THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, January 10, 1997 TAG: 9701100496
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY IDA KAY JORDAN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: 50 lines
Plans for ``A Trail of Two Cities'' tour, leading visitors over land and water to see the sights of downtown Norfolk and Portsmouth, became official Thursday.
Members of the Greater Norfolk Corp. and the Portsmouth Partnership voted to move ahead on a joint program that will offer tourists one ticket for all museums and historic attractions, and transportation by boat and trolley.
``By combining and putting together attractions in both cities with the added interest of the water, there is enough stuff to be attractive,'' planning consultant Ray Gindroz said.
Gindroz, a Pittsburgh-based planner, works with both cities and has spearheaded cooperative efforts between them.
``I think we know each other and we trust each other on this,'' said Charles N. Cooper of Norfolk, chairman of the Portsmouth/Norfolk Joint Heritage Program Steering Committee. ``We can work together to the advantage of both cities.''
Cooper said no arrangements have been made for financing the project. Greater Norfolk Corp. and the Portsmouth Partnership may provide some money, and the committee is expected to ask the city councils in each city for appropriations.
But a sense of urgency, with some participants pushing for action as soon as the coming spring, prompted Gindroz to suggest some ``immediate initiatives.''
``You need to choose elements of the project that are symbolic and visible to the public,'' he said.
The first step could be an information kiosk about Norfolk on the Portsmouth waterfront and a kiosk about Portsmouth on the Norfolk side.
``A video on the ferry could tell people about each city as they rode the boat toward the city,'' he said. ``This would make the link legible to people.''
Museum attractions, eight in Norfolk and six in Portsmouth, must agree to a format of a single ticket, Gindroz said.
Creating a single ticket for entry into the attractions and for transportation by boat and trolley could be done immediately, he said, ``to make the whole idea very user-friendly.''
Gindroz said that in addition to the Elizabeth River Ferry operated by Tidewater Regional Transit, the committee should find a private operator to run a tour boat.
``It may be the existing tour boat folks or it may be a new company,'' he said. He also recommended a high-tech historic marker program with stories specific to each city.
KEYWORDS: TOURISM