Comments on: Transit Oriented Developments

By: Will you ride light rail? - Hampton Roads area - Virginia (VA) - Chesapeake - Hampton - Newport News - Norfolk - Portsmouth - Suffolk - Virginia Beach - Page 24 - City-Data Forum

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 20:02:08 +0000

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By: Reid Greenmun

Reid Greenmun — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 15:19:46 +0000

Glad to know that y'all are amused by my sharing my views. I would be more than happy to give your organization a briefing on the proposed light rail line in Virginia Beach and to discuss the massively over budget 7 mile light rail TOD boondoggle in Norfolk. My email is seek...@cox.net. As far as the "mythical TOD" goes, I am discussing the mythical TOD along the old NOS ROW being promised as the "return on investment" to taxpayers in Virginia Beach as a reason to support wasting hundreds of millions of tax funds on a low volume, 10 mile rail project in my city. BTW, I do not serve on a government organization regarding transportation. I am the Vice Chair of the Virginia Beach taxpayers Alliance (VBTA). We are a volunteer organization seeking to promote better government and intelligent use of our tax funds. As far as my "not getting it" about the attraction for TOD, your assumptions are incorrect. I used to live in Montreal and i enjoyed using the multimodal transportation system to get around. I certainly understand that some people prefer to live in communities other than nice suburban neighborhoods. That is not what I debate. The point I was making about the "myth" is that the TOD planned for the old NS ROW requires hundrends of millions of dollars of bonds and debt - and those days are now gone - history. The sales pitch that the taxpayers should fund TOD and light rail is no longer truthful. THAT is the myth I am discussing.

By: Varider

Varider — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 12:29:08 +0000

Since the Pembroke Implementation Plan basically revolves around the rail transit stations, and without LRT, there will be no build up of Pembroke other than a couple additions here and there, the Pembroke Area should be considered a TOD. I think we’re going to see significant development at a majority of rail stations in the coming future. Belmont + Wells Fargo are just the beginning. The Residence Inn was also a TOD, though.

By: Russell Manning

Russell Manning — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 05:49:48 +0000

Well, not technically. In order for it to be a TOD, it has to be built BECAUSE of a transit stop or planned transit stop. It is not technically a TOD if it is built to be able to accommodate transit but would still be built regardless if transit were to actually come. The Pembroke Plan is pretty close to a TOD, because realistically, light rail is 99.9% sure to be coming to the Beach.

By: Russell Manning

Russell Manning — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 05:46:44 +0000

Thanks for the comments. I used Microsoft’s Live Maps. They have what they call “Bird’s Eye” mode. Similar to how Google drove the streets of the country for StreetView, Microsoft flew over the country and took angled photos from a plane. You can get photos from each direction.

By: Brett

Brett — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 22:33:58 +0000

Great article with all the facts. I too, get a kick out of Reid’s replies on the Pilot’s website. It’s scary to know that there are officials like him in charge of a city transportation organization, with no regard for future planning and cannot even grasp the simple idea of TOD. Great pictures, great references, and again, awesome what you are doing here.

What did you use to get the great aerial shots of the planned HRT facility site/Ballston/etc.? They are really good quality and at a different angle than Google Maps, which is what I primarily use…

By: ronsmytheiii

ronsmytheiii — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 21:49:19 +0000

One correction, Wachovia Center is now Wells Fargo… and wouldn’t much of the Pembroke Implementation be considered a TOD, as well as the Convention Center/dome site plans?