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(04-17-2018 10:49 AM)Cyniclone Wrote:  I'm a supporter of light rail in Tidewater, though I've also seen some fairly persuasive arguments that mass transit is going to look much different in the years ahead as autonomous vehicles begin to take to the streets, and at some point rail isn't going to be worth the effort. But this isn't ever going to work as a one-city system, even if they put stations in every neighborhood and at every point of interest Norfolk has. It sucks that VB voters rejected it — I think it's very short-sighted on their part and that there at the very least should be a non-motor vehicular way to get people from downtown to Town Center — but once they did, they basically drove a stake in the heart of light rail. Portsmouth and the Peninsula need tunnels that aren't happening, and Chesapeake I thought was on board but nothing's ever come of it. I don't think you walk away from the sunk costs, and certainly that's not how they're progressing, but I am very skeptical of light rail's future here, barring an unexpected 180 from the Beach.

It was never going to work in VB as a commuter option. The population is way too spread out and much of it is a good 10-20 minute drive to the tracks. At that point, you might as well stay in the car. Taking it to the Oceanfront may have produced ridership, but I don't think VB wants to make it easy for tourist to leave the Oceanfront and spend their money in Norfolk nor do they want to make it easy for Norfolk people not staying in hotels and eating at restaurants to flood the already overcrowded beach and ruin the quality of the tourists' vacations. This kind of transit requires a large population centered around a central business district. It just isn't for the 757. Norfolk isn't big enough and a train is probably the worst option to get to where people outside of Norfolk live. Even if it goes to the airport, not many people will use it because you will still need to rent a car to get anywhere or do any business outside of Downtown Norfolk.