Abstract:
Hampton Roads Transit opened its new light rail system, The Tide, in Norfolk, Virginia, on August 19, 2011. The Tide is 7.4 mi in length and extends from the Eastern Virginia Medical Center–Ft. Norfolk station (EVMC–Ft. Norfolk) to the Newtown Road station at the border of Virginia Beach. The light rail alignment is completely contained within the Norfolk city limits and serves a university, a downtown community college, a city hall and courts complex, a shopping mall, a minor league baseball park, and an entertainment district. It is within walking distance of an active waterfront and maritime museum. Approximately 2.7 mi of the alignment is within the central business district and interfaces with 20 signalized intersections. These intersections balance the city’s traffic patterns against the scheduled 24-min trip time of the light rail system. Hampton Roads Transit and Norfolk have worked in close cooperation to find the best technology to achieve this goal.
