Op-ed: Does Light Rail to Virginia Beach Make Cents?

On Nov. 8, Virginia Beach citizens will vote (again) about constructing a light rail line to their Town Center. Here’s the question, at the very end of a very long ballot:

Should City Council of Virginia Beach spend local funds to extend Light Rail from Norfolk to Town Center in Virginia Beach?

Beach citizens are asking lots of questions, particularly about the money involved. The facts, figures and answers are out there, but not always easy to find.

Let’s look at three types of costs for light rail in Virginia Beach: Costs of buying land; construction costs; and operating costs.

And please bear with me – I’m not a city planner or a financial whiz or a politician. I’m a private citizen, trying to make sense of public documents and statements – just like you.

THE COSTS OF THE RAILROAD RIGHT-OF-WAY

For many decades in the 19^th and 20^th centuries, a diesel rail-bus connected the Virginia Beach oceanfront with downtown Norfolk. People rode east to the beach, or in both directions to work and to visit family. To get to the rail-bus stations they walked, rode horses or carriages, or took a streetcar.

Times changed. Public funds were spent on streets, highways, bridges, tunnels, and interstates. Passenger service ended along that corridor. Families who used to spend their money on the rail-bus and streetcars paid instead for bus fares, automobiles, tires, gasoline, ferries and tolls. The old rail-bus right-of-way just sat there, unused and waiting.

Fast forward to September 2010. Norfolk was constructing light rail tracks from EVMS on its western edge to Newtown Road on its eastern border. The Virginia Beach City Council voted unanimously to purchase that old 10.6-mile rail-bus corridor from the current owner, Norfolk Southern Railway. The Council also bought the parallel Dominion Power utility easement. The total cost was $40 million.

Who paid for it? The City of VB agreed to pay $10 million to Norfolk Southern, plus $5 million to Dominion Power. Hampton Roads Transit was to spend $5 million over the next five years. The Commonwealth of Virginia contributed $20 million, with the provision that, if the City decides at any time not to proceed with light rail, that money must be repaid.

THE COSTS OF CONSTRUCTING LIGHT RAIL

Let’s face it: all of our transportation infrastructure seems expensive. Some current examples:

Streets: Princess Anne/ Kempsville intersection: $90 million (near completion)

Bridges: Lesner Bridge on Shore Drive (0.5 miles) $120 million (under way)

Interstate highways: I-64 / I-264 interchange improvements $345 million (planning stage)

Light rail: Construction from Newtown Rd to Constitution Drive (3.5 miles), and purchase of 3 new LR vehicles: $214 million (plus $29 million for contingencies)

Shared use pathway: for walkers and bikers, along the former Norfolk-Southern right-of-way: $17 million

It should be noted that a large part of the light rail money has been promised by a state agency, the Commonwealth of Virginia (Transportation Board), to the tune of $155 million.

The rest must come from the City of Virginia Beach: $59 million for light rail construction; $29 million set aside for contingencies; and $17 million for the shared use pathway, for a total of $105 million.

THE COSTS OF OPERATING LIGHT RAIL — AND AN EXPANDED BUS SYSTEM

The latest annual estimate is $2.7 million to run light rail. Virginia Beach also plans to double its bus service – to more parts of the city, during more hours of the day and evening; that will cost another $9.2 million per year.

Now — three questions on everybody’s mind:

1. Where will the City of VB get the money to construct and operate light rail, and to expand the bus services?

The city has already started building up those funds. Since July 2015, an additional 1.8-cent real estate tax (per $100 of assessed value) has been collected. For example, if you own a $200,000 property, you pay an additional $36/year. If your property is worth $1 million, you pay an extra $180 per year.

2. Aren’t we talking about a huge amount of city money here?

Let’s look at the costs to Virginia Beach, where construction will cost $105m, and annual operations will cost $11.9 million per year, with expanded bus service.

The total VB budget for FY 2017 is almost $ 1.9 billion ($ 1,900,000,000). Let’s do the math…….. Annual light rail and bus operations of $11.9 million will be well under 1% of the entire city budget.

3. Is it worth it — should Va Beach spend that amount for something that not everyone will be using?

That’s a question worth asking about lots of city activities — schools and libraries, recreational activities, beach replenishment, museums, festivals and many other VB services that some people use and some people don’t.

That question was recently answered eloquently by Scott Smith, former Republican mayor of Mesa, Arizona (population 472,000), talking about his city. He said:

It’s not cheap to build a bridge that a small percentage of people use on a daily basis, but we do it because it’s a generational investment…. It changes investment patterns. It sets the stage for our future and connects our communities…. My city and Virginia Beach are among the most conservative cities in the US…. The citizens of Mesa voted to raise their sales tax and construct light rail….

Again, here’s the question Virginia Beach voters will be answering on November 9: