It appears that fixed-rail is turning out to be popular in another sprawling Sunbelt urban area. When will Jax step up to the plate and move into the 21st century?
QuoteWilliams column: Praise rolls in for The Tide in Norfolk
(http://www2.timesdispatch.com/mgmedia/image/0/354/176476/norfolk-rail/)
When The Tide began rolling through Norfolk, Wendy Pelton was skeptical, to say the least.
The Virginia Beach resident was leery about riding Hampton Roads Transit buses and didn't know what to expect from its foray into light rail. But she parked her car and began boarding the train at its Newtown Road station, near the Virginia Beach border, for her commute to Eastern Virginia Medical School, where she's a graduate student.
"I use the time to read, and the train, I find, is less stressful," she said.
Once opposed to the light-rail project, she's now a regular rider of The Tide, a 7.4-mile rail line whose ridership has far exceeded expectations since it began running in August.
Conversions of the sort experienced by Pelton are no doubt what GRTC Transit System has in mind with bus rapid-transit, a proposed high-frequency, limited-stop service that would run on dedicated right of way between Willow Lawn and Rocketts Landing â€" and perhaps, someday, out to Short Pump.
Norfolk is the smallest city in America with a light-rail system, said Tom Holden, spokesman for Hampton Roads Transit. "It's hard to imagine little old Norfolk pulled that off, but they did."
But not without drama. The $318.5 million system suffered cost overruns, delays and political casualties along the way. Virginia Beach â€" in the role played locally by Chesterfield County, which has been resistant to bus service â€" pulled out of a proposal that would have extended The Tide to the resort city's oceanfront.
"Virginia Beach is a resort town, but you cannot say it's just that," Pelton said. "People who live in Virginia Beach need to get to work in Norfolk sometimes. I think Virginia Beach is limited by not having the train."
It's hard to imagine that everyone involved couldn't see the benefits of a light-rail line from downtown Norfolk to the oceanfront. But all the missteps and hard feelings seemed forgotten during The Tide's opening weekend, as loads of enthusiastic riders packed the trains for free trips. Fares didn't stop The Tide ridership from cresting. Hampton Roads Transit had projected 2,900 average daily boardings. The actual figure between Aug. 29 and Sept. 21 was 5,140, Holden said.
During a recent afternoon riding The Tide, passengers spoke of its promise and its limitations.
"If you live in this very small corridor, it works for you," said David Ferreira, 24. "But it obviously needs to expand."
"This works perfectly if you're a Norfolk State student who wants to go to MacArthur Mall," he cracked.
Actually, The Tide manages to hit numerous other Norfolk attractions, including Harbor Park, the waterfront, Granby Street's upscale restaurants and night spots and the luxury apartments of the Freemason historic district. In the process, it makes the city more cosmopolitan and fun.
"It's convenient," said rider Kevin Jones. "But everybody's got to be on board with it. … The cities just need to get on the same page."
In a region surrounded by water, dependent on tunnels and choked by traffic, The Tide should have been a welcome alternative to carry commuters and tourists. Amid the glow of its early success, its naysayers look shortsighted.
"We're very pleased. We're still early in the process. But it's been a very gratifying experience for everybody here," Holden said. "It's also generated a lot of talk about what comes next."
Indeed, the Norfolk City Council last week asked its city manager to begin planning for an extension of The Tide to Norfolk Naval Station.
And now, for metro Richmond, what comes next? What lessons can we learn from Norfolk's painful but promising expansion of its mass transit options?
For one, we can take steps to ensure that our line doesn't end up with its own version of Virginia Beach â€" an obvious destination left on the drawing board.
A Willow Lawn-to-Rocketts Landing route seems as limiting as a light-rail system that doesn't leave the Norfolk city limits. Short Pump should be the first stop of bus rapid-transit, rather than some vision down the road.
http://www2.timesdispatch.com/news/2011/sep/27/tdmet01-praise-rolls-in-for-the-tide-in-norfolk-ar-1339147/
Quote from: thelakelander on September 28, 2011, 09:42:30 PM
QuoteThe Virginia Beach resident was leery about riding Hampton Roads Transit buses and didn't know what to expect from its foray into light rail. But she parked her car and began boarding the train at its Newtown Road station, near the Virginia Beach border, for her commute to Eastern Virginia Medical School, where she's a graduate student.
"I use the time to read, and the train, I find, is less stressful," she said.
Once opposed to the light-rail project, she's now a regular rider of The Tide, a 7.4-mile rail line whose ridership has far exceeded expectations since it began running in August.
Imagine that Lake, yet here in Jacksonville we've convinced ourselves that Bus Rapid Transit is both better and cheaper then rail. Somehow the idea that, "Rail will be no more popular then the JTA buses, the Riverside Trolley even failed to attract riders, why is rail going to be any different ..?" Our citizens are largely ignorant of the fact that rail will bring an entirely new group of passengers to our transit system. OCKLAWAHA
If you have ever driven a car in Norfolk, the attraction of the light rail system is obvious. Every time one of the many bridges goes up every major road in the city chokes to a stop. Perfect incentive to make people want to shift to the LRT.
I love the way the author of this article Obfuscates the line between LRT and BRT, apparently thinking them to be the same thing. Any honest person in the transportation business can tell you bus in any form, BRT included, does not attract the ridership, loyalty or TOD found along rail systems. LRT and BRT are two different animals and the national slogan of the Bus Rapid Transit industry, "Just like rail only cheaper," says it all:
cheap (chp)
adj. cheap·er, cheap·est
.
A. Devalued, as in buying power: cheap dollars.
B. Achieved with little effort: a cheap victory; cheap laughs.
C. Of or considered of small value: in wartime, when life was cheap.
D. Of poor quality; inferior: a cheap toy.
E. Worthy of no respect; vulgar or contemptible: a cheap gangster.
F. Stingy; miserly.
You'll only get what you pay for Jacksonville.
OCKLAWAHA
OK. Where's all the "you need high density for LRT to work" people????? another lie debunked. Thanks Norfolk and Charlotte!!! too bad early planners in Jax couldnt have been that bold when we were doing our Major Investment Studies back in the late 90's early 2000's.
Speaking as a Tidewater resident, I can only imagine how much better the system would be doing if it had been extended to the oceanfront as intended. What a benefit that would have been!
Good Grief! Look at the cost of that thing. For only a little more, about another $100 million, they could have had a new courthouse.
Quote from: Ralph W on September 29, 2011, 12:47:20 PM
Good Grief! Look at the cost of that thing. For only a little more, about another $100 million, they could have had a new courthouse.
ROFL
Zing!
Quote from: Ralph W on September 29, 2011, 12:47:20 PM
Good Grief! Look at the cost of that thing. For only a little more, about another $100 million, they could have had a new courthouse.
...Or Bus Rapid Transit...OCKLAWAHA