High Speed Rail, Southeast Corridor
Major Cities: Washington, Richmond, Raleigh, Charlotte, Atlanta, Columbia, Macon, Savannah, Birmingham, Jacksonville
[Click on map to enlarge it.]
Overview:
The designated Southeast High-Speed Rail Corridor consists of a number of segments covering all the South Atlantic States, with through service to and from Northeast Corridor points. North Carolina, Virginia, South Carolina, and Georgia have been collaborating to implement high-speed rail in the designated Southeast Corridor. The most intensive effort has thus far gone to the originally designated Washington-Richmond-Charlotte segment for which the FRA and Amtrak have developed detailed transportation plans, which the Commonwealth and CSX Transportation have begun to implement on an incremental basis. (The Chester Community Association has requested a station in Chester at Rt. 10.)
Plans show that with up to 110 mph speeds, trip times of two hours (Washington-Richmond) and four and one-half hours (Richmond-Charlotte) would be feasible. Two States have created the Virginia-North Carolina Interstate High-Speed Rail Compact to provide authority and legislative oversight for the implementation of HSR. Georgia just completed a planning study for Charlotte to Atlanta improvements.
Status:
Virginia and North Carolina, together with the FHWA and FRA, in October 2002 completed a Tier I Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and selected a route from Washington, DC to Charlotte, NC employing the abandoned CSX “S” line between Petersburg, VA, and Norlina, NC. A Tier II EIS is being prepared with FRA for the Richmond, VA to Raleigh, NC section of the corridor. A Record of Decision is anticipated in late 2010.
Southeast Corridor Contacts:
North Carolina DOT1553 Mail Service CenterRaleigh, NC 27699-1553
Pat SimmonsDirector, Rail DivisionTel: 919-733-7245(ext 263)Fax: 919-715-6580mailto:919-715-6580pbsimmons@dot.state.nc.us
Amtrak passenger, freight and grade crossings.
VDRPT1313 East Main Street, Suite 300Richmond, VA 23218-0590
Kevin PageChief of Rail TransportationTel: 804-786-3963Fax: 804-225-3752kevin.page@drpt.virginia.gov
Amtrak passenger, freight, and grade crossings
Two very informative "Comments" have been left below: --1) The Chester Community Association's four vision goals; --2) The Chester Community Association's Adopted 2009 transportation goals for the Chester Plan area. You can see these by simply clicking on the word "Comments" below this Post.
Leave your own thoughts, comments, and suggestions by clicking on the word, "comments", in the line below:
2 comments:
May 28, 2009
Mr. Patrick Simmons, Director
Ms. Shirley R. Williams, Director- Environmental & Planning
Mr. David Foster, PE, Rail Project Development & Environmental Evaluation
North Carolina DOT – Rail Division
1553 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-1553
Mr. Charles M. (Chip) Badger, Director
Mr. Kevin B. Page, Chief of Rail Transportation
Ms. Christine Fix, AICP
Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT)
600 E. Main Street, Suite 2102
Richmond, VA 23219
Subject: Southeast High Speed Rail
Richmond – Hampton Roads Passenger Rail Study
Dear State Rail Employees of North Carolina and Virginia:
Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the proposed Southeast High Speed Rail improvements, the Richmond – Hampton Roads Passenger Rail Study and how these two important projects relate to the village of Chester located within Chesterfield County, VA.
In 2000, Chesterfield County, VA facilitated the forming of the Chester Community Association (CCA). The group was organized through it bylaws as a nonprofit 501 c 3 corporation in June 2001. The Chester Community Association was created to implement the Chester Village Plan, adopted by the Board of Supervisors as amended 2001 by actively representing the entire Chester community and presenting the community goals and objectives before appropriate organizations, groups and officials.
To achieve our vision and our mission, we have identified three overarching goals:
A.To shape the future of the Village of Chester
B.To enhance the quality of life within the Village
C.To effectively communicate within the Village and our partners
To that end, the CCA Board of Directors have several adopted transportation goals that may conflict with the proposed SEHSR plan and would like to offer some guidance and resolution to insure that all involved organizations’ goals are met.
First and foremost, we are strong supporters of high speed rail service in the Commonwealth and in the Southeast Corridor.
The CCA Board of Directors has adopted the following four vision goals for your Departments’ consideration as the SEHSR and RHRPRS projects move forward in the Chester Plan area:
•Bicycle and pedestrian access must be improved to facilitate greater movement than is present today. Since the proposed High Speed Rail project will shut public crossings and informal crossings will be prohibited with high speed rail wildlife fencing, Chester needs to plan for its future pedestrian and bicycle connections across this barrier. In the core village area, non-motorized crossings shall be provided every 900 feet.
•A multi-use trail shall be provided along the entire rail corridor from Richmond to Petersburg.
•A local commuter rail project between Richmond and Petersburg shall include a Chester station at West Hundred Road and shall be operating in 2025 with service to Main Street Station and Ettrick / Petersburg.
•A roundabout solution shall be analyzed in lieu of a traffic signal at the new intersection of Centralia Road and Chester Road.
We would appreciate your thoughtful, written response that specifies your planned accommodation for these goals as your current project goals may conflict with these local transportation issues.
Together we will insure that this project is of benefit to the citizens along the corridor and the village of Chester, located in Chesterfield, VA. I would extend an invitation to you to attend one of our meetings such that our citizens can hear first hand what your schedule and proposed plans are for the village of Chester and surrounding area.
Sincerely,
Dr. Robert R. Owens
Chester Community Association President
CC: Delegate Kirk Cox
Senator Steve Martin
Supervisor Dorothy Jaeckle
Planning Commissioner Sam Hassan
Transportation Secretary Pierce Homer
ATTACHMENT: Adopted 2009 Transportation Goals
Adopted 2009 transportation goals for the Chester Plan area:
•Chester’s transportation system is to be safe, livable, and accommodating to all users by partnering with neighborhoods and other organizations to:
o Require proposed transportation projects meet the vision of the Chester Plan through the Transportation Department working with the citizens, Planning Department, Community Development, and Parks and Recreation.
o Require that proposed transportation projects follow the context sensitive design process led by a Landscape Architect and follows the latest guidance on building walkable communities.
o Require in proposed site plan reviews for Chester that non-motorized transportation facilities are safe and functional, as well as encourages their use.
o Require a transportation professional be trained such that the best non-motorized facilities can be provided for a multimodal transportation system in Chester.
o Require that all sources of transportation grant funding for non-motorized transportation are actively being pursued for the development of Chester’s multimodal vision.
o Require a comprehensive study of non-motorized transportation facilities, levels of service, and policies within Chester.
o Require the prioritization of proposed non-motorized transportation projects to promote connectivity from residential areas to schools, parks, and the core village area.
o Require that all opportunities to promote passenger rail service in Chester are supported.
o Require a roundabout first philosophy where roundabouts will be implemented whenever possible as the first form of traffic control in lieu of traffic signals.
o Support the pursuit of the League of American Bicyclists Gold Award for Bicycle Friendly Communities for Chester, VA.”
o Insure access to green space, parks, schools, public facilities, and greenways as provided and planned for the village
o Insure that all opportunities to promote pedestrian and bicycle use of the Route 10 Corridor through pedestrian countdown signals, crosswalks, speed management, lane widths, bicycle lanes, and other permanent infrastructure improvements are pursued and are in keeping with the vision of the Chester Plan
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