Norfolk Development

Downtown’s Multi-Modal Transportation Center

Multi-Modal Transportation Center Full Build Out Concept and Development Sites along Connecting Routes

Norfolk is moving forward with planning and financing a new multi-modal transportation center Downtown. Excellent idea. The plan is to have it ready to open once Amtrak rolls in in three years. It is very exciting. Combining the news of Virginia Beach’s move toward urbanism and I get the idea that our area is actually maturing as a metropolitan area. The one thing that scared me for a minute, though, was where it said,

“In addition, a new bus transfer facility would be developed, moving about two-thirds of buses from the current location at Cedar Grove north of downtown on Monticello Avenue.”

I was worried that might mean that Norfolk was going to keep 1/3 of the buses at Cedar Grove. Fear not. According to the full report by the City,

At present, 17 routes on the HRT network serve the Cedar Grove site, and be-tween 6,000 – 7,000 passengers board or alight daily at the facility. The general conditions of the Cedar Grove site combined with its lack of amenities, poor pedestrian link-ages and connections, and also its remoteness from downtown activity centers combine to make the restructuring of the primary bus transfer operation in Norfolk a high priority. Its lack of a direct connection to the light rail corridor is also another detriment of the current site. … It is planned that the new bus transfer operation at the Multi-Modal Transportation Center will serve 9 current HRT bus routes operating to the Downtown Norfolk area generally from areas to the south and east. Concurrent to this restructuring of the transit network, 6 other bus routes to the downtown area from the west and north would also be realigned to serve other light rail stations which will help to further deemphasize and limit congestion at the Cedar Grove site and thereby improving passenger service and convenience across the entire bus transit network.

That mean 15 out of 17 buses will no longer serve Cedar Grove. I hope the other two will only serve it by driving by. Thinking about it, this actually shows some intelligence on the part of Norfolk city officials. They publicly recognize that Cedar Grove  is a terrible place for a bus transfer point. Ignoring the fact that the city is solely responsible for Cedar Grove, I have to give someone credit on this one. One problem. In the build-out image above, the nice, new bus transfer location has been built over with a parking garage. Check it out yourself:

Where did our bus transfer point go?

An Urban Virginia Beach?

I know I have mentioned Virginia Beach’s Strategic Growth Areas before but I wanted to touch on them again since the Virginian Pilot had an article about SGAs in Saturday’s paper. The Pilot’s Aaron Applegate reported that, in order to make up for the fact that the city has run out of large tracts of land to develop, Virginia Beach is looking at urbanizing at least 8 high-potential areas. Six of these areas are directly in line with what will one day be a light rail line. This is the smartest thing that I have seen Virginia Beach do in a while. Until now, I never really liked Virginia Beach. The city’s design (or lack thereof) is one of wasteful and promotes heavy traffic and decreased livability. The new plans promise to get VB on the right track toward being a true city. the redeveloped areas will be higher density, walkable, conducive to mass transit, and most of all, expand VB’s take base to take the load of residential taxpayers.

Image Property of http://www.ourfuturevb.com/

Check out OurFutureVB.com and will will find a very useful website that VB has developed for its residents to educate themselves. I have to say, compared to Norfolk’s effort, this is spectacular. Norfolk’s last Comprehensive Plan was created in 1992. Norfolk apparently is working on a new one, however, the last new info posted on the website was at the end of 2008. Considering that the public review period is supposed to have been completed in June, I’m going out on a limb and saying that they might not be close to finishing. I have sent an email to the planning department to get more info.

Feds Trying to Take Granby Tower Site … Again

The federal government is trying to take the Granby Tower site again. Last time they talked about this, it delayed the Granby Tower project until it was no longer feasible. The federal government needs to choose a different option. By using the Granby Tower site, the City of Norfolk will be losing out on a potential taxable development sometime in the future. The land will forever be locked away as federal property. The next downside is that the expansion plan calls for closing Bute Street and most of Monticello Ave.

This is not the only option. As I said in my last post about this court projects, they have an option to build a tower in the middle of the current building, saving space and money compared to using the Granby Tower site. Please read Just Say NO to Federal Courthouse Plan.

Just Say NO to Federal Courthouse Plan

No Light Rail Referendum… so far

The Virginian-Pilot reported the other day that Wally Erb, the man behind the the most recent drive for a light rail referendum, was able to gather only 1,083 signatures. Unfortunately for Mr. Erb, he needed 25,000 signatures.  25,000 signatures represent less than six percent of Virginia Beach’s population. 1,083 signatures represent less than .25% of the city’s total population. Sound like a mandate to me. If the city polled residents on any other project and only got support from a quarter of a percent of the population, there would be an outcry if they went through with the project. As I have said in the past, Virginia Beach does not need a referendum. A city elects leaders to lead. If they do not lead or lead in the wrong direction, they get voted out. In the last election, the voters elected light rail supporters. It should not be a surprise that they now want to support light rail.

Despite the negative comments on PilotOnline, light rail will be a benefit to Virginia Beach. However, it will not reduce the number of cars currently on the road. That is not the point of the light rail. The congestion reduction aspect comes into play when Virginia Beach’s “Strategic Growth Areas” begin to expand. Six of VB’s eight SGAs center around the proposed light rail stops. The most important one so far is the Pembroke SGA, which includes Town Center. The residents of Town Center did not move there because they wanted to continue a highway-oriented, suburbanite lifestyle. They moved there for the urban feel. With light rail, that urban feel will grow around each station. Urban residents don’t mind public transit. That is why they are urban residents. Even reformed suburbanites re-evaluate their position on public transit once it becomes convenient for them. People, regardless of where they live, chose what their mode of transportation based on what is cheapest and most convenient. In a mostly suburban area like HR, cars fit this description. While public transportation is definitely cheaper than car use, the convenience of the car far out weighs the cost-effectiveness of the transit. As transit in HR gets more reliable, efficient, and convenient, ridership will increase.

Waterside’s Impending Future

The Waterside

Norfolk has finally announced that it will start a 10-month-long public input period for the future of Waterside. According to the Virginian-Pilot, Mayor Fraim wants to keep the facility open to the public. This could be a step in the right direction. First, Norfolk has finally decided to listen to its own residents instead of some consultant that lives in another state. I really think that the current structure of Waterside can be utilized with the proper renovations. Before I expand on my vision for Waterside, I want to quote the prayer that was said for Waterside’s opening. The prayer was delivered by then-Vice Mayor and Reverend for Grace Episcopal Church, Rev. Joseph N. Green Jr.

Almighty God, You have given us this good land for our heritage. Make us a people mindful of Your favor and glad to do Your will. Continue to bless our land with honorable industry, sound learning, and pure manners. Save us from violence, discord, and confusion, and fashion into one united people the multitudes brought hither out of many kindreds and tongues. Bless those whom You have given the authority of government. And bless this place, Waterside. Father, in the beginning you moved over the waters in creation to cause the whole world to come into being. You led the children of Israel out of their bondage and slavery to the land of promise through water. And just as You have created us and we went away from You, You welcomed us back, and called us whenever we went astray to come and return. We began at the water but went away from You, and You called us to return to this place, to this Waterside, to build our future. May it be a place of joy, a place where men and women, boys and girls, old and young, black and white, Jews and gentiles, will gather as one people and one city. Set it aside for our use and all our people we pray in your name. Amen.

We need to look back on this prayer as more of a prayer. This is a vision statement. Waterside was built as a place that all residents and visitors could come and have a good time, regardless of gender, age, race, religion, or economic standing. This is what we need to strive towards again. Waterside seems to have turned into a place where only young drunks can enjoy themselves. The city has shut down some of that, however, and with sporadic renovations, it has turned into a place where the homeless can enjoy a comfortable nap.

Waterside cannot and should not be turned into a shopping destination. It would only compete with (and most likely lose to) MacArthur Center. It has to become a mix of local places with the aim of having something for everybody. Small shops, a locally owned convenience store or newsstand, a locally owned seafood/fresh food restaurant, a couple of clothing stores, a bag/purse store, etc. Originally, Waterside had stores like gift shops, clothing stores, a kite store, a collectible store, an other hard-to-find places. It could be returned to that. Despite popular belief, our area is full of small entrepreneurs who would love to be in a renovated Waterside. The most important thing, in my opinion, is the view. Waterside was created to give the everyday resident access to the waterfront view that was too often too expensive to see in other cities. Waterside still has a good view… from the outside. The original Waterside had an open interior similar to MacArthur Center, allowing the second floor patrons to look down onto the floor below. The second floor, instead of being closed of and made up of one or two large businesses that are only open at night, was made up of small shops. Each of these shops had large glass windows on the inside and the outside, allowing visitors to see the river from any place inside Waterside.

View of Harbor from Waterside

Waterside can once again be a major attraction. If you add in the proper pedestrian connections between Waterside and MacArthur Center (and the LRT station), Waterside could once again spur an influx in investment. This time, however, in the street level spaces around the financial district.