RE: Norfolk council debating skate park for waterfront parcel (VA Pilot, 25 Dec. 07)

This skate park is much needed. Cool places like this for youth are essential to keep them from causing trouble. Kids today get into trouble because their is not enough for them to do. Why is it that an adult can go say, play tennis or golf at a tax supported venue but youth cannot? The youth of Norfolk spend a much larger percentage of their money then that of their parents. They have no other expenses. They may not own a house or car that produces tax dollars, but they spend a fortune in the cities stores and businesses. Getting the youth off the street and doing something else is a wonderful idea. To explain it to those who are closed-minded and pay no mind to skateboards, skateboarding requires an extreme amount of skill and guts. If we could channel that mentality towards creative activities, the area would benefit greatly. Besides, in the way of development, the area around a skate park would be prime retail space for a clothing store, a skate shop, maybe a small, simple restaurant. The opportunities are endless. But for those who have closed single-track minds, go back to the fifties. For the rest of us, think out-of-the-box. The man who kept the state of mind of past never made a dime. The man who takes a new idea and nurtures it, made the fortune.

Light Rail for VA Beach?

Recently in the Hampton Roads Business Journal (Inside Business), there was an article about how the Virginia Beach City Council is trying to buy the rail line that runs from Newtown Rd. to Cypress Ave. (It used to run to the Oceanfront but they decided a bike trail would be better) This attempt at purchase may lead one to believe that they are considering Light Rail. Virginia Beach has changed alot since the initial vote on Light Rail. What would the early 90s Beach do with Light Rail? Well hopefully this is one step closer to making a more united region and a much more complete mass transit system. I hope now they realize that a bike path along this track would NOT be money well spent.

Imagine that!

This is my letter to the editor on 9/21/07 (Make Light Rail Regional)

--->With the Norfolk light rail project finally about to be off the ground, it's time that other area cities started to look into it. This line will only work if it become regional. Virginia Beach could build the line all the way to the Oceanfront. That, combined with a line from the airport, would allow tourists to get to the beach very quickly.

Chesapeake could also benefit. With its many international companies, a connection to the airport would certainly bring in company executives and could also cash in on hotel rooms for Virginia Beach tourists.

Furthermore, if this project could bridge the water, the Hampton Roads third crossing might actually be effective. The line could then transfer to the proposed Hampton Roads/Richmond high speed line (www.rich2hrrail.info).

There is great possibility here, but it will take the cities setting aside their histories and differences. This regional line is just what the area needs to get out of our interstate cul-de-sac.

Hampton Roads will certainly be a force to reckon with in the international community. But only if we work together. <---

Interestingly enough, it bears many resemblances to a segment of an article on 12/9/07 (The Tide is rising, fans of Light rail Say) It says:

City and transit leaders heralded it as the first leg of a regional system that they hope to expand into Virginia Beach, Portsmouth, Chesapeake and across the water to the Peninsula.
Mayor Paul Fraim said he expects the Harbor Park station will become a transit hub that eventually connects light rail to a highspeed rail line that would run to Richmond, Washington and beyond.

Maybe the Norfolk City Council actually has started listening to its residents.

Norfolk Light Rail

In response to "Light Rail Vs. the Smart Car" (December 1, 2007) A fleet a Smart cars, while being less expensive, would not solve anything. This plan would essentially double the amount of cars on the road and in the garage. Size doesn't matter. They are still cars on the road. The key to successful long term transportation is to increase efficiency. A smart car my get 68 mpg, but it still burns gasoline. What part of the electric light rail burns gasoline? The power is most likely generated at the Surry Nuclear Power Station or the Lake Anna Nuclear Power Station, neither of which create emissions. And besides, do you know what it would be like exiting a Norfolk garage at rush hour if there were TWICE the cars in it???