I have had more than a few conversations and questions about light rail in Chesapeake. Back in July 1999, the area undertook a study for potential corridors for both Chesapeake and Portsmouth. I have uploaded the file from the study available
here. I have also converted the Chesapeake routes into a
Google earth file for you viewing pleasure. A note about these corridors: they were created in 1999. The station locations were proposed in 1999 and are approximate. A lot has changed in the past decade. Mainly, Chesapeake’s population has moved south. I think that a combination of these routes with new stations would be best. Going strictly from the 1999 study, I do not think that any of the corridors would fit the needs of Chesapeake residents. Enjoy!
Tide LRT Vehicles Being Delivered
HRT has released their final “cost-to-completion” for the Tide light rail system currently under construction in Norfolk. The new final cost is $338,284,251. This is, of course, much higher than the $232 million that was originally promised. Despite claims that HRT’s new President and CEO Philip Shucet is responsible for the firming up of the new number, the consultant was actually hired for the job by Townes, who knew about the cost overruns but failed to live up to City Council’s standards. It actually would make sense to me that the numbers Townes was feeding council were the preliminary numbers from his consultant. The difference between Townes’s and Shucet’s communication is that Townes should have done what Shucet did: tell council to hold on for a couple weeks while the consultant finishes the estimate.
Regardless, I hope that the project can stick to these numbers until completion. Personally, if Shucet does a good job with costs, I think we should demote him to a position to simply control LRT construction. That way we can hire a President and CEO that actually knows how to operate a transit system.
http://www.ridethetide.com/about_the_tide/cost-to-complete.shtml
The Commonwealth Transportation Board will vote today on the proposed High Speed rail line from Richmond to Norfolk. Hopefully, we can get the funding we need from the government and our region can finally start moving forward. Well, most of our region. Norfolk will move forward with its planned expansion of light rail. The Peninsula wants their very own light rail so that they can move forward. Portsmouth wants to move forward and join Norfolk’s light rail. I think for the most part, Chesapeake wants to move forward but at the same time, they wonder why nobody ever pays them any attention when it comes to transportation (think drawbridges). Virginia Beach does not really want to move forward. They want somebody else to move forward for them, so that they can continue to work backwards and build new highways.
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Pilot reported that the new temporary leader for Hampton Roads Transit, Philip Shucet, will ask Virginia Beach to share 20% of the VB Light Rail Extension Study’s cost. Coming in at approximately $245,000, it is the latest in a long series of problems, real or perceived, at HRT. The money is to cover the 20% match required to receive a $1.2 million grant that HRT received from a federal source. Virginia Beach councilwoman Rosemary Wilson told the Pilot, “”It was always funded by HRT, we weren’t paying for it.” … I’m not sure that the councilwoman knows how HRT operates. It doesn’t have its own money. All of its money comes from grants from the federal, state, and local governments. Virginia Beach, however indirectly, has contributed money toward the study. I do understand that they were apparently told by former President Townes that all cost had been covered. Regardless, that is not my problem. My problem is that there was a cost estimate of $4.3 million that has risen to $6.6 million for a consultant contract. HRT’s Senior VP of Development told the Virginian Pilot that the price was just for the contract and did not include other costs. What other costs could not be included in a consultant’s contract? You hire a consultant to examine a possible extension of light rail into Virginia Beach. The price should include all costs of completing that mission. If the board made former President Townes leave, why can we not get rid of other executives that would even sign a contract that in not all-inclusive. I don’t even get work done on my car without a quote. If something new is discovered during the course of the service, they call and we discuss it. But studying a light rail extension is not the same as doing work on a car. These consultants were hired (hopefully) because they have experience in studying proposed transit systems. Perhaps they know that HRT seems to sign-then-read when they sign contracts. Regardless, a contract should include all costs to complete the task. Then, the consultant needs to be held to the price. No exceptions unless there is an actual emergency.
A side note from the High Speed Rail meeting that I wanted everyone to know. When Thelma Drake (who is now the new Director of the Department of Rail and Public Transportation) arrived to the meeting, she apologized for being late due to a State Senate Appropriations meeting. She said that “when the appropriations committee wants to meet with you, you don’t miss it.” She also, more importantly, made the comment that the committee had told her that “public transit is the future of transportation” and that we simply “cannot afford to build more roads.”
I want to emphasize the fact that the committee in charge of handing our money stated that “public transit is the future of transportation.” This is a huge leap forward for state policy on transportation. I can only hope and pray that they follow through with some HSR money and maybe some more LRT money.
