DATE: Thursday, November 13, 1997           TAG: 9711130469

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: BY DEBBIE MESSINA, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   66 lines

TRT TO PUBLIC: HELP PLAN LIGHT RAIL 2 MEETINGS START PROCESS THAT PRIZES CITIZEN INVOLVEMENT.

In one of the most aggressive public comment processes the region has ever seen, Tidewater Regional Transit is inviting citizens to help plan a proposed, $400 million, 18-mile light rail system between Norfolk and Virginia Beach beginning with two public hearings next month.

The meetings will include a citizen advisory committee, station area task forces, neighborhood meetings, a hotline, newsletters and a Web site.

``It's not just going to be big public meetings a few times a year,'' said Jayne Whitney, TRT assistant executive director and light rail project manager. ``We really want to get down to the neighborhood level, to get people actively involved.''

Some of the country's mostacclaimed light rail projects - such as Portland's MAX and St. Louis' Metro Link - credit, in part, significant citizen involvement for their successes. ``We want to get to know the people who live out there so we really know what the issues are,'' Whitney said.

While residents and businesses along the light rail alignment will be targeted, all citizens will be involved. The selected route will include an under-used freight-rail corridor that roughly parallels the Virginia Beach-Norfolk Expressway.

The light rail project is one possible solution to Hampton Roads' growing congestion and air quality problems. It could carry the equivalent of six highway lanes of motorists.In October state transportation experts said that Hampton Roads needs at least $9 billion over the next 20 years to keep its highways from experiencing gridlock that will rival Northern Virginia's.

At next month's meetings, project exhibits will be available, formal presentations will be made and public comments will be taken. Those comments will help shape the preliminary engineering/design and draft environmental impact studies that just began.

Parsons Brinckerhoff Quade & Douglas and a second firm, BRW Inc., were awarded a $5 million contract in September for the work.

From these meetings as well as other sources, a steering committee made up of regional leaders and a citizens advisory committee will be formed. Task forces for the development of the 13 rail stations will also be pulled together.

These groups will address everything from what the rail cars would look like, where they would stop, and what kind of development would be around the stations. Other issues may include whether there would be overpasses at busy intersections and whether some small, under-used streets would have to be closed.

Once the preliminary studies are complete in about two years, financing needs to be secured. Federal money for light rail projects now covers about half of the capital costs. The rest must come from state and local sources.

Another hurdle will be building a regional consensus. Norfolk and Virginia Beach city councils approved the concept, but Virginia Beach will not sign off on light rail until the Lake Gaston pipeline is fully operational and Beach voters have a say on the rail and the taxes needed to support it. Once funding is identified, final design would begin and take another two years. If all goes smoothly, construction could begin in 2001, with the first passengers boarding in 2003.

Citizens are encouraged to attend public comment meetings Dec. 9 in Norfolk and Dec. 11 in Virginia Beach as a first step in gauging public interest and concern. ILLUSTRATION: Graphic

Ways to get involved

For complete copy, see microfilm KEYWORDS: LIGHT RAIL SYSTEM TRT

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