in Va. Beach will obviously be more expensive than 2 acres of land in Norfolk. I just don't see this being the same case though.

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It's not about property value in this case. The only thing this ROW is good for is public transit of some sort. Nobody is gonna build a house or condo on the ROW. I just don't agree with that argument. If you were talking strictly land then yes, I'd agree with you there. 2 acres of land in Va. Beach will obviously be more expensive than 2 acres of land in Norfolk. I just don't see this being the same case though.

.....But, Norfolk offered incentives by way of parking and other things that allowed them to sell at a lower rate. Not the case in virginia beach. No judge will ever give VB the same thing Norfolk gave because your comparing apples to oranges.

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Man, I caught the absolute last second of the public hearing about the ROW. The meeting ended with mayor Obendorf telling the HRT rep who was speaking to remind his colleagues that Va. Beach will need overpasses for all major intersections so that light rail doesn't interfere with street traffic. There was no maybe or hesitation in her voice. She was talking about it as though this is absolutely the direction that the city is pushing in. :) Hopefully, the video will be up tommorrow so that I may watch the full meeting and get a gauge for the opinion of the council. I think if the majority of the council lines up behind this, Louis Jones won't be that much of a factor.

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Man, I caught the absolute last second of the public hearing about the ROW. The meeting ended with mayor Obendorf telling the HRT rep who was speaking to remind his colleagues that Va. Beach will need overpasses for all major intersections so that light rail doesn't interfere with street traffic. There was no maybe or hesitation in her voice. She was talking about it as though this is absolutely the direction that the city is pushing in. :) Hopefully, the video will be up tomorrow so that I may watch the full meeting and get a gauge for the opinion of the council. I think if the majority of the council lines up behind this, Louis Jones won't be that much of a factor.

Did she say WILL or WOULD... As in, this is happening so don't come with a plan otherwise or if this were to happen, be aware of the extra expenses... Either way, good news!

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Man, I caught the absolute last second of the public hearing about the ROW. The meeting ended with mayor Obendorf telling the HRT rep who was speaking to remind his colleagues that Va. Beach will need overpasses for all major intersections so that light rail doesn't interfere with street traffic. There was no maybe or hesitation in her voice. She was talking about it as though this is absolutely the direction that the city is pushing in. :) Hopefully, the video will be up tommorrow so that I may watch the full meeting and get a gauge for the opinion of the council. I think if the majority of the council lines up behind this, Louis Jones won't be that much of a factor.

"HRT rep"? No, vdogg, that was me. :whistling: I was the only speaker at the Public Hearing. City Council passed it 10-0. (Bill DeSteph was absent.) Even Reba voted "Yes".

The video should be up Wednesday evening-Thursday morning. Yes, you can watch me all over again. :shades: There were my remarks, then the Council remarks that you caught.

The suprising thing: no Deaniacs showed up in opposition. I felt like a Zero pilot over Pearl Harbor, astonished that no American fighters were coming up. The VBTA Transportation Chairman calls LRT "Marxist" (I'm not joking!), yet none showed up tonight. Go figure.

I knew it should pass, as there's a consensus at the top to do transit down the Norfolk Southern ROW. In my remarks, I laid down markers for the coming public meetings and Norfolk Southern negotiations. The debate left is which system, "LRT or BRT?"

Edited by Henry_Ryto
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The suprising thing: no Deaniacs showed up in opposition. I felt like a Zero pilot over Pearl Harbor, astonished that no American fighters were coming up.

LOL at that analogy :rofl: Well, maybe the opposition was asleep at the wheel. You can bet that they'll be there in the future though, as this thing heats up.

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LOL at that analogy :rofl: Well, maybe the opposition was asleep at the wheel. You can bet that they'll be there in the future though, as this thing heats up.

In an e-mail I sent to Council last Friday afternoon on the upcoming public meetings, I warned Council one of my two major concerns was that the VBTA would try to dominate the meetings.

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In an e-mail I sent to Council last Friday afternoon on the upcoming public meetings, I warned Council one of my two major concerns was that the VBTA would try to dominate the meetings.

Good, at least they're aware of the problem. I would hope that they would have enough intelligence to differentiate between a very vocal/rabid minority and the silent majority, even without a warning. The pilot seems to be rather pro light rail in VB, so we shouldn't have to worry about them drumming up/spinning any discontent like they do some other projects in the area...

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VBTA called light rail "marxist"? And they wonder why they can't figure out how to make transit work in Virginia Beach?? So how do we get those idiots replaced? There has to a be a way to remove morons from any form of public office.

Uh...VBTA = Virginia Beach Taxpayers Alliance. A Deaniac group.

(You thinking of the VBDA?)

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The key here is how much will each ticket be subsidised by? In New York it started at $10 per rider, per ticket. I hope in Norfok and Virginia Beach it is ot that much. Seems that some of you here are a little over the top... Ride em long... Big Jake

The 1999 figure was $8.57, but it will be less this time as bells and whistles were eliminated for a "bare bones" project. I tried to look up the figure, but someone at HRT IT apparently forgot to move the EIS when they changed over websites. (I can't find it.) I just e-mailed HRT Staff to try to get it reposted.

1999 was over $40 million per mile for construction; this project will be just over $31 million per mile.

Yes, mass transit is subsidized, but so are the roads and parking for your car.

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Yes, mass transit is subsidized, but so are the roads and parking for your car.

Exactly. I never realized why people continuosly fail to see this point. Our roads have never created a profit. They have never paid for themselves. They are money pits that require more in maintenance funds as they age. I never understood why people were so willing to roll over and throw money at that, and yet bring out their pitchforks at the mere hint of paying for alternate forms of transit. It's ridiculous. :rolleyes:

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Exactly. I never realized why people continuosly fail to see this point. Our roads have never created a profit. They have never paid for themselves. They are money pits that require more in maintenance funds as they age. I never understood why people were so willing to roll over and throw money at that, and yet bring out their pitchforks at the mere hint of paying for alternate forms of transit. It's ridiculous. :rolleyes:

Because most people aren't going to ride the other means of transit. They see it as paying for someone else. People want to drive somewhere and have no problems paying for it. I imagine when they first announced roads people did the same thing

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Haha, you're right, it was short. Btw, Meyera said neither "will" nor "would". She just said "need".

Did she say WILL or WOULD... As in, this is happening so don't come with a plan otherwise or if this were to happen, be aware of the extra expenses... Either way, good news!
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I was thinking Virginia Beach Transit Authority. Taxpayers Alliance makes more sense....I assume they are a bunch of pro Bush supporters. That should say plenty enough about them.

Actually the VBTA is full of Libertarians and Messnerists-Greenmunists.

There are pro-mass transit Republicans: Thelma Drake got Norfolk LRT Federal funding, HRT VP of Public Affairs James Toscano is a former Bob McDonnell aide, and I'm a former member of the Virginia Beach Republican City Committee.

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