THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, August 11, 1994 TAG: 9408110524
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MAC DANIEL, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 79 lines
Unless steps are taken to control traffic congestion, a new study warns, getting around Hampton Roads could become a grim chore.
By 2015, traffic is expected to increase by 95 percent on Interstate 64, 87 percent on the Virginia Beach-Norfolk Expressway and 117 percent on U.S. Route 17.
These are some of the preliminary findings of the Hampton Roads Crossing Study, a three-year, $6 million effort to stop a traffic crunch before the crunch stops traffic.
The first of two public comment sessions on the study was held in Norfolk on Wednesday. Officials hoped to get feedback from commuters about traffic hot spots. The second session will be held in Hampton today from 2 to 8 p.m. at the Holiday Inn on West Mercury Boulevard.
Authors of the study said its findings could lead to a wide range of possible solutions, including a new tunnel built solely for high-speed rail; highways that use computers to monitor traffic; and a combination of high-speed rail and highways linking Richmond and Norfolk.
If nothing is done, officials say, the area could see traffic jams of an hour or more on Interstates 64 and 664.
Philip A. Shucet, the study's project manager, said the preliminary findings show one sure thing: ``Obviously, people have not been presented with options that meet their needs other than the automobile,'' he said. ``And obviously in transit, the trends aren't good.''
The study has three goals:
Define the problems and transportation needs of the region.
Create a regional transportation model for Hampton Roads.
Reduce dependence on the automobile.
The consultants expect to begin examining possible solutions in April.
About 80 percent of the $6 million for the study comes from the federal government and the rest from the state, Shucet said. The contract for the study was awarded to Shucet's firm - Michael Baker Jr. Inc. of Pittsburgh - last October.
Shucet said he has yet to come across any transit horror stories. But ``the fact that there was no transit link between the south side and the Peninsula frankly was a surprise,'' he said.
This month, TRT will begin a bus service linking South Hampton Roads to the Peninsula. Shucet said the study will examine how well that service is used.
By about 5 p.m. Wednesday, 42 people had attended the public meeting at the Norfolk Airport Hilton. When they were asked how they got there, the need for the study became clear - all had arrived by car. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
[photo of traffic]
FINDINGS
These are some of the preliminary findings from the Hampton Roads
Crossing Study. Some of these findings are still under review:
By 2015, more than half of the routes being studied will have
more traffic than they were designed to accommodate.
Tidewater Regional Transit, South Hampton Roads' only public
transit system, saw a 43 percent ridership decrease between 1980 and
1990 - a drop significantly larger than the national average.
PENTRAN, the Peninsula's transit agency, saw a 3.8 percent
increase.
There are 56 transfer points for people to jump from one mode of
transit to the next. However, 25 are port facilities and 20 are
park-and-ride lots.
A little more than 1 1/2 years after it opened, the Monitor
Merrimac Memorial Bridge-Tunnel is at half its daily capacity. The
Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel is overloaded. Officials predict that
both will be full by 2000.
By 2010, the region's two airports won't be able to meet demand
for flights.
During a typical drive to work, 76 percent of motoristsdrive
alone.
by CNB