Good Afternoon!
Welcome to Fall! I hope everyone is enjoying the cooler weather and lower humidity. October was another strong month meeting new people and diving into initiatives.
As I mentioned in my September email, I am focused on making it safe for you and me to walk and bike across Hampton Blvd. and for cars and trucks to travel safely along Hampton Blvd. This supports one of my campaign initiatives around safe neighborhoods. The Hampton Blvd. Traffic Task Force kicked off October 11. We had representatives from civic leagues along the Hampton Blvd. corridor, Old Dominion University, Virginia Port Authority, Maritime, Trucking, City Traffic, City Data, and many more in support of this initiative. It was an excellent start. We meet again November 14 where we will learn more from the current traffic study of the corridor, proposed new bike lane placements, median revisions, left turn lane changes, red light camera placement and more. We need to take this information to civic leagues and the community at large and get their support so that together, as a community, we move forward. What is our measure of success? No pedestrian deaths. No deaths by road traffic. Reduction in traffic citations. Reduction of traffic accidents. People feeling safe!
As you might have read on Thursday, November 1, it appears that Norfolk Southern CEO, Jim Squires, has basically said to Atlanta City Council that they need to vote on their incentive package for the new Gulch Development in Atlanta on Monday, November 5 or Norfolk Southern will reconsider moving their headquarters to Atlanta. I am repeating simply what I read in The Virginian-Pilot. We want Norfolk Southern to stay. Norfolk Southern is a valued and vital corporate citizen and it will be important to Norfolk and the region for them to stay.
Councilwoman Andria McClellan spearheaded an effort for the city to hold town halls on sea-level rise. Two town halls were held in October where residents could learn about what is being done to address sea-level rise and flooding. It is important for the city to continue to educate all of us on the efforts being done on an ongoing basis. We have urged City Administration to make this communication stronger. Take a look at the one of the town halls and learn more. Here is the link. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8HBWnC8Yp8
Speaking of flooding, mapping of the King Tide took place on Saturday, October 27 throughout the region. I mapped with old friends and met new friends mapping around the Hague. The King Tide is the highest tide of the year and there is an app that maps water levels. These data points are used in sea-level rise research.
Congratulation to Ghent! Ghent was named one of the Great Neighborhoods in America by the American Planning Association in 2018. Congratulations to the new Norfolk Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court as they hosted a ribbon cutting in Norfolk. All courts in Norfolk now are located in one new courthouse on St. Paul’s Blvd.
Below you will see some pictures from the month. And, yes, our little Grady got neutered a few weeks ago but he is on the mend and the puppy energy is back in full swing. He looks cute in his “cone.”
Don’t forget about daylight savings this weekend. We gain an hour!
Cheers!
Courtney
