THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, September 15, 1996 TAG: 9609140503
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DEBBIE MESSINA, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: 69 lines
South Hampton Roads is one of about 75 metropolitan areas considering light-rail systems to handle the growing strain on overcrowded and inadequate highways.
They hope to join close to 20 other cities already operating rail lines.
``The numbers are absolutely staggering,'' said Dennis Probst, vice president of BRW Inc., a Minneapolis-based consulting firm which is a leading designer of light-rail systems across the country. ``Unfortunately, there's no way they all will happen.''
While easing traffic congestion is the reason more cities are turning to light rail, there are many other benefits that this kind of transit can bring to an area. They include economic development, downtown revitalization, air pollution reduction, community pride and more livable communities. In some cases, light rail is even less expensive than building new highways.
``There's a recognition that you can't keep building roads like we have for the last 30 to 40 years,'' Probst said. ``Light rail provides an attractive alternative to getting people away from riding in their private automobiles by themselves.''
Probst said that expanding bus systems by themselves is not realistic because of funding cuts and negative public perception.
``There is a whole new way of thinking,'' said Fred Hansen, deputy administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. ``Long-range planning requires that you address more than auto networks.''
The attendance at this week's Rail-Volution '96 conference is evidence of that thinking. Almost 700 people representing 41 states, 113 cities and six countries attended.
``Something magic happens between people and trains,'' said Jolene Molitorif, Federal Railway Association administrator. ``Rail has the opportunity to connect people and communities in a very strong way.''
The conference was organized by a group of transit operators to share information and experience, and to work for getting more funding for new rail starts, said Gina Whitehill-Baziuk, a conference organizer and transportation planner in Portland, Ore.
Many of the early light-rail projects, like those in San Diego and Portland, received significant federal funding. Since then, federal funding levels have dropped because a plethora of cities are trying to dip into the same pot.
Construction of rail projects are generally paid for with federal, state and local funds. To operate the systems, cities rely on a various sources including earmarked gas taxes, sales taxes, employment taxes and, of course, light-rail fares.
Fred Salvucci, of the MIT Center for Transportation Studies, who is consulting with San Juan, Puerto Rico, on its light-rail system, said cities should form a national alliance to lobby for more rail funding rather than compete for money. Competition, he said, will only kill transit.
Probst, who has been consulting with Tidewater Regional Transit on light rail, said South Hampton Roads has a reasonable chance of getting some federal assistance because the cost is manageable.
The projected cost of the Virginia Beach to Norfolk line is about $376 million for an 18 mile route. Seattle needs to raise about $4 billion for light rail. Hudson and Bergen counties in New Jersey had to find $1.1 billion. Milwaukee needs about $1.2 billion.
The cost of the proposed South Hampton Roads rail is much lower because most if it runs along an under-utilized Norfolk Southern freight rail corridor.
``It's still a long ways from a done deal,'' Probst warned. ``But there is a window of opportunity now.''
KEYWORDS: LIGHT-RAIL SYSTEM by CNB