THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, June 14, 1996 TAG: 9606140001
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A18 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: 40 lines
Nuts.
We'd hoped Norfolk and Virginia Beach city councils would both approve a light-rail study. On Tuesday, Norfolk did, but Virginia Beach postponed the vote for 30 days.
The Virginia Beach council cited a Virginian-Pilot report published that morning as its reason for delaying a vote. A Norfolk Southern spokesman had told the newspaper that the railroad giant had not been properly informed about the proposal to use 15 1/2 miles of its tracks for the proposed light-rail line linking downtown Norfolk and the Oceanfront. Virginia Beach council decided to put the issue on hold.
Council's discussion of light rail lasted less than three minutes and followed an hour-long debate on when a fish pond becomes a borrow pit.
Taking into consideration the brevity of discussion, the length of the vote postponement and the fact that the Beach council killed an attempt to get light rail seven years ago, some observers wondered if the council was looking for a reason to derail light rail again or if the council hoped to use light rail as a bargaining chip in later dealings with Norfolk, which wants it.
As The Virginian-Pilot reported, ``Two representatives of Norfolk Southern served on TRT's advisory committee that recommended light rail.'' In other words, the corporation was not exactly out of the loop.
After preliminary light-rail plans were presented to Norfolk Southern representatives last September, the company suggested changes that were made. The revised plans were delivered to Norfolk Southern Tuesday afternoon.
``We had believed from discussions that we were heading down the right track with them,'' said Dennis Probst, a Minneapolis-based consultant for TRT. He apologized for not getting the revised plans to Norfolk Southern sooner.
Norfolk Southern has been cooperating all along with TRT and presumably will continue to cooperate. Like the two city councils, it has a stake in speeding the movement of people within Hampton Roads. Rush-hour and holiday traffic on major arteries is slowing. Light rail would help ease congestion. by CNB