Rising "Tide"

As someone who likes riding trains and travels to Norfolk at least once or twice a year, you'd think that I'd be pretty excited about "The Tide," Norfolk's almost-ready light rail system. 

But, as the people I know who live there are quick to point out, it doesn't really go anywhere that useful. The current route traverses the downtown area (mostly street-running), and then follows an old abandoned right-of-way through sparsely populated areas in the south of the city, and then just kind of... ends. Sure, there will be some transit-oriented development in those neighborhoods, what current residents do live there will have greater access to downtown, and (provided service is regular enough), it will be easier to move around the downtown area without a car. And yet, there is nothing particularly special or promising about the areas around the end of the line except that they surround a convenient right-of-way. 

Until you look at a larger map. While it's true that the right-of-way doesn't lead anywhere in Norfolk, the old right-of-way continues three miles directly into the heart of Virginia Beach's recently developed "Town Center," which is now a major commercial center and heart of one of the densest residential neighborhoods in that city. (On the map below, the red line is the current route, and the purple line is the continuation of the ROW to Virginia Beach Town Center). What's more, is that the right-of-way continues directly to the Oceanfront region of Virginia Beach, which is a major recreation/business destination. While connecting downtown Norfolk to a few random neighborhoods might only have a modest impact, connecting the largest commercial centers (passing through the most densely populated parts of Virginia Beach) in a region plagued by increasing traffic congestion will likely be a great boon for the metro area. 

So, yes, the current system route looks pretty silly. But Norfolk probably didn't build the system to look like it does now--they built it knowing that Virginia Beach would be lured into completing the line. The original proposals called for a line connecting the CBDs of Norfolk and Virginia Beach, but Virginia Beach pulled out in the end. Norfolk made a bold move in going ahead--the route they built will stand on its own, but probably won't flourish without a Virginia Beach extension. But with the line now built, an extension at least to the Town Center is a pretty tempting prospect for Virginia Beach. And it looks like they're starting to give way--a year and a half ago, Mayor Sessoms went ahead and arranged for the city buy the remaining section of the right-of-way. And the city's 10-year moratorium on the issue is finally up. Now one can only hope that poor management of Hampton Roads Transit doesn't botch it.

In the meanwhile, Norfolk will just have to make the best of the system they have--if it does actually get running.