Changes Could Already Be in Store for Light Rail
By DEBBIE MESSINA
By Debbie Messina
The Virginian-Pilot
NORFOLK
Construction began last month and Norfolk leaders are already considering making changes to the city’s $232.1 million starter light rail line that would drive up costs.
The modifications include building more inviting stations downtown and redesigning a maintenance yard to satisfy concerns at Norfolk State University.
The City Council on Tuesday took its first detailed look at the rail line since committing to the project. Some council members said they are concerned about increasing the city’s $30.9 million share of the project. Federal sources are providing $167.2 million and the state is giving $34 million.
City staffers said the changes are preliminary, so they do not have price tags yet for the modifications.
“We’ve identified betterments before we have a spade in the ground?” asked Councilman Barclay Winn. “That scares me.”
The first passengers are expected to board The Tide in early 2010.
The 7.4-mile light rail line will run from Eastern Virginia Medical Center through downtown and along an existing freight rail corridor parallel to Interstate 264 to Newtown Road, at the Virginia Beach city line. It will have 11 stations, and is projected to carry 7,130 to 11,400 passengers a day.
“We need to stay away from the temptation to tweak it here and there,” said Councilman W. Randy Wright, who has shepherded the project through the federal approval process.
Some of the additions could be financed with unspent funds after construction ends, said Michael Townes, Hampton Roads Transit president and CEO.
One upgrade many council members support is more appealing downtown stations.
“The design, the quality of these stations is important,” said Mayor Paul Fraim. “They’re going to be here for a long time. They need to look right and feel right.”
Some of the possible changes are in response to concerns from businesses and residents along the line.
City staff recommends purchasing a handful of homes that face the Ingleside neighborhood station. The property would provide a buffer between the station and the neighborhood, but the city would buy only from willing homeowners and would not use condemnation, said Stanley Stein, assistant city manager .
Some businesses along Curlew Drive requested additional traffic controls along their street. The changes would allow traffic to cut across the rail line. Stein said an extra set of railroad gates and lights could cost $450,000.
Some changes, however, won’t increase the bottom line.
HRT is altering plans at two stations adjacent to the campus in response to concerns from Norfolk State University leaders about the proximity to the school and related security problems.
The station at Brambleton Avenue will move slightly farther from the campus.
A sidewalk leading from the Ballentine Boulevard station to NSU will be eliminated to discourage pedestrian traffic onto campus.
Another of NSU’s issues was the curb appeal of the rail maintenance yard, which is visible from the president’s house. The city is proposing an enhancement of the original design with a more elaborate and costly one.
NSU spokeswoman Sharon Hoggard said the university was not aware of the changes.
“We’re happy the light rail project listened to Norfolk State’s concerns and is trying to work out our differences,” she said.
Debbie Messina, (757) 446-2588, debbie.messina@pilotonline.com
planned path
The 7.4-mile light rail line will run from Eastern Virginia Medical Center through downtown and along an existing freight rail corridor parallel to Interstate 264 to Newtown Road .
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