THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, February 1, 1996 TAG: 9601300121
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 07 EDITION: FINAL
LENGTH: Medium: 99 lines
Don't be railroaded
The Tidewater Transportation District Commission has contracted with a consultant to perform a Norfolk-Virginia Beach Corridor Major Investment Study.
One area under study is the use of a light rail system from the Pavilion to downtown Norfolk, with an extension to the Naval Base - perhaps at a later date.
According to TRT employees involved with the study and the consultant, light rail systems have been quite successful in San Diego, Portland, St. Louis and several other cities.
John S. Barry, an economics research assistant at the Heritage Foundation, is of the opinion that the mass transit program is one of the most ineffective in all of government; it is a boondoggle, pure and simple. Mr. Barry's research revealed that over the past 25 years, more than $90 billion in inflation-adjusted dollars has been spent subsidizing local mass transportation projects.
At the same time, mass transit's share of commuter traffic has declined in nearly every city since the federal subsidies were initiated, down from 9 percent nationwide in 1970 to 5 percent in 1990. These subsidies encouraged many localities to construct systems that are now heavily in debt and a burden on taxpayers.
Mr. Barry's study may or may not be applicable to a local light rail system. However, his facts should not be ignored.
According to the Tidewater Transportation District Commission, the 1990 Census found that approximately 74 percent of the residents in the MIS Corridor drove to work alone. Some 17 percent car-pooled but only 2 percent utilized public transit. Thus, a very hard-sell program will be required to convince locals to leave their vehicles at home or in some designated parking area and use light rail facilities.
Unlike our city administrators, the Tidewater Transportation District Commission is making considerable effort to keep local residents informed concerning the progress of the MIS. A hot line has been established, speakers are available to interested civic leagues and those wishing can be placed on the mailing list to receive periodic information relative to the project. Those involved with this enterprise realize that the best way to assure progress and support is to be citizen-friendly.
Myron O. Wilcox
Lucian Court
In support of the NEA
Not long ago, Andy Rooney of ``60 Minutes'' fame told a story about a teacher he once had. The story amazed me not by its content, but by the fact that I had an almost identical experience in my youth.
A while back, I was at a flea market talking to a man who was selling cassette tapes and CDs. I asked him if he had any classical CDs. He told me hardly anybody asks for that stuff so he did not carry it.
He was curious as to why I liked it and was of the opinion that I must have been brought up in a wealthy family if that's what I listened to. I said no, we were just average people living in a declining neighborhood of the inner-city. I attended a public grade school. And in that school I had a music teacher named Mrs. Beckwith. I liked her class because about twice a week all I had to do was sit and listen to her and the music. Being like many a young lad, this to me did not seem like work, and I liked that.
She taught us about composers, symphony music, the orchestra and how each instrument was made and its history. I could hardly keep my eyes open. But then she would close the door and start playing classical recordings on a $300 stereo record player that she had fought very hard to get for us through the principal's office. Sometimes she would bring in recordings of wild American bird calls. One time she marched the whole school all the way down to the local high school to see and hear the Philharmonic Orchestra play live. Then it was the late 1950s and we moved away. I moved on and so did my taste in music.
Just over a year ago I went to hear a symphony orchestra play live for the second time in my life. It was the Virginia Symphony. For me it was as though I had traveled back in time. I remembered the orchestra sections, and I could pick out the instruments.
I could sense the years of each artist's training and preparation coming together, being conducted into the union of that movement, at that moment, by the hands of JoAnn Falletta.
The orchestra was performing a portion of Handel's ``Messiah'' when I was struck by a spiritual revelation. Mrs. Beckwith had taught me the appreciation of music. What an angel she was. She had always walked the extra mile for her students. How she must have loved us. She had planted musical seeds in us. And in my case the fruit of her planting was an everlasting joy to the listening of music. What a wonderful teacher and human being Mrs. Beckwith was.
Art is freedom of expression. Music is just one of the arts. However, this story demonstrates what I believe 99.99 percent of the National Endowment for the Arts is all about. The NEA's work promotes the arts and enriches the quality of life for all Americans. A good shepherd does not condemn or punish the whole flock because he disapproves of what a few have done.
I believe almost all of America's art as promoted by the NEA reflects beauty, infinite depth and freedom. And freedom is what this nation was founded on and what America stands for. I believe the NEA's work is a good investment for all of us. The NEA's small budget should not be cut. That action will send a bad message to our people and to people abroad.
Gregory J. Smith
Norfolk by CNB