By WILL JONES

Published: February 14, 2010
Updated: February 14, 2010

http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/local/article/ECOD14_20100213-221809/324181/

Richmond Mayor Dwight C. Jones said he’s ready to get serious about economic development in the city, particularly in Shockoe Bottom.

That’s where the new Department of Economic and Community Development will set up shop, in historic Main Street Station.

It’s also where the city hopes to attract millions of dollars in private development, including a commercial project that officials say is being courted with $10 million in newly approved federal stimulus bonds.

Similarly, the administration said in an exclusive interview Friday that it is looking to start a loan program to spur investment citywide by small and minority-owned businesses, as well as housing developers. Officials said it’s part of a strategy to make the city an aggressive deal-maker that has access to capital and is no longer content to simply distribute grants to worthy projects.

“We’ll not be able to cut our way out of the recession or tax our way out, so we’ve got to grow our way out,” Jones said Friday, echoing themes from last month’s State of the City address.

Main Street Station

In his first major move at City Hall, Jones reorganized the Department of Economic Development and the Department of Community Development into a new Department of Economic and Community Development. In April, 33 employees from the merged department will move to the city-owned train station. It’ll free up offices on two floors of City Hall and allow the city to stop renting space at 501 E. Franklin St., saving about $100,000 per year, officials said.

Jones said the decision also underscores a commitment to revitalizing the Bottom, with high-speed rail, urban infill development and a slavery museum.

“Our being there kind of says that, ‘We get it. We’re not only going to help you from City Hall, but we’re going to be part of the neighborhood,’” he said.

Federal stimulus bonds

Officials recently learned that the city would be able to tap $34 million in bond financing to support private development projects under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Initially, the city was allotted $8.8 million in bonds, but officials said they jumped at the chance to get capacity that was declined by other localities.

Now, officials said, they’re talking to a developer about a project in or near Main Street Station, with $10 million in bonds as an incentive. They also are planning to provide $3.5 million in bonds to support plans by Cephas Industries to start a biomass recycling and manufacturing facility in the Broad Rock Industrial Park.

The federal Recovery Zone Facility Bonds are intended to help finance projects that are ready to go. While details of the prospective Main Street Station development haven’t been finalized, the potential investment is “definitely not pie in the sky,” said Peter H. Chapman, the city’s deputy chief administrative officer for economic and community development.

Other projects approved for financing include outfitting space according to a tenant’s needs in a building at the Virginia BioTechnology Research Park, a parking deck at the planned Manchester on the James apartment complex in South Richmond, and a planned conversion of the P. Lorillard Co. warehouses on Tobacco Row into an office and retail development.

Loan program

With the fiscal year starting July 1, the city plans to establish a loan program using about $2 million in federal Community Development Block Grant funds that have been allocated to the city but not committed for specific uses.

Details, including loan terms, haven’t been fleshed out, but the idea is to create a pool of capital that can be replenished and can grow over time as loans are repaid with interest.

“We are going to be flexible, but I want to underscore the fact that this is not free money,” Chapman said. “Regardless of the scope of the project . . . there is going to be an expectation that the money is going to be repaid.”

Shockoe Bottom study

The city is hiring a consulting group, an affiliate of StreetSense in Alexandria, to prepare a development strategy for the Bottom. The $125,000 study is expected to identify one or more anchor projects that would be market-tested and followed perhaps by a request for proposals for the use of city property. The study is expected to take about six months and to build on the vision outlined in the Downtown Master Plan.

“We want to put something on the ground, make some stuff happen that can provide some synergy for the community,” Jones said.

By Will Jones

The GRTC Transit System said it wants to show how a bus-transfer center can fit with high-speed rail at Richmond’s Main Street Station, but Mayor Dwight C. Jones remains cautious.

“I believe that GRTC probably has a Plan B. I don’t want to speak for them, however,” Jones said in an interview when asked about the proposed transfer center. “But from my perspective, only so many things can go in Shockoe Bottom.”

Jones reiterated his support for bringing high-speed rail to Main Street Station and for the Richmond Slave Trail Commission’s idea to build a slavery museum just west of the train station.

This summer, the mayor said he was intrigued by the notion of high-speed rail, a transfer center and other development in Shockoe Bottom. Since then, “we’ve all become more aware of the competing interests in what could happen in Shockoe Bottom,” press secretary Tammy D. Hawley said Friday.

Jones “supports the transfer center. Location is another issue,” she added. “He’s not forcing [one site over another]. He’s looking for the best outcomes for all the city’s interests.”

John M. Lewis Jr., CEO of GRTC, said he hopes to meet soon with the Jones administration and Amtrak officials to resolve questions over the estimated $70 million transfer center, which would occupy the second level of the historic, city-owned train shed.

A Shockoe Bottom-based group, Better Station Coalition, has opposed using Main Street Station for a transfer center, saying it would conflict with high-speed rail.

As part of the transfer center project, ramps would be built on the north side of the train shed to allow buses to reach the second-level platforms. The center would give bus passengers a covered place to get off one route and onto another.

Lewis reiterated the city’s need for a transfer center and said the project could fit with high-speed rail at Main Street Station. He said he is ready to focus on the matter now that GRTC has addressed two other pressing issues: the sale of its headquarters property near the Fan District and its move to a new operations center on Belt Boulevard.

Lewis said GRTC considered at least eight sites before settling on Main Street Station. He said officials haven’t revisited the other properties to determine if they’re on the market and other issues.

WESLEY P. HESTER TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER
Published: September 13, 2009

In a rare feat of late, a town-hall meeting with no shouting was held yesterday by Shockoe Bottom residents, business owners and city officials.

The discussion of the Bottom’s future followed the city’s issuance Friday of a request for proposals for an economic strategy to guide development and redevelopment in the neighborhood.

The project will be financed with $125,000 set aside by the City Council this spring.

The meeting, held at The Old City Bar on East Main Street, was the first in a series of discussions on the Bottom’s potential, its revitalization needs and its assets.

“We want to use this little bit of money to start having an honest conversation about what really works in this area,” said City Councilwoman Ellen F. Robertson, whose 6th District includes the Bottom, calling it “the most precious land in the city of Richmond.”

She challenged the approximately 60 people in attendance to begin thinking about what Richmond lacks and how the Bottom could fill those needs.

Among the suggestions to focus on were transit, pride and history, creating a sense of place, tourism, blighted buildings, pedestrian traffic and enforcement of ABC laws.

“I think we need to acknowledge what being in the middle of the floodplain means,” said Brian White, president of Main Street Realty. “Small-scale organic growth through this floodway is not possible. Opening up Shockoe Creek is not possible.”

Robertson also stressed the area’s historical significance.

“What we develop down here needs to be a statement to our visitors . . . to tell people, and ourselves, what Richmond truly is,” she said, suggesting that black heritage should play a role.

Peter H. Chapman, deputy chief administrative officer for economic and community development, said the plan would hinge heavily on Main Street Station, which will offer high-speed rail service in the future.

“It has the potential to be a catalytic anchor project to stimulate additional development,” he said, adding that the strategy will also make use of the area’s historic assets to increase foot traffic.

“This is not intended to be a panacea,” Chapman stressed, calling it the “logical next step to the downtown master plan.”

“It’s to set us on the practical path to application — getting stuff built,” he said.

Yvonne Spain, a Richmond resident, said civic involvement was key to its success.

“Most of us you see at the meetings are old, old citizens who want to help the city of Richmond,” she said. “We need to find a way to get some of the new folks coming in here to let us know what they want and help us do what we’re trying to do.”

Charles Macfarlane, who has lived and worked in the Bottom for 10 years, said the city needs to address the basics, pointing to broken parking meters, empty tree wells, overgrown weeds and a lack of trash cans.

“There are a lot of things that don’t cost much that we’ve been screaming about for eight years and still haven’t gotten,” he said. “It’s hard to have confidence in city government if we can’t get basic services.”

Chapman said the city expects to hire a consultant for the plan in October and have a report by the second quarter of 2010.

Web sites duel about transfer center site

By Will Jones

Published: July 26, 2009

Critics of a proposed bus-transfer center at Main Street Station are pushing for a more-centralized site in downtown Richmond as the project is entering a key public-review phase.

The critics have organized as the Better Station Coalition and launched a Web site urging supporters to send e-mails to city officials who will be asked to approve GRTC’s plans for the second level of the historic, city-owned train shed in Shockoe Bottom.

“The perception was a lot of issues that made this site problematic weren’t receiving a lot of attention,” said Brian White, a member of the Shockoe Partnership and the Shockoe Bottom Neighborhood Association, which are paying for the Web site. “We just wanted to make sure that some questions we had were going to be asked.”

The coalition says it supports transfer centers generally but contends that GRTC’s proposal is needlessly expensive and doesn’t address the project’s conflicts with plans to extend high-speed rail to Richmond. The group also is expressing concern about traffic congestion and impacts on air pollution and slave-heritage sites.

The criticisms are off the mark, GRTC CEO John M. Lewis Jr. said. The system has a Web site for the project.

He said the transfer center can co-exist with high-speed rail, and it would be the first step in a dramatic overhaul of bus service in downtown.

Though GRTC’s Web site mentions only one transfer center, Lewis said the facility at Main Street Station and a second one planned at an undetermined site west of downtown would serve as hubs between the traditional bus lines and a new free shuttle that would circulate downtown.

Lewis estimates a net $1 million annual savings on system operations, as well as improved rider amenities and less traffic congestion downtown with the elimination of most buses. Bus transfers now occur at street corners along Broad Street.

Lewis said critics of the project continue to find new objections. “At the end, I guess they just don’t want us there, period,” he said.

GRTC is seeking federal stimulus funds for the estimated $70 million project. Lewis said the Federal Transit Administration recently released formal comments on the proposal and a public hearing is expected in 30 to 60 days. Lewis would not release a copy of the comments, saying they would be available for the comment period.

White said the coalition consists of five groups, but he declined to name the other three.

GOVERNOR KAINE, LOCAL LEADERS MAKE CASE FOR HIGH SPEED RAIL IN VIRGINIA

~ Business and elected leaders urge funding approval to expand passenger service and encourage growth along Washington, D.C. to Richmond/Petersburg corridor ~

RICHMOND – Governor Timothy M. Kaine today joined with regional business and local government officials to appeal for federal funds to develop high speed rail between Washington, D.C. and the Richmond and Petersburg region. The broad swath of state and local officials stood with representatives of area Chambers of Commerce in a strong show of support for expanded passenger rail service that would encourage economic development along one of the nation’s busiest corridors.

“The economies of the national capital region and state capital region are integrally connected,” Governor Kaine said. “This first nationwide investment in high speed rail can help rebalance transportation options for Virginians–and reduce our dependence on a stressed highway system–while reducing pollution and creating jobs all along the I-95 corridor.”

On July 10, the Commonwealth submitted pre-applications for more than $2 billion of high speed rail projects under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act’s (ARRA) high speed rail program.  The ARRA rail stimulus program will provide $8 billion in federal funds to support high speed and intercity passenger rail projects across the country –another $5 billion in federal funds is expected to be committed in the next decade. Virginia’s applications focus on the I-95 corridor between Washington, DC and Petersburg and would further the Commonwealth’s commitment to freight and passenger rail options. Recent infrastructure investments and public-private partnerships include expansions of passenger rail service along the routes from Richmond and Lynchburg to Washington, DC and the Northeast Corridor that are expected to remove 1.4 millions cars from highways, save more than 8.3 million gallons of fuel, and eliminate 66,000 tons of carbon emissions each year.

“High speed rail is a tremendous economic development opportunity with the power to transform the Richmond region in a very positive way,” said Kim Scheeler, President & CEO of the Greater Richmond Chamber of Commerce.

“The Greater Richmond Chamber is extremely excited about the prospect of high speed rail in our region because of the transformational economic development potential it creates.” stated Kim Scheeler, President & CEO of the Greater Richmond Chamber.

Katherine Busser, Immediate Past Chair of the Greater Richmond Chamber and a Co-Chair of the Capital Region Collaborative said, “The Collaborative is united in our support for the high speed rail and we wanted to join forces with those who are working hard to make this a reality for the Capital region. The level of cooperation and excitement about this issue is incredible. We know that our entire region will benefit from high speed rail.”

“The Richmond Regional Planning District Commission is very excited to partner with the Greater Richmond Chamber on the Capital Region Collaborative,” said Robert Crum, Executive Director of the RRPDC.  “The Region’s support for high speed rail is an example of how our community can come together to support an initiative that will benefit the entire Richmond Region.”

Hanover County Supervisor and RRPDC Board member John Gordon added that he looks forward to the opportunities that continued regional cooperation will offer the Richmond Region.  “High speed rail is the Collaborative’s first success story, and I look forward to working with our regional partners to advance other important initiatives that will strengthen the Richmond Region.”

Transportation options such as passenger rail provide congestion relief and economic benefits by encouraging tourism, supporting jobs and promoting local investment. According to the Virginia Statewide Rail Plan, the total wages of Amtrak employees in Virginia amount to more than $50 million per year, and Amtrak spends approximately $50 million per year for goods and services in Virginia.

The timeline for grant awards includes at least two rounds, with Round 1 in fall 2009 and Round 2 in spring 2010. States were requested to submit pre-applications for all projects no later than July 10, 2009, even if projects will be submitted as part of later rounds of grant awards. Complete details of the program funding criteria, timeline and project selection process are available online at http://www.fra.dot.gov/us/content/2153 .

http://www.wtvr.com/global/story.asp?S=10581654

The game’s not over yet.

The Shockoe Bottom deal may be dead for now, but city leaders say they’re still working to have a Richmond baseball team by next summer.

The team will have to play at the Diamond for the time being, so what are the chances we’ll have a team in 2010?

RMA President Mike Berry says it’s his first focus. He says, “There’s a lot of interest in Richmond. I think the league believes that Richmond will be one of the best markets.”

Berry says the Eastern League Division is just one of many groups that are touring the Diamond facility as a possible future site.

He says, ”Our focus is on working with the Eastern League and getting a team here and there’s going to be some improvements to the Diamond in order to accommodate fans for the next several years.”

Improvements like upgrading the concession stands, press boxes and replacing baseball equipment.

But one private developer has a bigger plan on the table to sweeten the deal.

Peter Kirk with Opening Day Partners wants to turn the Diamond into a multi-use facility. He says, ”We know how a good match Minor League Baseball and Richmond could be in a modern facility that is really well run for the community. And we’ve just offered to help to see if we can make that happen.”

Update: 6/24 1:07 p.m.

We spoke with the President of the Eastern League Joe McEacharn, and he said this does not affect the Eastern League’s commitment to bring baseball to Richmond.

He says not having the plans for a new stadium set in stone makes this a risky deal because the new team playing at the Diamond is not a long term solution and the Diamond is not a suitable location for baseball.

They are continuing to work with the mayor and city on finding a location and then building a new stadium.

“We hope to deliver a good product and get Richmonders re-energized about baseball and then move forward with building a new stadium.”

Update: 11:40 p.m.

There will be no baseball in Shockoe Bottom, at least not in the near future.

Highwoods Properties is withdrawing their involvement after months of indecision and delays in both the Shockoe Bottom and Boulevard plans they were working on, plans they projected to bring $800M of economic development to the city.

In a statement released to CBS 6, Highwoods Properties acknowledged that debate over the stadium, plus the failed attempt by the Richmond Baseball Club to buy a team – lead to what they called a very difficult decision today.

The company also said self-financing in today’s revenue bond market wouldn’t work, as cited in the city’s review of the project by Davenport.

Charlie Diradour, a local businessman who lead the effort to keep baseball in the Diamond says he was not surprised by the outcome. “They [Highwoods Properties] realized that at this point in turbulent times is not the time to go forward with it”, says Diradour.

David Napier, owner of White House Catering in Shockhoe Bottom and supporter of a ballpark in the bottom says it was never about baseball, but about economic development. “I intend to ask the City what they’re going to do for Shockoe Bottom now that they don’t have a plan”, he says.

Mayor Comments on Highwoods Suspension

RICHMOND, VA. - Mayor Dwight Jones issued the following statement following the decision by Highwood Properties to suspend their involvement in the Shockoe Bottom/Main Street Station proposed development:

“The decision by Highwoods Properties to suspend their involvement in the Shockoe Bottom/Main Street Station and the Boulevard projects is due to many factors.  As they have noted and as the City’s own review underscored, their plan for self-financing is just not possible in today’s revenue bond market.  Additionally, there have been many changes that have come about since 2007 when they first developed their concept.  Primarily, the prospect for high-speed rail at Main Street Station is a game changer for our area and we must carefully position ourselves for imminent high-speed rail opportunities.   Also, there are several other considerations that need further research.  They include the cultural heritage of the Shockoe area, the GRTC transfer station, and good development of open space.

“I have high regard for Highwoods Partnership and their creative leadership in proposing a vision of what Shockoe Bottom could become.  I am hopeful that we can work together on future developments with the Highwoods Partnership as I know they are interested in promising economic development opportunities for our area.

“Nevertheless, at this time the situation affords us an avenue to fully reengage our regional partners in the discussion of the direction we as a region wish to move in.  We know there is excitement about Richmond as a baseball town and we have a commitment from the Eastern League that there will be a team on the ground in the Diamond next spring.  What we must do now is to determine what our long-term solution will be and the best way to go about accomplishing that goal.”

Here is the statement from Highwood Properties sent to CBS 6:

Our team has made the difficult decision to suspend our involvement in the Shockoe Bottom/Main Street Station and the Boulevard projects. We have carried these projects as far as our collaborative team can under the present circumstances.
For the past two-and-a-half years, our team, led by Highwoods Properties as the Master Development Advisor, has been focused on developing a plan to revitalize two underdeveloped areas of our City, Shockoe Bottom and the Boulevard.  We believe the revitalization of these two areas would bring approximately $800 million of new economic development to our community and would be a significant tax revenue generator in our City for generations. Unfortunately, discussion of these opportunities was overshadowed by the debate over a ballpark.

The Davenport study validated our fundamental premise that a self-financing ballpark in Shockoe Bottom, supported by TIF revenue from surrounding private development, is highly feasible.  Davenport also found, as we have said consistently, that such a plan is not possible in today’s revenue bond market.  We are convinced, however, that the coming economic recovery would allow revenue bonds to be sold without the City’s general obligation backing, possibly as early as next year.  We have always maintained that the City’s debt capacity should be used for public projects like schools, streets, and a new jail, and not for a new ballpark.

Since presenting our conceptual plan in response to a City RFP to redevelop Shockoe Bottom in October 2007 and the subsequent response to a second RFP for the Boulevard, there have been many changes impacting our proposals, principally high speed rail and the baseball team ownership.  In our opinion, the most exciting change is the prospect for high-speed rail at Main Street Station.  We agree with City leaders that this is a significant economic opportunity for Shockoe Bottom and the City of Richmond.

Further, the good faith effort by a group of local investors to buy a baseball team did not succeed.  That has fundamentally altered the way minor league baseball will now return to Richmond.  The City will need to negotiate directly with any new team owner on such issues as location, timing and financing of a new ballpark.

Our plan proposed a Transit-Oriented Development in Shockoe Bottom that could accommodate a major GRTC presence.  We reached an agreement in principle with GRTC on utilizing the Train Shed for its bus Transfer Center; both groups (the development team and GRTC) made concessions to enable this agreement.  While there is no conflict between high-speed rail and the proposed Shockoe Bottom project, it is unclear if it will be possible to accommodate both high-speed rail and a major bus Transfer Center that would serve half of GRTC’s routes from the Train Shed.

Another of our key components for Shockoe Bottom was respecting the African American historic and cultural heritage opportunities by making them integral features of the proposed development.  While the Slave Trail Commission’s vision was not made public, we understood the outline of its property interests and we adjusted the boundaries of the project to enable the preservation of this important area.

We believe heritage is compatible with baseball, high-speed rail, and some level of bus transit. However, all of these issues require further research and important decisions must be made by all stakeholders before the private sector can be truly effective in the process.

We continue to believe that both Shockoe Bottom and the Boulevard area hold enormous untapped potential for economic and community enhancing development. It was an honor to have been selected to lead this effort to bring large-scale, private development back into our City in these two under-performing gateway areas.

Some Shockoe Bottom residents aren’t happy about plans to bring a GRTC bus transfer station to their area.

But those who ride the bus say it’s time for a change. Rider Fred Coles, says he has to change buses three times in order to get to work. He says it’s confusing.

“It really is, because we don’t have a bus schedule, without a transfer, you can only go one way, you can’t go back the other way, without a transfer.”

Under the multi-million dollar proposal, the buses would leave neighborhoods and take riders to the Main Street train station for transfer.

GRTC says it would relieve congestion and make the rides more efficient allowing people to rapidly connect to those transfer centers.

David Napier is one of those who objects the idea, he says the bus transfer center should be further north on Broad Street.

“If there’s a flood it shuts down the whole transportation area to the city. It’s not very attractive, buses will be idling 24 hours a day, but it’s really going to clog Shockoe Bottom streets.”

GRTC says it would have back up plans in the event of weather.

City Council has the final say on this issue.

April 27, 2009
Benedicte Whitworth
CHA Membership

GRTC Responses to CHA Questions re: GRTC Bus Transfer Center at Main Street Station – 30% Design Presentation of April 21, 2009

Dear CHA Membership:

Thanks for this opportunity to respond to your questions regarding the proposed GRTC Bus Transfer Center at Main Street Station. It should be remembered that at the 30% Design stage the plan is still in design development and has many additional phases prior to approval. The plan is flexible and can be changed to respond to community input. It is a working plan in progress. GRTC responses are listed below with the questions.

1. Q: Do you think that Shockoe Bottom pedestrians will be affected by emissions from the many buses? Also the same question for the historic structures. What about emissions from vehicles?

A: An important element in characterizing site-specific air quality conditions is the identification of carbon monoxide (CO) hot spots. Hot spots are small areas where CO levels have approached or exceeded national standards, caused by large volumes of slow-moving or idling vehicles that generate heavy CO concentrations. Implementation of the GRTC Transfer facility is anticipated to result in concentrated bus, and shuttle traffic in the immediate vicinity of the facility, with a corresponding concentration of idling buses. Most of this activity exist today and is simply a relocation from the existing on-street bus transfer locations along Broad Street, rather then new activity (new emissions).

Because of this and the minimal traffic impacts found by the traffic analysis, the air quality impacts of the project are expected to be negligible. CO hot spots are unlikely in the vicinity of the proposed project because VDEQ air quality monitoring data shows that existing CO levels in the area are already well below the CO National Ambient Air Quality Standards and the project will not substantially change emission sources/quantities.

Beyond the bus activity of the GRTC Transfer facility itself, traffic analysis for the transfer center shows that traffic-related impacts attributed to the project are minimal. The level of additional trip activity is not expected to impact regional air quality because patrons using the public transit system will transfer at the facility. It will not be a generator of vehicle trips.

In general, the transit transfer improvements provide long-term improvements to air quality by increasing transit use, thus reducing the number of vehicles and overall vehicle emissions on local roadways. Furthermore, the project will allow enhanced transit access to the downtown area without expanding the roadway network, thereby reducing auto-dependency for downtown trips.

2. Q: Why are we encumbering a city landmark and beautiful area with an outmoded technology

A: Main Street Station was originally a transportation hub of activity. The goal of the project is the rehabilitation and adaptive reuse of the currently vacant Main Street Station “Train Shed” into a GRTC Bus Transfer Center that reestablishes the historical architectural character of the National Historic Landmark while balancing the operational needs of GRTC that makes the Main Street Station into a regional multi-modal transportation facility.

The City of Richmond has been trying to re-configure Main Street Station into a multi-modal facility combining bicycles, passenger vehicles, taxis, buses, and trains since 1992. It could be argued that each of those transit modes is outmoded; however, it is GRTC’s concept that the Transfer Center at Main Street Station is just the beginning of modern improvements to Richmond’s transportation infrastructure. The Transfer Center will also serve the future Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) route down Broad Street to Willow Lawn and out to Short Pump. The BRT project is itself a precursor to a potential light rail development.

3. Q: How many buses will be in the area (in & out of building) per day?

A: Approximately 1200 buses per work-week day. It will be reduced on weekends. The typical work-week day for buses is approximately 20hrs. with bus transfer activity spread throughout the day.

4. Q: How many people are we talking about in the area per day? How many bus riders will be in this facility at any one time?

A: The key to a successful Transfer Center operation is movement of buses and bus riders. The transfer center is designed for a maximum wait period at the platform level of 7 to 10 minuets. It is difficult to determine how many bus riders will be in the facility at any one time as there will be greater transfer activity in the morning and evening rush; however, there will be approximately 5,000 transfers on a typical work-week day.

5. Q: How is it going to impact Franklin St, Main St and 14th St during rush hour?

A: There are two “rush hours” a day. For bus activity the “rush periods” are 7-9am and 4-6pm. GRTC has performed a detailed Environmental Assessment (EA) which also contains a Traffic Impact Analysis. The EA is available on our web site at www.ridegrtc.com under the Mission 2015 subject. Click on the “learn more” link and go to the EA for the project. The Traffic Impact Analysis is on Page 32.

6. Q: What is the position of the Shockoe Bottom Neighborhood Association regarding this proposal?

A: They are in opposition to the Transfer Center project.

7. Q: I see spill out. How can we be assured that vagrants and pedestrians do not take control? And how will they affect businesses surrounding this proposed facility?

A : Excellent security and maintenance of the facility and surrounding project area are key to a successful transfer center. The GRTC program space on the north end of the transfer platform contains office spaces for a security guard as well as a City police officer. There is also an observation balcony that is restricted access for security personnel only that provides visual control to the platform and the bus ramps. Additionally, the entire project and area will be under CCTV and monitored by a GRTC security service. Access will be open to at grade pedestrians who wish to utilize the transfer platform, but can be controlled by fencing and lockable gates during off-service hours. The purpose of a transfer center is to have efficient movement of buses and riders. The Transfer Center is designed for a maximum wait period at the platform level of 7 to 10 minutes. Given the sequence of bus transferring activities, security presence roaming the platform and at an elevated viewing position, and the CCTV monitoring of activities, security control and safety will be excellent.

Facility maintenance activities are important to the overall experience of the traveling public. It is also a necessity of a quality operation. The GRTC will ensure that general trash pick-up and cleaning will occur daily and as needed for an emergency clean-up.

7. Q: Trash and crime?

A: Please refer to answer for question #7.

Source: Church Hill People’s News

The Richmond Slave Trail Commission has lined up against a proposed bus transfer center for Main Street Station in Shockoe Bottom.

A majority of commission members agreed last week to oppose the $70 million project on the grounds that the related traffic would undermine efforts to commemorate the area’s role in the slave trade, said chairwoman Delores L. McQuinn, a state delegate from Richmond.

“They just felt it would be too congested, too much going on with what we’re trying to do,” she said.

John M. Lewis Jr., GRTC Transit System chief executive officer, said he was surprised by the opposition and described the transfer center as part of a broader plan to make mass transit more efficient and more regional, and to improve a largely fallow area of Shockoe Bottom.

In its draft environmental-assessment report, GRTC says its preliminary design work shows the transfer center would not negatively impact historic resources, including the nearby site of Lumpkin’s Slave Jail.

“We don’t go through it. We don’t go over it. We don’t go anywhere close to it,” Lewis said.

The Slave Trail Commission, established by the City Council, is working to erect signs and markers to highlight the path that slaves took as they were loaded off ships at Ancarrow’s Landing and walked to Shockoe Bottom, where they were held, sold and traded.

McQuinn also expressed interested in establishing a museum on the city-owned train shed’s second level, which GRTC wants to use.

The Shockoe Bottom Neighborhood Association and Historic Shockoe Partnership also are opposing the transfer center as needlessly expensive and incompatible with the historic neighborhood and its tight street grid.

Lewis said GRTC has worked with city officials for more than a year on the Main Street Station project and that about a dozen more-centralized sites across downtown had been considered.

Mayor Dwight C. Jones supports the project in concept but is now focusing on details, including its impacts on GRTC’s city-supported operational costs, press secretary Tammy Hawley said.

GRTC is positioning the transfer center project to tap federal stimulus funds. As part of the project, ramps would be built on the north side of the train shed to allow buses to reach the second-level platforms.

While McQuinn cited potentially 1,600 bus trips per day, Lewis said the transfer center would likely serve only about 800 per day, giving passengers a covered place to get off one route and onto another. Most of the 11,000 weekday transfers currently occur between Broad and Main streets, and Second and Ninth streets, Lewis said.

The transfer center, east of downtown, is envisioned as working with other transfer points planned along Broad Street west of Belvidere Street.

The City Council hasn’t taken a position on the transfer center but will need to see more details, President Kathy C. Graziano said.

“We definitely need a transfer center,” she said. “The question is where should it be? I really don’t have a sense of [whether Main Street Station is appropriate] because I don’t know what [Lewis'] other options are.”

Source: Richmond Time’s Dispatch