Over 100 Citizens Attend Construction Kick-Off Open Houses
A combined total of 157 citizens of Norfolk and Hampton Roads Transit staff and consultants attended The Tide construction kick-off open houses held at Maury High School and Lake Taylor on December 11 and 12, respectively. At the hands-on, interactive sessions, the public visited four display areas that provided a wide range information on the light rail system.
At Station 1 participants were provided a written survey that allowed them to describe their personal characteristics and their preferences on how to receive information about The Tide and construction activities. At Station 2 participants viewed a video simulation of the entire project narrated by a member of the HRT staff and then answered questions regarding what they liked, would change, and who they thought would most benefit from viewing the video simulation. Station 3 was dedicated to the Public Outreach Program and included a live broadcast of The Tide web site, ridethetide.com. Participants were able to use a laptop computer to view the web pages and become familiar with the contents. Citizens were also asked to choose the five most important public outreach activities that HRT should undertake during construction. Lastly, the public was asked to share comments, questions or concerns about each of the poster-sized boards at Station 4 which provided information on a variety of light rail system characteristics including the light rail route and vehicle, bus connections, construction schedule, vehicle storage and maintenance facility, and an overview of each light rail station.
“The construction open houses are just one of several methods we are using to keep the public informed about the progress of The Tide,” said Jayne Whitney, HRT’s Sr. Vice President for Development. “The feedback from the public has been encouraging and we are very grateful to our citizens for participating in this process,” she continued.
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