DATE: Friday, October 10, 1997              TAG: 9710100018

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B10  EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: Opinion 

SOURCE: BY KENT JOHNSON 

                                            LENGTH:   75 lines

LET'S NOT PAVE THE WORLD

Not long ago the region came close to not being able to receive a new U.S. Navy air wing due to marginal air quality. While the Virginia Beach City Council stonewalled talks on light rail until the question of water pipeline was resolved, the air quality of the area remained unchanged.

On another front, the newspaper editorialized the plight of dwindling funds of highway construction as the condition of the existing roads continues to deteriorate due to a lack of money. At other times, the poor condition of the Bay was lamented.

Soon a major problem source may be realized for air pollution, bay spoilage and highway funding. It is not a lack of dollars. It is not because there are so many cities or individual government bodies. It is not for any of the old excuses that are brought out every time someone needs a whipping boy.

Could it be the problem is our total dependence on the car? It is the world's largest single source of air pollution. It has been said that the car is a good servant but a poor master. It has become just that. Our master. Perhaps it became dominant out of necessity, but perhaps it is time for a big change. Fewer cars equal fewer roads, less pollution and a lower tax bill.

Good transportation is still necessary, but mass transport in Virginia is a joke. In Norfolk, a passenger rail system is nonexistent and a plane ride to Lynchburg costs about the same as a round-trip to London (England) off season. From Newport News it is a 10-hour trip to Charlottesville via rail with a five-hour layover in D.C. By bus it is difficult to get from Norfolk to Virginia Beach, and impractical to Chesapeake. The only shinning star is the ferry ride to Portsmouth. It is frequent, cheap, clean and faster than driving during rush hour. You can even take your bicycle.

Alternate forms of transportation are not considered, much less utilized. We sit on the Elizabeth River, a free boulevard from the Naval Base to the Navy Yard and beyond, which goes largely ignored as a people mover except for the ferry. The Navy makes the trip by bus, van or car.

We have a rail line in place that goes from downtown Norfolk to the beach, but we are going to study it some more. It also goes to Burton Station adjacent to the airport. We are still going to study more. Granted, improvements will have to be made, but the tracks are there now.

Suggestion: Why do we not read the studies that have already been done in other locations? Our problems are nothing unique. Save a bunch of money and time and get on with the obvious.

Madison, Wis. (population 200,000) has bicycle paths which are plowed in the wintertime for commuters, plus a bicycle coordinator. In Washington State some cities have buses with bicycle racks so you have a total door-to-door package. Missoula, Mont., has implemented a free-bike program. In Milwaukee there are special lanes on the street for bikes and buses.

Virginia Beach is the only area city that has a network of bicycle/foot paths that go anywhere at all - some 50 miles at last count. Chesapeake has a mile or so in Western Branch and Portsmouth and Norfolk have none. To make matters worse, we continue to construct barriers to foot and bike transportation, much to the distress of those who do not choose or cannot afford to use a car.

Virginia Beach is voicing some resistance to light rail in fear of Norfolk stealing its tourists. Or is it apprehension of the great unwashed masses descending on the pristine regions of sun and sand. Soon there will be no tourists because of highway gridlock on Route 44, and the problem will solve itself. No one in, no one out - but more study. And our recent Navy arrivals will fly away to a more healthy climate.

The air quality does not improve, the water table is dropping and the pollution runoff into the Bay increases with every square mile we pave over - as the maintenance bill rises in proportion. There is only so much land. Soon we will be like Los Angeles, where more than two-thirds of the land is paved.

In Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Portsmouth and Chesapeake the problem escalates. The answer is not in more cars, highways, bridges or tunnels. While some increase is unavoidable, we must change our ways and cure our addiction to the car.

It will take a paradigm shift of enlightened folks to better the situation. If the area cannot work together, perhaps a singular political entity could improve its own transportation problems. When successful, the remedy might be catching. KEYWORDS: ANOTHER VIEW

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