VIRGINIA BEACH — Many parts of the campaign process did not sit well with me, a self-professed homebody, when I ran for public office in 2018 in Virginia Beach.
The public forums could get divisive, and the pressure to perform was a constant burden. I had to cover a lot of space to get the word out about my campaign because, at the time, running to represent a district in our city meant appealing to all voters in Virginia Beach, not just those within the district itself.
It was cumbersome. What I found disheartening was the circuitous routes I had to take to get around town and the amount of time it took to get from one end of this sprawling city to the other.
I was raised in rural Pennsylvania and spent most of my youth and young adulthood in relatively small towns. These small rural towns required vehicle travel across vast swaths of farmland to get to nearby larger business centers. I was accustomed to traveling long distances from home to my intended destination by the time I moved to New Jersey to work on my doctorate at Temple University in Philadelphia. However, I almost always had the choice of a roundabout route behind the wheel of my car or a more direct route via the rapid transit system that took me as the crow flies from New Jersey to Philadelphia in very little time.
I enjoyed that mode of travel. The 20 minutes from Haddonfield, New Jersey, to Temple University’s Center City campus was a time out of time. Back then, in the early 1990s, cell phones were in their infancy. Time on a bus, train, plane or transit system meant reading a book or a newspaper, or it meant a vacant stare out the window at the scenery flying by.
I liked all those options, and, depending on the day and mood, I might find myself reading a newspaper left on the seat by the previous generous passenger. Or perhaps I would review some notes taken the night before in preparation for a class. As likely as not, I might look out the window or surreptitiously observe other passengers, which almost always proves interesting, as people generally tend to be when they don’t know they’re being observed.
Yes, there were times, as a woman traveling alone, I felt a little apprehensive waiting in the subway station after the close of a 10 p.m. class. Typically, I was joined by other passengers waiting for the subway – all of us subconsciously comforted by the presence of the other.
Recently, I started some consulting work in Norfolk. The early morning and late evening travel from here to there and back again is grueling. It’s not the distance, however, that’s difficult. The route is inefficient, and the traffic is horrendous. A colleague suggested I take The Tide from Newton Road Station to my destination.
That’s an idea, I told them, but the most harried part of my journey is between the station and my home. I’d love to ride the Tide from somewhere near my home the whole way to Norfolk. It’s unfortunate that controversial idea has been back-burnered for another generation to grapple.
My interest in how cities develop was sparked when I moved to Virginia Beach in 2002. Until then, I hadn’t paid much attention to how land was used in the place I called home. Self-interest drove my initial involvement in Virginia Beach land use issues. Like so many other NIMBYs, I didn’t want dense development, much less a speed line in my backyard. I have since realized that more roads and even better roads do very little for our growing city’s future vision.
Suppose we aim to be smart and sustainable, resilient and vibrant. In that case, we must continue discussions of a rapid transit system throughout Virginia Beach – one that connects disparate parts of our city and our city with other regions. It should connect our stalled present to a future fast coming our way.
The author is a former Virginia Beach Planning Commissioner and college professor. Reach her at leejogger@gmail.com.