January 28, 2009: The Virginian-Pilot "On beach light rail, time for leadership"
Submitted by VHSR on January 28, 2009 - 3:00am.
Rail News
Sometime next year, Norfolk will open a light rail line transporting people between downtown and Newtown Road. The train, one of 35 light rail systems in the country, will stop at the border of Virginia Beach because 10 years ago, Beach officials couldn't find the political will to pursue a line of their own.
Now, as negotiations continue over purchasing an east-west rail corridor from Newtown to near the Oceanfront, the Virginia Beach City Council is talking about putting the question of light rail on the ballot again. But just as in 1999, when a similar referendum failed, the city lacks specifics on what light rail could do to and for Virginia Beach and the region.