UPCOMING PUBLIC MEETINGS:
STATION AREA WORKSHOPS
DEC. 2 AND 9, 2009, IN VIRGINIA BEACH

Learn more about potential areas for transit stations between Newtown Road and the Oceanfront. This is part of the Virginia Beach Transit Extension Study being conducted by Hampton Roads Transit. Meetings will be held:

• Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2009, from 6 to 8 p.m.
  The Westin Virginia Beach Town Center
  4535 Commerce St.
  
• Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2009, from 6 to 8 p.m.
  Virginia Beach Convention Center
  1000 19th St.

The meetings will include:

• A presentation regarding progress of the study.
• Overview of potential transit technologies within the project corridor and examples from other transit systems.
• Small group discussions of how each station area could fit into the surrounding communities and neighborhoods.

Anyone planning to attending and needing special accommodations, please contact HRT at 222-6000, ext. 6087.  Meeting facilities are served by Bus Route #20.  For more information, call Marie Arnt, HRT’s public outreach coordinator, at (757) 222-6000, ext. 6291.

Virginia Beach Transit Extension Study

Tired of sitting in traffic?  Tired of emptying your wallet every week at the gas station?

Mass transit may be the answer.

Hampton Roads Transit (HRT) has hired HDR Inc. to provide services for the study of two potential extensions to The Tide, HRT's Light Rail Transit (LRT) system. The first extension under study is a potential fixed guideway connection from the eastern end of The Tide in Norfolk at Newtown Road to the Virginia Beach Oceanfront along the Norfolk Southern Corporation's inactive right of way. The second segment of study is a potential extension of The Tide to Naval Station Norfolk. Fixed guideway projects operate in their own transit right of way.

The study should be completed in about a year.  Meanwhile, we want to keep you posted each step of the way.

The purpose of the AA/DEIS is to provide a base of knowledge on which to make a decision on which of the possible options is the locally preferred alternative (LPA) and whether to proceed with further design and construction.

The study process is designed to provide multiple opportunities for public participation throughout all phases of the study process. 

There will be more public meetings in the coming year – several opportunities for everyone to learn more and voice their opinions. We’ll keep you posted here and elsewhere. The project has a  Web site, a Facebook page, a Twitter account, a newsletter, and more.
Talk to us – in whatever way is most comfortable.

For additional details of the study, see HRT's Virginia Beach Transit Extension website.  Check back often for future announcements and public meeting dates.

In case you missed it, the City hosted a public open house in September 2008 to get the community’s initial thoughts on the possibility of expanding light rail to the beach.  The information from that meeting can be found here.