HR Partnership | January 29, 2010

“The real story is how many people showed up tonight; there’s real passion in the region for high speed rail. This is the most important decision in Hampton Roads for the next 50 years.” — Attendee

We're on board with High Speed Rail…

Over 500 regional residents, public officials and private citizens alike, jammed into Norfolk’s Half Moone Cruise Terminal on the evening of January 28^th. Only negative comment heard during this Virginia Dept. of Rail and Public Transit’s (DRPT) federal hearing? Not enough seats! The crowd was standing room only!

What is the economic impact of bringing high speed rail to Hampton Roads? According to Mike Barrett, Chair of the Hampton Roads Economic Development Alliance (HREDA), it’s $3 Billion and 30,000 jobs. As the 36th largest metropolitan area, this region deserves high speed rail. “Proximity equates to prosperity,” said Barrett. “We will see immediate return on investment from day one.”

New DRPT Director (and former Virginia legislator and U.S. Congressman), Thelma Drake, arrived late to the event due to a disabled car in the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel (HRBT). Drake explained that the mission of the DRPT is to expand the state’s transportation choices and increase mobility, adding that tonight’s crowd should show the federal government how critically important this project is to the citizens of the region.

Norfolk City Mayor Paul Fraim welcomed everyone and mentioned the announcement today of the $8 Billion in first-round awards for the High-Speed Intercity Passenger Rail Program and how Virginia fared. (see White House Press Release)*

Read the full summary here, including public comments…

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Category: About Hampton Roads, Business Community, Economy, Government & Citizens, Military Bastion, Transportation, Visit HR | 6 Comments »
Tags: Economy, Environment, General Assembly, Hampton Roads, Military Bastion, Newport News, Norfolk, ODU, Regional, Transportation, Virginia Beach

HR Partnership | January 29, 2010

Download and read Hampton Roads Planning District Commission (HRPDC), Hampton Roads Review, Winter 2010

In this issue: Franklin Mill’s Closure Impact on the Region

• Hampton Roads Coastal Resources Technical Assistance Program
• Virginia Stormwater Management Regulations Passed by State Board
• Annual Regional Stormwater Effectiveness Indicators Report
• Norfolk School Awarded HR Green Project of the Year Award
• Wind Energy
• Water We Take for Granted
• How to Recycle Cooking Oil
• Climate Change Research Moves Into Second Year
• South Hampton Roads Disabilities Services Board Awarded Employment Awareness Grant
• Regional Benchmarking Study Released
• Highlights from Governor’s Housing Conference held in the Region
• Healthcare Organizations Emergency Preparedness Seminars Planned
• Hampton Roads Critical Infrastructure Protection Program Initiative
• Pre-Disaster Hazard Mitigation Planning Underway

Download and read Hampton Roads Transportation Planning Organization (HRTPO), Crossings, Winter 2010

In this issue: Hampton Roads’ Share of Stimulus Funding

• VDOT Six-Year Improvement Program Revisions
• HRTPO Passes Resolution Supporting Regional High Speed and Intercity Passenger Rail
• Passenger Rail Project Seeks Public Comments
• Update on Stimulus Projects in Hampton Roads
• A Conversation with Mayor Joe Frank
• Regional Safety Study Update
• Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) Improvement Program and the Regional Surface Transportation Program (RSTP) Project Selection Process 2009
• Citizen Transportation Advisory Committee to Kick Off Soon
• Partnering with CNU to Gauge Public Pulse on Transportation Issues
• Limited English Proficiency Plan

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Category: Economy, Transportation | No Comments »
Tags: Economy, HRPDC, HRTPO, Transportation

HR Partnership | January 26, 2010

“…run for the right reasons; don’t worry about regional decisions at the next local election.” — Hampton Mayor Molly Ward LEAD Hampton Roads (LHR), the oldest and largest business leadership network in the region, sponsored a Regional Governance Panel recently at the Town Point Club in Norfolk. The panel was moderated by Joel Rubin, LHR Class of 2000.

Panelists included:

• Bryan Collins (LHR ‘00), Councilman-City of Chesapeake and Former Board Member, Southeastern Public Service Authority (SPSA)
• Jim Oliver, Former City Manager-Cities of Hampton, Norfolk and Portsmouth
• Doug Smith, Councilman-City of Portsmouth and Member, Hampton Roads Transportation Planning Organization (HRTPO)
• Molly Joseph Ward, Mayor-City of Hampton and Vice-Chair, Hampton Roads Transportation Planning Organization (HRTPO)
• Jim Wood, Councilman-City of Virginia Beach and Board Chair, Hampton Roads Transit (HRT)

The panel started off with one of the benefits of graduating from LHR – learning that “regionalism” is a good thing.

There are more than just time challenges to serving on regional boards. At election time, citizens think about what officials did for them locally, not regionally, imperiling one at the ballot box for tough “regional” decisions. A large amount of city budgets go into regional agencies.

Leadership is about citizenship; citizens taking responsibility. “Can we build a culture to get to ‘YES’?” asked Oliver. “How many more regional failures do we need?”

Discussion included HRT, SPSA, HRTPO, Hampton Roads Sanitary District (HRSD), budget cuts, audience questions and more…

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Category: Government & Citizens | 1 Comment »
Tags: Chesapeake, Hampton, Hampton Roads, HRSD, HRT, Norfolk, Portsmouth, SPSA, Transportation

HR Partnership | January 22, 2010

Its called Vision Hampton Roads. On this edition of What Matters, the weekly public affairs talk show on WHRO TV, we take a look at a roadmap that’s taking shape to diversify and strengthen the region’s economy.

Its goal: Hampton Roads will be recognized as a region for centers of excellence fueled by innovation, intellectual and human capital, infrastructure and a sense of place.

Right now (until February 5th), the plan is seeking public comment, and you are invited to take an online survey at http://VisionHamptonRoads.com.

Joining host Cathy Lewis for the discussion: Dana Dickens, President of the Hampton Roads Partnership; Doug Smith with Kaufman & Canoles, and Dwight Farmer, Executive Director of the Hampton Roads Planning District Commission.

Click on the graphic to see the video on YouTube, visit iTunes and download or watch at http://WhatMatters.tv.

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Category: About Hampton Roads, Arts & Culture, Business Community, Economy, Education & Workforce, Government & Citizens, HR History, Military Bastion, Research & Technology, Transportation, Visit HR | No Comments »
Tags: Hampton Roads, Military Bastion, Port, Tourism, Transportation, Virginia

HR Partnership | January 21, 2010

Daily Press Guest editorial: What Yogi Berra said applies now to Virginia and Hampton Roads: “The future ain’t what it used to be”

by James Oliver

On Sunday, Nov. 8, 1953, the New York Times carried a story titled “Tunnel Plan gains at Hampton Roads.” Meanwhile, Yogi Berra, a famous New York Yankees baseball player, had already won the first of his four Most Valuable Player awards.

Four years later, on Nov. 2, 1957, the Times included an article about “the tunnel that connects Norfolk and Hampton.” By then, Yogi had caught Don Larsen’s historic perfect World Series game.

Yogi, a simple, talented man, and the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel, a vision that became a reality, frame my future as I try to think about where we are headed in Hampton Roads.

Yogi said, “You can observe a lot by watching.” Here are a few things I see, some dimly, some starkly….

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Category: About Hampton Roads, Government & Citizens, Military Bastion | No Comments »
Tags: Hampton Roads, Military Bastion, Transportation

HR Partnership | January 12, 2010

by Brendan O’Hallarn Wednesday, originally posted on WYDaily.com December 16, 2009

I’m sitting here at my computer, and can barely type because my fingers are still trembling with rage.

Indulge me with this rant. Regular readers of Tunnel Vision know that I’m pretty philosophical about traffic jams, and spend most of my time in the column poking fun at my own foibles.

Today, I do not feel like laughing.

So far this week, three of my four commutes have stretched to two hours….

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Tags: Transportation

HR Partnership | January 7, 2010

The Future of Hampton Roads, Inc. (FHR) has set another Town Meeting on High-Speed Rail, free and open to everyone in Hampton Roads, on Wednesday, January 20th at 5:30 p.m. at the Granby Theater (421 Granby Street, downtown Norfolk).

2020 Vision: Will We See High-Speed Rail in Hampton Roads Multimodal Transportation Future?

Keynote Speaker is Bob McDonnell, who will be sworn in as Governor of Virginia prior to the meeting (invited, confirmation pending).

Panelists include:

• Hon. John Cosgrove, Delegate, Virginia General Assembly, and Member, Hampton Roads Transportation Planning Organization (invited, confirmation pending)
• Hon. Molly Ward, Mayor, City of Hampton and Vice Chair, Hampton Roads Transportation Planning Organization
• David Tollaksen, Chairman, Drakkar America and former Member, National Transportation Safety Board and High-Speed Ground Transportation Association
• Louis Guy, Professional Engineer, and former head of City of Norfolk Department of Utilities
• Ray Taylor, President, Future of Hampton Roads, Inc.

The purpose of the FHR town meeting is to urge the citizens of Hampton Roads to listen to issues, get answers and prepare to speak up for High-Speed Rail for Hampton Roads at the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT) public hearing in Richmond on January 26th and local public hearings on January 27th and 28th in Newport News and Norfolk.

In October, the Hampton Roads Transportation Planning Organization endorsed a route from Norfolk to Richmond along Route 460 south of the James River and to enhance existing passenger rail from Newport News to Richmond. A final plan will be approved by the Commonwealth Transportation Board. The region is seeking money in the stimulus package Congress passed last winter to help fund High-Speed Rail.

Local forums:

• Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2010, 5:30–8 p.m., at City Center Conference Facilities, James and Warwick Rooms, 700 Town Center Drive, Newport News
• Thursday, Jan. 28, 2010, 5:30–8 p.m., at Half Moone Cruise and Celebration Center, 1 Waterside Drive, Norfolk

From DRPT, December 4, 2009 – The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT) have published the Richmond/Hampton Roads Passenger Rail Project Tier I Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for review and comment.

The draft document has been submitted to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and is subject to change until the document is accepted by the EPA and a Notice of Availability is published in the Federal Register.

The Richmond/Hampton Roads Passenger Rail Project is evaluating options to improve passenger rail service between Richmond and Hampton Roads. The Tier I draft EIS provides an overview and comparison of the potential alternatives, with information on the cost, ridership, environmental impacts and infrastructure improvements associated with each option.

For more information on the Richmond/Hampton Roads Passenger Rail Project or to review the Tier I draft EIS, visit www.drpt.virginia.gov/projects/hamptonpassenger.aspx.

About DRPT
The Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT) is the state agency for rail, public transportation and commuter services in Virginia. DRPT has three business areas: rail, transit, and congestion management that help improve the mobility of people and goods while providing more transportation choices.

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Category: Government & Citizens, Transportation | No Comments »
Tags: FHR, Hampton Roads, Rail, Transportation

HR Partnership | January 4, 2010

Click on photo above for a chart of North American Port Container Traffic (2008), including Hampton Roads’ ranking.

by Kurt Nagle, President/CEO of American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA)

Today, as we confront a host of national challenges — chief among them, recovery from the current economic crisis — there is a clear and critical role for our seaports.

Deep-draft ports — coastal and fresh water — are dynamic, vibrant centers of trade and commerce that rely on partnerships, both public (e.g., national and local governments) and private (e.g., shipping lines, tenants, investors and stakeholders).

In the U.S., seaports invest more than $2.5 Billion annually to maintain and enhance their infrastructure….

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Category: Business Community, Economy, Transportation | No Comments »
Tags: Economy, Military Bastion, Port, Transportation

HR Partnership | December 21, 2009

Governor-elect Bob McDonnell, a former Republican delegate from Virginia Beach, spoke during the Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce 25th Annual Meeting on December 15th about his top priorities for local transportation.

Hampton Roads is being left off the list of areas in Virginia that are getting funding for road projects. At the same time, some areas like Northern Virginia and Richmond are getting millions. “This will no doubt be the toughest challenge in these difficult fiscal times that I will face in this first year,” McDonnell said.

When McDonnell is sworn in as governor he says one of his first actions will be…

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Category: Government & Citizens | No Comments »
Tags: Economy, Hampton Roads, Transportation, Virginia

HR Partnership | December 14, 2009

by Alex Marshall / Dec 12 2009 / for Citiwire.net

As America gets ready for debate on federal transportation legislation next year, we’ll surely be told again to place our confidence in the familiar yardsticks of miles traveled per hour, average commuting times, cost per passenger.

But couldn’t we have license to think more fully and imaginatively about this sector that is not only essential economically but occupies so much of our lives?

When I was a teacher in Virginia 25 years ago, I used to drive 35 minutes each day from Virginia Beach to my job at a high school in Norfolk. I drove at 60 mph almost the entire way. Not a bad commute, though I noted even then that high speed freeway driving is tiring. Pay attention or you may kill someone, yourself included.

Now in present day Brooklyn, I often commute 45 minutes to the offices of Regional Plan Association in Manhattan. This involves a 15-minute walk to the subway, a five-minute wait for the train, a 20-minute subway ride, and a five-minute walk to work. This is longer than my old 30 minutes commute by car. But it’s less tiring. I enjoy the morning (and evening) walk. I can read or watch TV (my newest bad habit) on my iPhone while on the subway. I enjoy talking to strangers.

My conclusion: when it comes to transportation, time is an elastic, subjective, almost mystical thing. One minute spent traveling one way is not the same as another. But the “intangibles” are hard to introduce into official transportation debates.

And how about biking and walking? Sometimes I do ride by bike to work. This is actually shorter in time than the subway, but it’s qualitatively much different. I arrive invigorated from the excitement, and let’s face it, danger of urban cycling, while also physically tired, even though I ride pretty slowly. And there’s the weather to consider.

By foot? I sometimes walk part of the way to or from work, say a mile, just for the hell of it. Walking 20 blocks in a crowded city is fun. But let’s say I lived in suburban Long Island or New Jersey? I probably wouldn’t walk a mile along a suburban arterial with cars whizzing by me, even if I covered the same distance in the same amount of time.

Travel between cities offers qualitative differences in experience as well. Plane travel seems to have become a series of lines that one waits in, broken up by small quantities of actually flying. Train travel, if available and good, can offer unbroken hours for sustained concentration. Driving for hours in a car between cities, with or without company, can be good or bad depending on one’s temperament, physical size, and the quality of one’s stereo.

Speaking of stereos, years ago I did a story as a reporter for The Virginian-Pilot in Norfolk called “Drive Time.” It was a counter-intuitive story about the guilty pleasure many people experienced while commuting to work because it was often the only time they had to themselves. Particularly if they had young children and or a demanding job, driving was often they only time they had to listen to music or simply to sit quietly. Even being stuck in traffic wasn’t so bad, particularly if they had a nice car.

Another difference: the shape of equipment. My 35-minute commute to Norfolk was in my aunt’s old 1973 Ford LTD that I had bought from her. Not a bad car, but a Jaguar might have eased my commute. I love train travel, but when I lived in Spain in the early 1980s I hated traveling in the slow, uncomfortable and crowded trains they had then. The country was still recovering from decades of dictatorship, and its infrastructure was poor. Now Spain has a network of sleek rapid trains I’d love to board.

Or–my experience on the New York subway. It would have been very different in the bad old days a generation ago, when the subways were hulking wrecks, lurching along through bad smelling, dangerous dark stations. My 45 minute commute from Brooklyn to Manhattan would doubtless have been an unpleasant affair I did not care to repeat. But now the New York subways are clean, free of graffiti, and orderly–one reason their ridership had often grown faster than the standard models based on population and economic growth would have predicted.

Do policy makers consider things like the quality of a car ride when considering whether to fund a new light rail line, build another lane on a highway or repair a crumbling road? Shouldn’t they–even if there’s really no fully objective way to pronounce, conclusively, one way of traveling better than another?

Miles, speeds, costs are a vital transportation issues–numbers can’t and shouldn’t go away. But we shouldn’t pretend that quality doesn’t matter as well, even if it’s hard to quantify.

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Alex Marshall’s e-mail address is alexmarshall@alexmarshall.org.

Citiwire.net columns are not copyrighted and may be reproduced in print or electronically.

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Category: Transportation | 1 Comment »
Tags: Transportation