HRBT, 3rd Crossing, Still Traffic?

Re: Study: Extra lanes, third crossing will ease region's traffic HamptonRoads.com PilotOnline.com

Interesting. The HRMPO thinks that an HRBT expansion would not be a help to our transportation. Instead, they believe that a Third Crossing would be a cure-all for our transportation problems. The Peninsula, on the other hand, feels that the HRBT is where we should start if we do anything. Norfolk opposes this plan on the grounds that it would disrupt Ovean View too much. Apparently constantly stopped traffic and the associated pollution is not a large enough impact on OV. I support with ODU's new study. They have decided that even if we built BOTH a 3rd Crossing and an HRBT expansion, the usage at 2030 would only be 8% less than capacity. In other words we can build BOTH and would still need another solution within a few years. I think that this is a pretty good reason to spend extra money on a regional LRT system. If we can throw nearly $7.4 BILLION at roads and STILL need more, then perhaps we don't have a grasp on the correct solution. If we spent $7 billion on LRT we would only need the highways for incoming tourists and commercial traffic. You could build over 180 miles of light rail for $7 billion. I can only hope that our future legislatures can realize this. I say future because I think that our current legislatures have forgotten about us.

Commonwealth Transportation Board Meeting

Earlier, I attended the Commonwealth Transportation Board's meeting at the Regional Boardroom in Chesapeake. I was surprised, actually, because there was alot of regional support for expanding mass transportation. Not just from citizens, but from our elected representatives. Newport News Mayor Frank, the TDCHR, Norfolk Mayor's office representative Ann Odell, and Virginia Beach's Assistant City Manager Hanson all spoke in some capacity to support increased public transportation. I was slightly dissappointed however, that Chesapeake's speaker did not mention public transportation. They may not know this themselves, but there is a large quantity of Chesapeake residents that are itching to use public transportation. Unfortunately, there is none available. According to the APTA, the demographics of American transit riders more closely fits those of Chesapeake than those of Norfolk. More about that in my next post. This goes for Virginia Beach as well. Mr. Hanson spent nearly 10 minutes talking. Of that, less that 60 seconds was devoted to public transportation. Overall, I hope that the CTB decides to cut money from other road projects and not from public transportation.

Jordan Bridge Toll

Lets get this straight. The HRMPO is questioning how the company that proposes to build a new Jordan Bridge plans to make money. They wonder if cars will even use it if is tolled at $2 a car. Why is this an issue. The current municipally controlled Jordan Bridge is closed. That means zero cars are using it. This company wants to build a new bridge at zero cost to anyone but themselves. They (and their investors) are obviously certain that they can turn a profit. Who is the HRMPO to question that? Even if ONE car drives across their bridge daily, it would be an improvement over zero. They also do not need a toll cap. They will set the tolls at the perfect rate. Too low and heavy traffic will negate the convenience of the bridge. Too high and cars will use alternate routes, cutting into their profits. Let them build the bridge. Do not restrict them. No government around can build a new one. If the bridge loses money and the company pulls out what happens? They wouldn't spend the money to tear it down. They would hand it over to the region. In other words, if it is successful, we win and if it fails, we win. Build the bridge.

HRMPO

This morning I sat through the MPO Committee meeting. It started promptly at 9:30 and last until quarter to Noon. Over an hour was spent listening to a consulting group give the 'Best Practices' results from their survey of a variety of national MPOs. While they came up with some great stuff, the Committee expressed their disappointment because the group did not actually make any recommendations or directions for the MPO. I was impressed with the Committee. They actually seemed like they wanted to make a difference in our region. I think that their biggest impediment is that when they come up with recomendations for the region, the state has no obligation to abide by their wishes. I came to this conclusion listening to them talk today. The ideas that they wanted to push for a great. It was said today, though, that they make these plans but the state and its agencies do what they want to do anyway.

Virginia Beach Light Rail Study

Progress is continuing on the Tide. The Virginian Pilot reports that the Hampton Roads Metropolitan Planning Organization has set aside half of the $3 million required for an in-depth study to explore the costs of expanding the light rail line all the way to the Beach and to the Norfolk Naval Station. This is a great step towards a regional system. Despite the larger cost of the Norfolk segment, Virginia Beach should not worry about that for their section. Most of Norfolk's cost increases are the result of poor planning originally: not getting NSU's final thoughts on the design as well as the unknowns associated with downtown construction. Half of Norfolk's line is being constructed from scratch in a Downtown setting and/or elevated. If you have ever watched construction downtown, you would know that anything can happen. Because there was so much construction before building standards were put in place, there are many unknown utility lines underground, some of which are abandoned and others which are still in use. There are also multiple layers of roadway, from the asphalt on top, then concrete, then multiple layers of gravel and cobblestones, and old trolley tracks. Norfolk also has a multitude of bridges that need to be constructed for the light rail. On top of that, nobody in our area had any experience building or planning a light rail system. By the time Virginia Beach starts building their line, HRT will have that experience. They have already brought in outside experts to clean up the project. Virginia Beach will get the good end of the deal. They will get an experienced staff as well as a completely straight line to build the extension down. I do believe that, according to the original plan, the only special part of the line would be an elevated section over Independence Blvd. With the right combination of parking along the route, Virginia Beach could benefit very much. VA Beach residents who work in Norfolk could ride it down on workdays, making interstate traffic lighter. On weekends, Norfolk and Chesapeake residents could park closer to home and ride to Town Center. The proposed NOB route should go near Norfolk International Airport which, according to a recent email I recieved from them, "would certainly be interested and involved in such a decision should any provider propose the institution of public transportation ... at the airport." This connection of the airport would aid both Norfolk and Virginia Beach in securing conferences and conventions. Virginia Beach's Convention Center would have one more plus to advertise with. Their tourist in the summer could also plan their visits accordingly. If they come via airport and take the Tide to the Oceanfront instead of renting a car, there would be less vehicle traffic and more pedestrian traffic at the Oceanfront, leading to increased sales revenue and increased use in the Wave trolley.

MPO's Weighted Votes; Good or Bad

Re: Weighted votes could change cities' say in road projects (Virginian-Pilot. Dec. 8, 2008)

While I can see the value of this in a rational setting, I still hold an objection. The purpose of the weighting, which I understand, is to give cities an equal footing in votes. There is no reason why Isle of Wight (no offense) should get the same weight as Virginia Beach. VB is much larger and has many more problems than a county such of IoW. I find fault in the system, however, when the city with the most power is as anti-regionalism as VB. I think that the number of daily workers should be included as well. Norfolk has an estimated 235,000 residents. Virginia beach has an estimated 435,000 residents. Once you account for the inflow of over 100,000 workers to Norfolk and an outflow of approximately 100,000 workers from Virginia Beach to Norfolk, Chesapeake, and Portsmouth, the 'power' factor of each city is about the same. The MPO can use a weighted system as long as Virginia Beach does not simply vote down anything that would not benefit them directly. We have seen them act this selfishly in the past. Take their push for a Southeastern Parkway over any form of HR crossing plans. Or their repeatedly voting no on their Light Rail referendums. Unless Virginia Beach has had a miraculous change of heart, they seem to be in it only for themselves, not realizing that they will die without the rest of the region. Finally, each city currently pays an equal share for the MPO. If they will no longer be equal in votes, then they payment structure should be changed, causing each city to pay in proportion with its votes.

Non-Drivers in Hampton Roads

Last Wednesday, the HRMPO released a report on non-drivers in Hampton Roads. I think that it would be a great resource for promoting better transportation spending in places like Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, and even Norfolk. Most regard Norfolk as having the best service from HRT. The buses are plentiful, run usually every half hour, and run late into the night. Even HRT's President & CEO, Michael Townes, suggests that Norfolk gets a great deal, paying less for service than similar cities with similar service. For Norfolk's over 26,000 non-drivers, this service is barely adaquate, and could use improvement. Now we look at Virginia Beach. For a city that has only one bus line that runs past 6:30 PM, they, too, have over 26,000 non-drivers. As you can see from below, in this figure from the HRMPO report, not all of the Virginia Beach non-drivers live close to the #20 (VB Blvd bus route).

Click for larger image. Each pink dot equals one non-driver, each black dot represents a bus stop

This is an OBVIOUS case for increased funding from Virginia Beach to go towards mass transportation. Same thing with Chesapeake. They have nearly 13,000 non-drivers. While that is not as many as Norfolk and Virginia Beach, it is greater than that of Portsmouth and Hampton, and nearly as much as Newport News, all of which have better bus systems.

Each purple dot represents 10 non-drivers, each black dot represents on bus stop

As you can see, a majority of non-drivers live near bus stops, with some exceptions. Virginia Beach has a very large quantity of non-drivers that live over a mile from a stop. Also, keep in mind that only the Virginia Beach Blvd route (#20) runs after 6:30 in Virginia Beach. I have a challenge for everyone out there but especially city leader. I challenge you to be home by 6:30 every day, no exceptions. That is how the non-drivers in Virginia Beach live.

Each image was borrowed from the HRMPO report presentation which can be found here. The actual report can be found here.

HRMPO Meeting Last Thursday

Overall, the HRMPO went very well. Everyone who was anyone in transportation was there. Representatives from Hampton Roads Transit, Williamsburg Area Transit, VDOT, etc. In my opinion, the best speaker was Michael Townes, President & CEO of HRT. He said that that now is the time for regional mass transportation action. Mr. Townes believes that everybody should be able to choose their mode of transportation, calling that choice an ‘American Value,’ and also stating that currently, if you don’t drive you’re out of luck. He said that HRT was willing and able to increase the frequency and duration of bus service but is unable to due to the funding problem with the cities. Apparently Hampton Roads’ method of individual city payments is unique in that it is funded by property tax revenues, something that is not done anywhere else in the country. The general plan elsewhere is that there is some sort of dedicated funding system set up so that the property owners do not pay the majority of the money. Also, he called HRT “an amazing success,” saying that our area pays substantially less than another area would for similar service.

Next up was Vince Jackson, VP of Planning for HRT, who got up to speak on land use. He said that in order for mass transit to work most effectively, ever locality in Hampton Roads needed to work together to develop land use patterns that were less conducive to single occupancy vehicles and more conducive to mass transit.

After Jackson was Mr. Matthew Huston, and engineer for HNTB, the Planning firm responsible for the Transit Plan. Huston said that the current development patterns were unacceptable for the future and made it difficult for planners to create effective mass transit solutions. One of Huston’s main points was that whatever the solution was, it had to be multi-modal.

The end of the meeting was given to comments and questions. The largest portion of comments showed precisely what users would want in a mass transportation system. They spoke of fewer transfers, longer hours of operation, and ease of use.

Michael Townes, President & CEO, HRT (right) interviewed by 13 News, WVEC

Hampton Roads Regional Bridge Study

For anyone who might be concerned about the safety of our bridges, I found it interesting to review the Hampton Roads Regional Bridge Study, put out last month by the Metropolitan Planning Organization. It has everything you need to be informed. It even has the elusive 'sufficiency ratings' that we are not allowed to see on the news anymore. The bottom five bridges and their ratings are:

• 22nd St. Bridge over Seaboard & RR Line (Chesapeake) - 2.0
• Gilmerton Bridge over S. Branch of Elizabeth River (Chesapeake) - 3.0
• Jordan Bridge over S. Branch of Elizabeth River (Chesapeake) - 4.0
• John Tyler Highway over Chickahominy River (James City County) - 6.0
• Mount Pleasant Road over the Chesapeake and Albemarle Canal (Chesapeake) - 17.5

Note that out of the 5 lowest ranking bridges in Hampton Roads, 4 of them are in Chesapeake. The only other one, in James City County, is actually being replaced. It is anticipated to be completed this December, a few months AHEAD of schedule. Closer to home, however, the Gilmerton is getting some repairs and the Jordan is closing. Gilmerton is also supposed to get a replacement span. It is in design right now and has $154 million budgeted to it. On the other hand the 22nd St bridge only has $625,000 out of $22 million an is listed as 'on hold.' Nobody lists the North Landing Bridge (Mt. Pleasant) as even in the works to pretend we need a replacement. Chesapeake can spend millions on a bike path but can't afford to build safer bridges for the rest of us. Regardless, take a look at the report. It is available here.

Hampton Roads Transit Plan

I received an email on the 10th from the Hampton Roads Planning District Commission alerting me of a Public Informational Meeting on "A Transit Vision Plan for Hampton Roads" Here is the meat of the email:

The Hampton Roads Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) will host a Public Information Meeting on the development of a regional transit vision plan for the Hampton Roads study area. This includes the cities of Hampton, Newport News, Poquoson, Norfolk, Chesapeake, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Virginia Beach, and Williamsburg; and the counties of Isle of Wight, James City, York, and a portion of Gloucester County. The Hampton Roads regional public transit plan will address local and express bus, bus rapid transit, street car/trolley, light rail, commuter rail, and ridesharing. The plan will also look at development patterns in areas where expanded public transit may be recommended.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Slide Presentation at 5:00 PM
and repeated at 6:00 PM
Hampton Roads Metropolitan Planning Organization
The Regional Building
723 Woodlake Drive
Chesapeake, VA 23320

Can't join us at the Public Information Meeting in Chesapeake?
Participate remotely in Hampton! Watch the presentation with us, hear questions from Chesapeake, and ask yours!
Hampton Roads Transit Headquarters
3400 Victoria Boulevard
Hampton, VA 23661
I hope to see everyone there!