THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, June 9, 1996 TAG: 9606090034
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY KAREN WEINTRAUB AND DEBBIE MESSINA, STAFF WRITERS
LENGTH: 248 lines
For now, the highways in Hampton Roads are worlds better than its mass transit.
Driving to downtown Norfolk from Pembroke Mall takes 15 minutes most days. The same bus trip runs about an hour, according to TRT schedules.
But someday, as new Navy squadrons move to the region's bases, as Chesapeake continues to mushroom, as more people drive more miles, traffic will get far worse.
If nothing is done, local transportation planners predict commuting time between Pembroke and downtown Norfolk would take three times longer in less than 20 years, putting Hampton Roads in the same league as Northern Virginia.
The best alternative would be to move people on a system like light rail that doesn't rely on the roads, according to the Tidewater Transportation District Commission.
That board, which runs Tidewater Regional Transit, decided May 8 that a $376 million light rail system connecting the Oceanfront with downtown Norfolk is the way to accommodate future commuters.
Both the Virginia Beach and Norfolk city councils will be asked Tuesday to say whether they agree.
The two councils will consider supporting a more detailed study of the costs and benefits of a light rail line.
Over decades, the system could be extended to the Norfolk Naval Station, Chesapeake, Portsmouth and Newport News. It might also connect with Amtrak's Northeast corridor network.
Proponents say a light rail system is the region's only alternative to near gridlock. Skeptics argue we're too much in love with our cars for a mass transit system to be worth such a large public investment. Improving the bus system would do the job for far less money, they say.
There are signs of public support, however. In recent forums in Virginia Beach and Norfolk, dozens of residents spontaneously brought up the idea of light rail as a long-term solution to the region's transportation problems.
In a discussion of 14 Beach residents convened by The Virginian-Pilot last week, all but one supported the idea of studying light rail further.
Council backing is less sure. The Norfolk City Council has been supportive of the concept of light rail and, at a retreat last year, listed studying it among its priorities.
But the Virginia Beach council, which derailed a similar effort seven years ago, is divided. Several council members said last week that they would have a much easier time supporting the proposal if the line initially went all the way to the Norfolk Naval Station, instead of stopping in downtown.
If it just goes to downtown, ``the biggest economic winner will be Norfolk,'' council member Nancy K. Parker said. A longer route would provide as big a boon for Virginia Beach residents, she and several other council members said.
Without the support of the Beach council, the project would likely be shelved again. Approval by both councils and a Hampton Roads transportation organization that includes regional city officials would push the proposal into the next stage: another 18-month study.
Here are some conclusions from a federally funded $1 million examination:
THE COST
Fares on the train and the expanded bus system that would feed it would run about $1.25. But the true cost to residents would be much higher.
A train system traveling between downtown Norfolk and the Virginia Beach Oceanfront would cost $376 million to build and $11.5 million a year to run.
Taxes would almost definitely have to rise to pay for the local share of the system. Projections suggest a 2-cent to 5-cent regional gas tax surcharge, or a 1/4 percent to 1/2 percent sales tax increase.
Widening Route 44 instead of building a light rail line would cost about $1 billion, according to planning officials. Double-decking the road to avoid having to buy rights of way could run $2 billion or more.
THE ROUTE
The initial line would run 18 miles along an infrequently used Norfolk Southern Corp. track that snakes between Virginia Beach Boulevard and Route 44 from downtown to the Virginia Beach Pavilion. The existing rails would need to be upgraded, and the bridge across Broad Creek next to Interstate 264 would have to be rebuilt.
To avoid delays and improve safety, there would be three overpasses along the route: at Independence Boulevard in Virginia Beach, and over two heavily used freight lines in Norfolk.
Bus systems would be beefed up to feed the rail line. Buses that are now spaced every hour or 30 minutes would run every 10 to 20 minutes. Residents north and south of the line would be able to hop buses to one of the 13 proposed stations. Others could choose to drive to park-and-ride lots at each stop.
Eventually, the system would extend to the Norfolk Naval Station along one of six possible roads: Colley Avenue, Hampton Boulevard, Granby Street, Tidewater Drive, Military Highway or I-64. Only the Tidewater Drive option would be able to use existing rail.
Extending the line to the base in the first round of construction is unlikely, though, because of the cost, said Dennis Probst, vice president of BRW Inc., the consulting firm that prepared the light rail study. The initial stage would cost $21 million a mile; the track from downtown Norfolk to the base would run $29 million a mile.
``It's a function of how much we can bite off at one time,'' Probst said from his Minneapolis office. ``If there was a big pot of money out there we could definitely make the connection from the Beach to the base. But the economic reality causes us to do that in stages.''
Ultimately, the rail system could link all the cities of South Hampton Roads, including Chesapeake's Greenbrier area, downtown Portsmouth, Norfolk International Airport and the Kempsville section of Virginia Beach.
A train tunnel is likely to be part of a study to build a third crossing to the Peninsula. The cities there are also beginning to look at light rail. And there's another effort to link Williamsburg, Richmond and Washington via high speed rail.
WHO WOULD RIDE
It's projected that 6,500 to 7,750 people would commute round-trip daily on the initial leg of the system by the year 2015. A trip from downtown to Pembroke would take 20 minutes, and the full route would take 40 minutes.
Probst said most of the passengers will be more affluent people who are commuting to and from work.
``There is a different profile for rail riders than for bus riders,'' he said. ``Historically, bus systems were put in place for people who have no choice. The logic in rail systems is you attract people who do have a choice.''
Probst said his model assumes about 10 percent of the riders would be tourists. The rail would also be used for downtown festivals and sporting events and trips to the beach.
WHAT IT WOULD LOOK LIKE
Light rail is basically a modern version of the historic trolley cars that once rumbled through the streets of Norfolk. Both trolleys and light rails run on double tracks with an overhead electrical source.
But the updated light rail systems have larger vehicles and several can be linked together. Light rail is also faster, moving at up to 55 mph.
Light rail also differs from subway and elevated line systems, such as the Metro in Washington. Those operate at greater speeds and have fewer stops than light rail. They are powered from a so-called third-rail, which is a ground-level electrical source that can cause electrocution if touched by people or other vehicles.
Probst said light rail is about as loud as cars passing on a highway. The traditional clickety-clack sound of trains will be eliminated by welding the rail sections together, he said. And the squealing of wheels turning on the track will be minimized because the route is pretty much a straight line.
THE ASSUMPTIONS
The study, which is based on a Hampton Roads regional forecasting model, assumes that South Hampton Roads' population will grow to about 1.2 million by 2015. Travel time will increase by at least 30 percent over that time, meaning that a commute from Kempsville to downtown Norfolk that now takes 20 minutes, would take 26 minutes.
The projections assume that the cost of driving will not rise substantially and that parking costs will only increase with inflation.
The model is based on getting 6,500 to 7,500 people to ride the system a day - if more people ride, the costs go down; if fewer people get on, the costs rise.
THE TIMELINE
Building the total system, all the way to Chesapeake, Portsmouth and Newport News, would likely take 30 to 40 years, Probst said.
``That number is probably going to shock and disappoint people,'' he said. ``But, if you look at highway projects - here in Minnesota, from the notion to proceed with the project until the time you can actually drive on it - 20 years is not an unreasonable time line.''
Each leg of the system would probably take five to eight years to move through the process of funding, design and construction, he said. Probst said he thinks passengers could be riding the first rail cars by 2003.
Between now and then, if the councils decide to proceed, the federal and state governments will each have to be persuaded to provide about $125 million, and regional taxes will have to be increased to fund the balance of the costs.
The final design of the system will probably take two years, beginning in 1998, with the three-year construction project to start in 2000. Improvements to the bus system could begin sooner, TRT said. MEMO: Staff writer Alex Marshall contributed to this report. ILLUSTRATION: Color photos
PAST
FILE
The Carolinian is one of the rail buses that used to run between
Norfolk and Virginia Beach. Increased expenses and competition from
cars ended the service in November 1947.
PRESENT
TRT
The successful MAX light rail line in Portland, Ore., began in 1986.
Hampton Roads is smaller than many cities that have light rail, but
Portland is close to the same size with about 1.4 million people.
FUTURE
Map
JOHN EARLE/The Virginian-Pilot
The proposed light rail would run between downtown Norfolk and the
Oceanfront.
Graphic
LIGHT RAIL'S LONG JOURNEY
Passenger train service from Norfolk to Virginia Beach ended 64
years of operation in late 1947.
The idea of rebuilding a light rail system between Norfolk and
Virginia Beach was discussed in the early 1970s.
In 1976, an analysis of alternatives was performed for the
Southeastern Virginia Planning District Commission. The study found
that there would likely be sufficient density and development in the
corridor by 1995 to support light rail. The study examined several
options, including commuter rail, light rail and improved bus routes
on high-occupancy vehicle lanes.
In the early 1980s, a similar study was done for the Tidewater
Transportation District Commission, the board that oversees
Tidewater Regional Transit. That study, more or less, examined the
same options as the 1976 study.
In 1989, a consultant conducted a light rail feasibility study for
TRT. However, light rail took a back seat to installing High
Occupancy Vehicle lanes.
That same year, the Virginia Beach City Council voted against
another study aimed at securing federal money for a light rail line.
In 1992, TRT began making plans for a ``major investment study,''
which is part of the federal government's process for funding
projects like light rail.
The study was recently completed, and on May 8, the Tidewater
Transportation District Commission unanimously endorsed its $376
million light rail option over three other alternatives for future
transportation needs. The other options were to do nothing, to add
to the bus system or to significantly expand the bus system.
The Virginia Beach and Norfolk city councils will consider Tuesday
whether to support the light rail option and a further study of the
proposal.
The region's Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) - made up of
transit representatives, state transportation officials, and city
officials from throughout the region - is to choose its preferred
alternative on June 19 - if Norfolk and Virginia Beach have made
their decisions. For TRT to move forward with the project, it must
receive the MPO's approval.
Preliminary engineering and a draft environmental study of the
project could then begin, and would take about 18 months.
Final design work, which would last another two years, would then
begin. TRT would also have to secure federal, state and local
funding sources for the light rail by the end of the century.
At the earliest, construction of the project could begin in late
2000 and be completed by the beginning of 2003.
The system could begin operating in mid-2003. by CNB