Your Views Deals on Wheels

Old trolley route

Now that everything is a go with light rail in Norfolk and The Tide is moving forward, Norfolk must begin to move on the Wards Corner Comprehensive Plan. Looking at aerial images of Norfolk, extending light rail from the Saint Paul’s area of the city to the beaches of Ocean View via Fenchurch, Church and Granby streets seems to makes perfect sense.

This route uses old trolley rights-of-way laid down decades ago but, for the most part, still maintained as public land. It cuts through the center of Norfolk and would serve more residents than a Hampton Boulevard route.

This route ties together five retail areas (Ocean View, Wards Corner, Riverview, 21st Street and Downtown). It also ties together the Virginia Zoo, Lafayette Park and Ocean View Beach Park. And it would provide access to DePaul Medical Center.

In addition, this route links Naval Station Norfolk to a large number of condo units. Tying light rail to the Peninsula would also be easy from the Wards Corner area.

For this extension of light rail to work efficiently and cost effectively, the revitalization of Wards Corner must begin now. That way, the infrastructure will be in place to just continue on with the light rail system when the downtown line is completed.

For light rail to truly work in Norfolk, The Tide must benefit those in the core neighborhoods as well as downtown.

Timothy P. Smith

Norfolk

Lay off truckers

While I am waiting in the eastbound lane heading into the Portsmouth Midtown Tunnel, I have time to notice how many cargo containers are stacked up at the marine terminal. Many people in Hampton Roads are working because of the thousands of containers that arrive on huge cargo ships.

I am fed up with the complaints I hear about truckers on Hampton Boulevard. They seem to catch the brunt of the discontent, but there are many reasons for all this horrible congestion.

One reason is the lack of foresight by our legislators and state transportation authorities to build the necessary bridges and tunnels to meet these growing port demands. It’s unfair that the truck drivers, who are just trying hard to earn a decent living, are catching the flak.

Since November, when truck traffic on Hampton Boulevard was banned between 4 p.m. and 6 a.m., rush-hour traffic has improved. While ODU was on winter break, there were hardly any backups. Now winter vacations are over and the long line awaiting the approach to the Midtown Tunnel in the afternoon has returned.

Trucks still get their share of the blame. Residents who live near Hampton Boulevard, as I do, complain of the noise and how it disrupts their lives.

When they are shopping, do they ever wonder how their groceries, sweaters and new slacks arrive at the stores where they shop? They must be aware they live near a thriving port on one of the world’s largest naturally deep harbors. Truck traffic and ports go hand in hand.

No doubt, transportation issues will be discussed during the current legislative session in Richmond. The state has invested millions of dollars in construction and maintenance of our ports, yet has failed to provide adequate access to them.

It’s time for them to stop worrying about who’s going to get mad when we build more tunnels and bridges with tolls or raise taxes to pay for them. Other states have tolls on bridges and tunnels. Why not Virginia?

Robin E. Kruger

Norfolk

Rethink HRT service

If the time has come to expand public transportation in Hampton Roads, we need more than a train to make it work. In fact, the train needs to be the final step in a new process of actually attracting riders.

Have you noticed that for the most part, the HRT buses are empty? That means the buses are not meeting the needs of enough people.

I suggest that HRT contact the school system, take a few lessons and learn the routes. Then send small 15-passenger vans into the neighborhoods to pick up customers at the school bus stops and transfer them to the big, empty HRT buses for express service up and down thoroughfares such as Independence and Virginia Beach boulevards.

Then, at designated stops, another van takes the riders to or near their actual destination, be it shopping, doctor’s appointment or to visit a loved one in the hospital. Wouldn’t it be great to know our kids could safely ride to the rec center on weekends or summer vacation?

I’m told that there are some new, fuel-efficient vans called Sprinters that can get over 30 mpg. Let’s say an appropriately set up 15-passenger van costs $50,000, and we allocate 5 percent of the projected $1 billion cost of the train to this new concept. Simple arithmetic says the taxpayers could buy 1,000 vans for $100 million. They could be sequenced in increments of 100 or so, as the concept catches on.

The big HRT buses would finally have some passengers to carry, and the people would have a functioning mass transit system. Then, as the idea of mass transit really catches on in Tidewater, we might be ready for the crown jewel of public transportation, a modern light rail train.

And imagine, if the vans were full, 15,000 riders could get to the train station, right from their own front door.

George Faatz

Virginia Beach

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