This morning there was a Tide launch preview meeting held at the Courtyard by Marriott on Greenwich Road in Virginia Beach. The meeting was conducted jointly by the City of Norfolk and Hampton Roads Transit (HRT).
The primary purpose was to brief businesses along the eastern portion of the alignment about upcoming Tide service. (That's why it was held in the periphery of the Newtown Road Station.) However, there was a large contingent of advocates for the disabled present, and a few people from Light Rail Now (LRN).
While most of the material was old news for those of us who have been following The Tide, a couple points of note were covered:
1. Opponents have tried to attack the fare verification system. Not only will their be checkers onboard, but off-duty Norfolk Police Department (NPD) officers to provide security. Failure to pay can result in a fine of up to $250, while using a counterfeit or fraudulent farecard carries a minimum $500 fine.
2. There will be a number of events on opening weekend in the periphery of the stations. Not only the official events, but many businesses and groups plan to capitalize on the opportunity provided by the expected crowds. For example, the YMCA adjacent to the York Street Station will hold an open house all weekend.
3 comments:
And don't forget there's baseball Friday the 19th.
Going to be a nightmare and HRT will want all trains pressed into service for the evening.
May I suggest passengers look at Civic Plaza Station in addition to Harbor Park Station
Actually, the Norfolk Tides are home all weekend, with games on the 19th, 20th, and 21st.
Advice that Sound Transit gives for Sounder riders:
* Use ORCA!!
if you can't use ORCA (stupid, but for whatever reason), buy a round trip ticket ahead of time - don't try to buy two one-way tickets each direction (you WILL miss the return trip train as the platforms will be swamped and you won't be able to get through the crowds to the TVM)
They can still run special event commuter trains under Bush FTA regulations because no bus company would (or could) run their own special event trains. The local freight rail company (BNSF) as well as Amtrak don't mind (BNSF runs Sounder trains on ST's behalf for regular service anyways)
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