THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, August 23, 1996 TAG: 9608230374
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A18 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: 31 lines
Recent moves to create a light-rail link between Norfolk and Virginia Beach have failed to answer one question: Will it work? For a mass-transit system to work, you need a very large population working the same hours, concentrated in one close area, that works at some distance in another concentrated area.
This does not seem to define Hampton Roads at all. The only two areas that come close are the Naval Base and the Naval Shipyard. Hampton Roads is a very fragmented work area with no major concentration of employment like cities with a successful mass-transit system.
Many people are in favor of this project because they feel that the federal government will pay for mass transportation. The idea that because federal tax dollars will be used there will be little cost to this area is unbelievable. Who do people think pays these federal tax dollars? Martians?
I worked in Washington, D.C., and lived in nearby Arlington in 1960. This was long before the subway was even thought of and about the time I-95 was built. At that time, the bus service there was extremely good and actually overused. This was because there was a large population living in Arlington that worked in downtown Washington.
For most of the rush hour, buses ran at 5-minute or less intervals. When I look around Hampton Roads, I don't see the concentration of buses that I saw when I worked in Washington. This leads me to believe that there is no need at this time for any fixed mass transportation.
WILSON GARLAND
Chesapeake, Aug. 1, 1996 by CNB