This week I am at a training/certification camp for Boy Scouts. this camp in in North Carolina, near Charlotte. It took me 6.5 hours to drive hear from Chesapeake. That is approximately 300 miles. Most of my time was on US 58. 55 MPH and two lanes most of the way, filled with trucks and traffic lights. Once I hit I-85, I took that towards Raleigh. Once I got near Raleigh, the Interstate became at least 3 lanes (with 4 or 5 around the cities of Raleigh, Durham, and Greensborough.).
There are people here this week that drove up from Jacksonville, FL. Their drive was 450 miles. I t also took them 6.5 hours. To me, that says something about Virginia's roadways. Its about time that our legislators started actually working to fix these problems. We live in a heavy traffic prone cul-de-sac of the Interstate system. We need more rail systems and we need to fix our cul-de-sac nature. We need an Interstate that goes from the 64/264/664 split due west to connect to I-95 and I-85. US 58 has become a choke point for the transportation of goods via truck. There were times when I just didn't feel safe; 55-65 MPH surrounded by unstable trucks that are drifting their way down the road.
Saturday, May 17, 2008
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3 comments:
yes i agree with u 100% in fact i agree with this whole blog. i've been looking for one about this region for a while now. i have SO many ideas i want to discuss with you. I live in Hampton and i'm just fed up with the way this city is. they refuse to learn anything. that's right they refuse to learn, not they haven't learned. but i really think that light rail will help alot. just by looking at the systems that are set up in other states. even in Northern VA they have access to a rapid transit. so it's about time Hampton Roads gets on the ball. especially here in the Peninsula. they say they're still doing a study for the light rail. but if u ask me, they should have had that completed. as far as paying for a light rail to be constructed, gas tax would be the quickest. also, if they raise the state tax by at least 1-2%, and use those specifically for funding, they could have that money within a year. i'm not trying to sound political or anything. i know people don't want to pay but how else are we gonna get this done. it would be more of an investment to me. cuz this could open up major business opportunities and we could FINALLY have some decent jobs here in VA and, be able to get to them without having to worry about being stuck in traffic or getting in an accident or, paying 100's upon thousands of dollars for gas every month. i'll be glad to contribute articles on Light rail development across the US if u would like me too. that's all have to say for now (like i haven't said enough :P)
absolutely! I do agree. Anyone who knows me can attest that I am completely against taxes and larger government, however,when the need arises (such as a transportation fix) we should raise progressive taxes. That means gas tax, vehicle sales tax, vehicle maintenance tax, vehicle labor tax, etc. I own a truck and I would be willing to pay for my share of the road. I use it, I pay for it. As for the Peninsula study, it should be almost done. I mean Norfolk started way back in like 1992, so it does take a while. I am on the HRT User Citizen Advisory Committee. I will try to find out the status of the study for you.
awesome thanks
yea i don't know, i was just skeptical cuz there wasn't any updates on the website or anything. the last thing posted on the HRT page was from 2006. i also saw on the NN city page that it was still in progress. so now that you've confirmed that i feel a little more confident. i just hope that maybe this will change Hampton's Master plan for the city. alot of it is already in progress but maybe the fact that light rail is in the possible future (with the state gov blessings, lol) they consider revamping the current plans. even if they don't change it, add something that would be more beneficial to the city, the region even. (i.e Fort Monroe reuse) thanks for keeping me posted
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