Posts tagged VDOT

Fix Hampton Roads – Part 2

Feb 20th

Posted by 757HR in Transportation

A few days ago, I wrote about a site that I had discovered that allows you to pinpoint issues and the site reports tham to the public departments that are watching for the issues. While I cannot comment on  Chesapeake, I must commend both Newport News and Hampton’s departments for taking the site seriously. I see multiple issues from Public Works or Traffic Engineering, etc. where they have actually investigated and, in most cases, fixed the problems. Norfolk residents have not reported nearly as many issues as those on the Peninsula (mainly because the Daily Press has the map on their site – good job by the way) but those that have been reported have gotten attention. Virginia Beach seems to take the site seriously as well. VDOT, on the other hand, not so much. All of the VDOT problems recieved a standard answer:

If you would like to report a roadway problem on a state maintained interstate or county road, please contact VDOT by visiting our website. Copy and paste the website address www.VirginiaDOT.org in your browser. Click the “Travel Center” link and then “Report a Road Problem.” You can also report roadway issues by calling 1-800-367-ROAD (7623).

If you would like to report a roadway issue on a city road, please contact your local city office.

Thank you.

Lauren Hansen
VDOT Public Affairs
Hampton Roads District

Perhaps, if Ms. Hanson had spent the same amount of time recording the issues instead of blowing them off, VDOT would be viewed as a friendlier organization. Ms. Hanson (and VDOT), this site is an excellent tool for public departments such as yours to connect to the public without forcing them to navigate the complex world of a government-maintained website. SeeClickFix.com is a place where Virginia residents (VDOT’s ‘customers’) are posting their problems. If there are so many issues being reported on SeeClickFix versus VDOT’s own website, that should send the message that one is friendlier and more effective on the user end. I know that with as much as I do and with as much as I contact government organizations to ask for results, I did not even know VDOT had a report form. I assure you that the vast majority of Virginians do not know either. Please stop making things more difficult for yourselves. Just let residents know that you hear their problems and are working to fix them.

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HRT Names Interim CEO

Jan 30th

Posted by 757HR in Local Politics

HRT has named Philip A. Shucet as the new interim CEO for the company. Financially, I think that this is a great move. Due to his record on cost-control, he should bring some much needed eyes on the various budgets of HRT. One minor thing that I have to wonder about is: The Virginian-Pilot reported that “when Shucet took over VDOT in 2002, one in every five construction projects was behind schedule, and more than half were over budget. By the end of his three-year tenure, 75 percent of projects were on time and 80 percent were on budget.” Now basic math tell us that, as for the budget part, he improved. He raised the “on budget” rate from less than 50% to around 80%. Unfortunately, basic math also tells us that, when it comes to on-time performance, he lost ground. “One in five” is 20%. That means, following various properties you thought you’d never use, 80% were on time. When he left, however, only 75% were on time. Not a large number, but large enough the Pilot decided it needed a better spin.

The part that I really worry about is whether his budgetary sense is going to have a positive or negative effect on ridership and ease of use. This man has very little in his published background that suggests that he knows anything about running a public transit company. I am not saying that this is a bad thing. Given the fact that most transit companies are poorly run, it might be time for someone who is different. I just think that we need to keep a watchful eye on what he thinks are cuts waiting to be made.

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VDOT’s Budget Cut Again

Dec 6th

Posted by 757HR in Automotive Transportation

Once again, the state is once again cutting money off of VDOT’s budget. This time, however, there is nothing left but bones. In fact, as early as 2011, Hampton Roads will get zero (you read that right) dollars for road construction. Statewide that same year, Northern Virginia would receive $225 million (93.2%) from VDOT. Even sooner, in 2010, the overall budget will grow 3% despite Hampton Roads’ funding getting cut another 13% for that same year! In 2010, Northern Virginia’s budget actually increases by 5%. Our luck would not change until 2015, when we get a whopping $100 million. Of course, seeing as 2015 is six years from now in the six year budget, our actual chances of seeing anything are very slim. When are we, as Hampton Roads residents going to stand up for ourselves? When will we decide that allowing Northern Virginia rob us blind is no longer acceptable? You know when? When we decide that we are a single, unified voice. Northern Virginia can say that, as suburbs of DC, they all need the same general projects to get by. Hampton Roads, on the other hand, can do nothing of the sort. Norfolk wants money for the Midtown Tunnel. Virginia Beach wants money for the Southeastern ‘Parked’way (which is what it really will be when it is full of traffic). Chesapeake wants a new Dominion Blvd. Portsmouth wants the MLK extended. Hampton wants the HRBT redone. Newport News wants I-64 expanded north. None of the cities here realize that we all need the same things to function. Without one of our major connectors, the whole place is gridlocked. Look at any interstate when one gets all lanes blocked during rush hour. The whole area shuts down. We can’t court new business if we don’t have a reliable road system. We need to work together as one region to secure our road money. We need to tell our legislature that Northern Virginia has robbed us enough and we demand our fair share. People here complain when a city spends tax money on something light Town Center, light rail, Downtown, etc., but they seem to have no problem paying taxes to a state that is ripping us off. Its not VDOTs fault. It is completely the legislature’s fault. We cannot allow current elected state representatives to serve another term. They have not fixed our problem yet and they will never fix it. Short of seceding from the Commonwealth of Virginia, regionalism and voting out our incumbents is our only option.

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Computer Model Assists Prioritizing

Nov 19th

Posted by 757HR in Automotive Transportation

According to today’s (11/19/09) front page Virginian-Pilot article, VDOT spent $150,000 on a consultant to help prioritize our transportation projects. The first round of rankings (43 projects) seem very similar to most peoples’ current opinions. There are a few interesting projects, however. Number 5 under highway projects, for example, is a reconstruction project for the I-64 interchange at Norview Ave. I know from experience that it is a terrible (and incomplete) interchange and sometimes it might just be safer to drive over the edge of the overpass. Despite this well-known fact, I am not quite sure that I would put it on a top-ten list of projects. In fact, I think that most around here would agree that widening US 460 (#9) would be of more importance and benefit than a new Norview interchange.

[googlemaps http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?client=firefox-a&hl=en&ie=UTF8&t=h&msa=0&msid=102342212501154530947.000478bb51a6e0a84697a&ll=36.891995,-76.231835&spn=0.006006,0.00912&z=16&output=embed&w=425&h=350]

Also part of this model were transit projects. The model ranked the need for a Light Rail line to the Naval Base higher than a line to Virginia Beach. Personally, I think they go hand-in-hand. There are a lot of people in Virginia Beach that would take LRT to the base. I think that if we can build a line to the Beach sooner rather than later, we all win. If we were to lose in Virginia Beach, however, and instead built a line to the Base, I think that Virginia Beach would once again reconsider, realizing that they are making the worst mistake in their history as a city.

Their next step is to feed the model a list of 200 Hampton Roads projects. I didn’t realize we had 200 projects, but apparently we do. Hopefully this model will help our transportation leaders figure out what they want and help us get the road funds we need to actually get something built.

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Better Get Ready To Walk

Nov 17th

Posted by 757HR in Local Politics

The Future of Hampton "Crumbling" Roads

The state is getting ready to cut another billion dollars from VDOT. This is in addition to the over $3 billion that has already been cut out.We already can no longer afford to build roads or even maintain them. Now, we will be unable to plan and design them, meaning that we will be ineligible for future federal stimulus money that requires projects be ‘shovel-ready.’ In other words, you might want to look at moving closer to your work, because in the not-to-distant future, the roads will not only be completely gridlocked, but also reverting to gravel. We need to think outside of the box on this. We can no longer rely on the State legislature to fund our transportation projects. We have to start looking at options that we would have thought unthinkable in years past. Nobody wants tolls or new taxes. But I can guarantee you that there are even fewer people that want to have to walk to work because our roads are closed or crumbling. To make it worse, our new Governor wants to pay for roads with education money and money from profit sharing oil operation off of the coast of Virginia. We need to make it known to our representatives that we will not tolerate lack of action.

Either we act now to raise money for our roads or we need to raise money for new welcome signs. They will read:

Welcome to _______
A Hampton ‘Crumbling’ Roads Community
Proudly Sponsored By:
Fix-A-Flat

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