Virginia Beach to vote on LRT
Written by Douglas John BowenWhile presumably voting for President of the United States Nov. 6, voters in Virginia Beach, Va., also can cast their ballots for or against extending The Tide light rail transit into their municipality from neighboring Norfolk.
The Virginia Beach City Council, in a 10-1 vote, has agreed to put a question on the ballot reading: “Should the City Council adopt an ordinance approving the use of all reasonable efforts to support the financing and development of The Tide light rail into Virginia Beach?”
The referendum is advisory and non-binding, excusing the City Council from committing itself to any official action. In addition, “We may not have an issue,” Councilman John Moss pointed out. “There may be no federal funding.”
A Hampton Roads Transit consultant has estimated it would cost $254 million to extend The Tide to the city’s Town Center and $807 million to extend it to the Oceanfront, according to preliminary figures released last year.
Virginia Beach voters in 1999 rejected LRT in a referendum. Current LRT opponents argue that Virginia Beach should await a consultant’s study, now ongoing, by Hampton Roads Transit before holding any referendum. The study is due for completion in 2013.
The Tide began revenue service Aug. 19, 2011, running 7.4 miles in a general east-west alignment spaning Norfolk. The line’s eastern terminus at Newtown Road falls just shy of the Norfolk/Virginia Beach municipal border.
