A Tour of the Norfolk Light Rail Environmental Impact Statement and Other Planning Documents

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	The proposed Norfolk Light Rail line roughly parallels Brambleton Avenue from Sentara Norfolk General Hospital to downtown and then follows an existing rail corridor to the border with Virginia Beach. The line is 7.4 miles in length and will have 11 stations. The travel time from one end of the line to the other is estimated to be 21 minutes and 36 seconds. The projected cost is $232.1 million (September 2006) in 2006 dollars. The system is projected to have approximately 6,510 weekday boardings in 2026.
	The system begins across the street from the medical center and parallels Brambleton Avenue across Smith Creek toward downtown. A dedicated bridge for the light rail line will be provided across Smith Creek.
	The medical center station will be adjacent to the Strelitz Diabetes Institute and the Norfolk Public Health Center.
	After crossing Smith Creek, the line veers away from Brambleton Avenue and follows a path along smaller downtown streets.
	The line veers off of Brambleton Avenue onto West York Street. One traffic lane remains open to motor vehicles for a portion of West York Street segment. The line then turns onto Duke Street, which it follows for only one block before turning onto West Bute Street.
	From West Bute Street, the line veers onto East Charlotte Street and then turns onto Monticello Avenue. West Bute Street will remain accessible to automobile traffic. It is not clear to what extent the Charlotte Street section of the route will remain accessible to automobile traffic.
	Street views of the Monticello Avenue station are provided here.
	The line transitions from Monticello Avenue to East Plume Street via a diagonal route across City Hall Avenue and through a block across the street from MacArthur Mall. The block that the line will cut across is presently occupied by the Kirn Memorial Library building, which will have to be removed. The building can be seen on the Google Map for this area. Bank Street will remain open initially but long term plans call for Bank Street to be closed to accommodate longer platforms for longer trains.
	A novel concept for redeveloping the Plume Street site is shown here.
	The line follows East Plume Street to the intersection with St. Paul's Boulevard. On the far side of St. Paul's Boulevard, the line cuts through the courtyard between the Civic Center/Jail and the Circuit Court Building.
	The line then crosses under the ramps for Interstate 264 and the Berkley Bridge along East Main Street to reach the station at Harbor Park Stadium. The line then crosses back under Interstate 264.
	Once past Harbor Park Stadium, the line is able to follow an abandoned railway corridor eastward toward the border with Virginia Beach. Elevated viaducts are necessary at the crossings of the Norfolk Southern Railroad's Lamberts Point branch and at Brambleton Avenue. The station at Norfolk State University is on an elevated viaduct. The storage yard and maintenance facility are across the light rail line from Norfolk State University.
	A computer simulation of the Norfolk State University Station showing the elevated walkway to the campus is provided in this view.
	The vehicle storage and maintenance facility will have space for 15 trains. The line will begin operation with 9 trains.
	The next station is Ballentine Boulevard. Ballentine Boulevard is crossed at-grade. A viaduct is needed over the Sewells Point branch of the Norfolk Southern Railroad east of Ballentine Boulevard.
	The Ingleside Road Station is located on a point of land bracketed by Interstate 264 and the eastern branch of the Elizabeth River.
	A street view of the Ingleside Road station is provided here.
	The line then crosses Broad Creek. A single-track railway bridge exists; however, it is not clear that it can be recycled for the new light rail line. In any case, a new bridge will have to be built to carry the second track.
	The line then reaches the Military Highway Station. The line crosses under Military Highway east of the station.
	The final station is at Newtown Road.
	Parking for the Newtown Road Station will displace some residences along Bangor Avenue plus a commercial building. The structures can be seen on the Google Map for this area.
	The line will have 53 road or driveway crossings. Grade separation (bridges) will be provided for four of those crossings. Grade crossing gates will be provide at six crossings. Road closures are recommended at fourteen locations and suggested at two others. The list of road and driveway crossings is as follows: Grade Separation (4 Crossings) - Brambleton Avenue between Park Avenue and I-264 - Park Avenue - Clairborne Avenue - Holt Street (Adjacent to NSRR Lamberts Point branch) Traffic Signals without Transit Priority (2 Grade Crossings) - Boush Street (at Charlotte/Bute) - St. Paul's Boulevard / Plume Street Traffic Signals with Transit Priority (17 Grade Crossings) - Colley Avenue / Brambleton Avenue - Brableton Ave. / Red Cross Drive - Brambleton Avenue / Botetourt Street - Duke Street / Bute Street - Granby Street / Charlotte Street - Charlotte Street / Monticello Avenue - Monticello Avenue / Freemason Street - Monticello Avenue / Market Street (pedestrian signal) - Monticello Avenue / City Hall Avenue - Bank Street / Plume Street - Union Street / Main Street - Main Street / Water Street / Park Avenue - Park Ave. / Harbor Park Middle Driveway - Park Ave. / Harbor Parke Driveway and Park Ave. / LRT Crossing - Ballentine Boulevard - Ingleside Road - Military Highway Station Park and Ride Lot / Curlew Drive Traffic Signals Utilixing Signal Interconnect (3 Grade Crossings) - Boush Street: Bute Street to Brambleton - Monticello Avenue: Charlotte Street to City Hall Avenue - St. Paul's Boulevard: Main Street to City Hall Avenue Supplemental Active Warning Device (5 Grade Crossings) - Three private lot driveways on Charlotte Street - City parking lot driveway on Main Street - Pedestrian trail crossing Main Street Automatic Crossing Gates (6 Grade Crossings) - Huntsman Road - Corporate Boulevard - Military Way (frontage road) east of Military Highway - Private driveway east of Military Highway - Kidd Boulevard - Bristol Avenue Recommended for Closure (14 Closures) - Brambleton Frontage Road Entrance East of Colley Avenue - Southampton Avenue at Brambleton Frontage Road Intersection - Brambleton Avenue at Woodis Avenue Intersection - YMCA Parking Lot Exit Driveway at York Street - York Street between Dunmore Street and Yarmouth Street - Norfolk Community Service Board Parking Lot Driveway on York Street - Tidewater Prosthetics Parking Lot Driveways on York Street - Parking Lot Driveway west of Duke Street south of York Street - City Parking Lot 56 west of Duke Street on York Street - Private Driveway north of Bute Street along Duke Street - Private Driveway west of Duke Street along Bute Street - Atlantic Street at City Hall Avenue Intersection - Union Street Garage North Side Access on Main Street - Private Driveways East of Military Highway along Curlew Drive Suggested for Closure (2 Closures) - Two Driveways to City Parking Lot under the Berkley Bridge - City Parking Lot "F" Driveway east of I-264 along Main Street
	The light rail vehicle shown in the Environmental Impact Statement appears to be a Siemens Avanto S70 low-floor LRV. The light rail vehicles have not yet been bid, so similar vehicles from other manufacturers might be used. The light rail vehicles are about 90 feet long and have a passenger capacity of 150 with 70 of those passengers seated. The maximum operating speeds are 55 mph on the railway corridor segment of the route and 25 mph on city streets. The vehicles are bi-directional with driver's cabs at both ends. The vehicles are powered by an overhead catenary electrical system supplying 750 VDC. The line will open with nine vehicles. Seven vehicles will be required during peak service hours, which will leave 2 vehicles on standby or undergoing maintenance. See the Siemens website for information about similar vehicles used in Houston and San Diego. See also the world.nycsubway.org website for pictures of these trains operating in Houston and San Diego.
	The stations will be a mix of side platform and center platform stations. The station platforms are approximately 14 inches above the top of the rails in order to provide Americans with Disabilities Act compliant level floor loading of the trains. Initially, the platforms will be 90 feet in length to accommodate a single light rail vehicle. The stations have been designed with space reserved to extend the platforms to 270 feet to accommodate three-car trains.
	Platform level views of the two types of stations are shown here. The current plan is for the line to operate from 6:00 a.m. until midnight. The service frequency will be 7.5 minutes during the A.M. and P.M. peaks. Early morning, mid-day, and early evening service frequency will be 15 minutes. Late evening service frequency will be 30 minutes.
	The Norfolk light rail line is the first step in Hampton Roads Transit's long term plan to have light rail or bus rapid transit lines serving both Southside and the Peninsula. Due to the tight corridors along Hampton Boulevard and Colley Avenue, an extension from the Medical Center terminus is problematic. The Navy Base would eventually be reached via another existing rail corridor that passes through the Ward's Corner area. The proposed third crossing of Hampton Roads Harbor would be used to connect to a light rail or bus rapid transit line along the CSX corridor on the Peninsula. Old Dominion University is not on the map and neither is Virginia Beach. Virginia Beach voters failed to endorse planning efforts to extend the Norfolk light rail line along the existing rail corridor to the ocean front.

For more information, see the Hampton Roads Transit light rail website: www.ridethetide.com/

Also, see the "Making the Case" document: MAKETHECASErevised.pdf

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