Monday, May 4, 2009
WILL WE LOSE OUT AGAIN
High Speed Rail is the wave of the transportation future, and President Obama is pushing it forward. California is prepared to grab the opportunity with federal assistance. Where is Virginia? More important to Hampton Roads, are we once again bickering among ourselves and missing the boat? It seems Hampton Roads is destined to be a cul-de-sac … again. That’s what happened to us with the Interstate Highway System in the 60s. Originally, Interstate 85 from Atlanta was aimed our way, but when it crossed into Virginia it was bent up to Petersburg, redirecting north-south traffic through Richmond. Hampton Roads was left as a dead end on I-64. Now the state has done it again, planning to run the Southeast High Speed Rail Corridor (SEHSR) from Washington through Richmond and Petersburg direct to Raleigh, leaving Hampton Roads to twist slowly at the end of one limb or another. Petersburg to Suffolk along existing rail lines would be better and then to Raleigh. Hampton Roads must not be shunted aside by Virginia again.
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5 comments:
The region needs new leaders who can think outside the old box. Isn’t the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) responsible for regional transportation planning in Hampton Roads? We have a world-class port and pre-eminent military facilities. Why settle for a second-class rail spur to the main line at Richmond? Virginia’s largest metropolitan area and its economic development potential deserve better.
Louis Guy
The state's neglect of our region is a long-standing tradition. Almost 200 years ago, when railroads began to replace canals, Richmond and Petersburg successfully stymied connections to Hampton Roads, monopolizing their control of all trade from western Virginia. The first railroad to reach Hampton Roads connected Portsmouth to Weldon, NC, expanding trade routes with piedmont North Carolina and the Roanoke River valley. The Norfolk newspaper wrote editorials proposing that the region secede from Virginia and join North Carolina. Louis Guy
There is a geographic issue that compounds development. Hampton Roads is isolated from the main line by rivers and the bay. Interstate 95 runs North and South to the West of us because of these difficult and expensive obstacles to span. The run from DC to Raleigh runs through the regionss political and economic corridors. In comparison our local income levels are low and a significant percentage of our population is transcient military. Also we have only two major corporations Norfolk Southern and Smithfield Packing. Taking theses factors into consideration, the available air and roadway usage, and the limited influence of our elected officials, there is a relatively low likelihood for high speed rail ever coming to our region.
Hampton Roads leans the wrong direction politicaly. It is in the wrong demographic category. It is military oriented. Any other questions why we're not getting more federal dollars. Happy Cinco de Quatro ya'all.
Why is it that some of our supposid leaders like D. Dickens always seem to couch things in ways that make it seem as though we lose if we don't get it his way? What we need to do is ask for a passenger rail link of some kind to the terminal on the Interstate line from Southside. This way you take a regular train from Suffolk to the Richmond area and then get on a highspeed train goin north or south from there. Less money spent, makes sense with reality by a short (45 minute 65 mph) train ride to get onto the faster trains on the Richmond corridor and we jsut might finally get something. When our region always takes a "our way or the highway" attitude on these issues, we usually end up with nothing.
I would take a regular rail link for a few minutes on the existing CSX line and then connect to HighSpeed Rail than get nothing but a car ride for the same thing to Richmond. :)
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