HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 4 Offered January 9, 2008 Encouraging the Secretary of Transportation, should he conclude that personal rapid transit is a viable public transportation option in Virginia, to consider recommending Portsmouth as one of the potential cities to conduct a pilot program. ---------- Patrons-- Joannou and Melvin ---------- Committee Referral Pending ----------

WHEREAS, House Joint Resolution No. 603 (2007) requests the Secretary of Transportation to study the benefits, costs, and overall viability of personal rapid transit as a public transportation option for Virginia; and

WHEREAS, under HJR 603, the Secretary shall examine, to the extent possible, the current status of the use of personal rapid transit systems in other jurisdictions and consider the applications of personal rapid transit systems that would benefit public transportation needs in Virginia; and

WHEREAS, under HJR 603, the Secretary shall complete his meetings by November 30, 2007, for the first year and November 30, 2008, for the second year and shall submit to the Governor and General Assembly an executive summary and report of findings and recommendations for each year; and

WHEREAS, the two-year study may conclude that personal rapid transit is a viable option for Virginia; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, That the Secretary of Transportation, should he conclude that personal rapid transit is a viable public transportation option in Virginia, be encouraged to consider recommending Portsmouth as one of the potential cities to conduct a pilot program. Portsmouth is well-suited to serve as the pilot city for personal rapid transit in Virginia. Portsmouth is a compact city of only 32 square miles with no river crossing. The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard and the Portsmouth Naval Hospital draw large numbers of workers into the city every day. A mass concentration of people are present in the city every day, which makes the city ideal for a personal rapid transit system to connect the various commercial, educational, and government centers in Portsmouth. More specifically, a personal rapid transit system in Portsmouth might connect the Victory Village area, the new community college campus, downtown, city hall, the hospital, museums, the shipyard, and a parking terminal near the downtown tunnel; and be it  

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to the Secretary of Transportation.

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