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House prices have not recovered in Virginia Beach, and are still down 18% from their highs. The region's unemployment rate has, however, hit a top at 7.0%
Change in metro product since trough: Up 5.7%
Note: The Virginia Beach area includes Norfolk and Newport News.
Source: Brookings, data through Q4 2010
http://www.businessinsider.com/the-20-cities-having-an-awesome-recovery-2011-5#20-virginia-beach-va-1
By Deirdre FernandesThe Virginian-Pilot© March 28, 2011 VIRGINIA BEACH
The city is on the brink of a transportation boom. Crews could soon start work on road projects, like the replacement of the Lesner Bridge and the elimination of those feeder roads that confuse drivers along Laskin Road.
Gov. Bob McDonnell included several of Virginia Beach's road projects in his $4 billion proposal to address the state's transportation needs. In fact, if the plan is approved as is, Virginia Beach could get more money than any other locality statewide for its individual transportation projects - about $360 million. Prince William County in Northern Virginia would be second with $177 million.
"This is a big windfall for the city," said Phil Pullen, the Beach's transportation division manager.
McDonnell's proposal would help pay for eight major road projects in Virginia Beach, including the widening of Witchduck and Holland roads, the extension and widening of Lynnhaven Parkway, a new alignment for part of Indian River Road and the extension of Elbow Road.
Some of these projects have been in the city's plans for years but were stalled because of lack of money, Pullen said.
The Commonwealth Transportation Board still has to approve the list and timing of the funds, which it will consider doing this spring.
The governor's office included road projects on the list that had been on Virginia Department of Transportation's six-year plan, Joe Vagi, a spokesman for the agency, said in an email.
State officials also considered local and regional priorities, and projects that can start construction within three years, Vagi said.
The Virginia Beach City Council has maintained funding for road projects, even as state money dried up in recent years, Pullen said. The city slowly acquired right-of-way and performed preliminary engineering work that kept these projects on track, he said.
Projects such as the widening of Elbow Road, which ranked 35 out of 93 in the region's priority list for urban highway projects, also made it on McDonnell's list.
"These at one time were the most congested roads in the city," Pullen said. "Or still are."
Virginia Beach Mayor Will Sessoms said these road projects are priorities for the city and will help ease traffic.
Sessoms and the region's mayors have lobbied hard for more transportation money for Hampton Roads in recent months, meeting with McDonnell and speaking to the transportation board.
That may be part of the reason Virginia Beach and Hampton Roads fared well in the first cut for this funding, Sessoms said.
McDonnell identified more than $600 million in projects for the Hampton Roads district in his plans.
It's "the greatest thing to happen to Virginia Beach and Hampton Roads in a long time," Sessoms said. "We haven't been funded very well in a number of years, and it is our turn."
The city has fostered cooperation with McDonnell.
Earlier this year, when McDonnell asked Virginia Beach to pay for a $50,000 study on whether a lighthouse structure would support a research tower for wind energy, the City Council agreed. At least one council member said it was politically prudent, considering that McDonnell would be developing a list of road projects for funding.
Sessoms declined to comment on whether that helped Virginia Beach the city get many of its road projects closer to state funding.
"I think it's critical that we have a good working relationship with the governor, and I think we do," Sessoms said.
Deirdre Fernandes, (757) 222-5121, deirdre.fernandes@pilotonline.com
Article Pulled from: http://hamptonroads.com/2011/03/va-beach-could-reap-riches-state-road-plan
Thought this had some great ideas for saving at the pump. - Tim
By Gregory Karp Print Article
RISMEDIA, March 30, 2011—(MCT) —Four-buck gasoline is a reality again for some American motorists. Only this time, unlike 2008, the price spike follows years of deep national recession and its aftermath—including rampant job loss and home foreclosures. That means many households’ battered budgets are less able to absorb higher gas prices, especially when the costs of such necessities as food and clothing are rising fast too.
Paying $4 per gallon would mean a household spends $4,800 on gasoline in a year, assuming the household owns two vehicles getting 25 miles to the gallon and traveling 15,000 miles. There’s a one-in-four chance that the average price of gas nationwide this summer will exceed $4 per gallon, according to a forecast by the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
For consumers, a long-term solution to higher gas prices is to drive less or drive a more fuel-efficient vehicle. But in the short term it matters more “how” you drive than “what” you drive.
Here are suggestions for saving money on gasoline, with help from the U.S. Department of Energy, Consumer Reports, the Alliance to Save Energy and Edmunds.com.
• Don’t spill the coffee: The biggest savings will come from avoiding aggressive driving. It can lower your gas mileage by 33 percent at highway speeds and by 5 percent around town.
- Not sure what less-aggressive driving is? Imagine a lidless cup of coffee in your car’s cup holder. Drive like you don’t want to spill it. That means gradual acceleration and gentle braking.
- Potential savings vary widely but are significant when you curb aggressive driving. At $4 per gallon, gas savings could range from 20 cents to $1.32 per gallon, based on Energy Department figures. That’s a savings of $240 to $1,584 per year for that two-car household described earlier.
• Speed kills: Consumer Reports found that slowing from 75 to 55 mph boosted gas mileage 33 percent in testing performed on a family sedan and a large SUV.
• American idle: Idling yields zero mpg. Don’t bother warming up your car or keeping it running while waiting for passengers. The rule of thumb is to turn off your car if you know you’ll be stopped for more than 30 seconds, Consumer Reports says. Cars with larger engines typically waste more gas idling than those with small engines.
• Trunk junk: An extra 100 pounds in your vehicle could reduce your gas mileage by up to 2 percent, or about 8 cents per gallon. Roof junk—carrying large items on the roof of the vehicle—creates drag that can cut gas mileage by 5 percent.
• Use cruise: Cruise control is steadier on the accelerator pedal than you are. You might try it on lower-speed suburban roads. Edmunds.com called it a “surprisingly effective way to save gas.”
• Find cheaper gas: Compare gasoline prices with online sources like GasBuddy.com, GasPriceWatch.com or http://gasprices.mapquest.com/. Of course, you don’t want to drive far out of your way to save a few pennies. Savings will be lost traveling to a distant service station.
- Billshrink.com will send you an email alerting you to the lowest-price gas on your commute. Gas price information also is available via smartphone apps, such as Gas Buddy and AAA’s TripTik Mobile.
• Use GPS: Computerized travel directions from GPS devices or smartphones can help find efficient routes, even among multiple destinations. That can save time, hassle and gas. If you don’t have a device, use a website such as http://www.mapquest.com/routeplanner.
- Plotting a route by hand works, too, using a folding map or road atlas. Several devices and websites also alert you to traffic jams—a gas-mileage killer.
• Seek discounts: Be on the lookout for promotions and sales that allow you to acquire gasoline station gift cards for free or at a discount. For example, you might be able to redeem credit card rewards points for a gas card. And Choice Hotels, which owns such properties as Comfort Inn and Clarion, is offering a $50 gas card when you book two stays before May 4.
• Make radical changes: Change your work hours to avoid rush-hour traffic, use carpools and ride-sharing programs, take public transportation, walk or bike to work, or work from home.
• Shop online: If you spend evenings or weekends running errands to various stores, consider ordering products online and let someone else pay for the gas. That’s doable if you can find free shipping online or lower product prices to compensate for shipping fees. Free shipping often comes in the form of a coupon code used at online checkout. Use a search engine with keywords “coupon code” and the retailer’s name.
• More math: Make gas mileage a criterion as you select your next vehicle. The difference between choosing a vehicle that gets 20 mpg and 30 mpg is huge. Assuming $4-per-gallon gas, you would save $1,000 a year per car. Over the typical five years of ownership, that’s $10,000 saved for a two-car family.
• Stay cool: Some advice on saving gas is dubious. Don’t sweat the argument over staying cool with air conditioning versus lowering the windows. Edmunds.com testing found neither made a huge difference to gas mileage.
• Inflate tires: The U.S. Energy Department says underinflated tires can increase fuel consumption more than 3 percent. However, a test by Edmunds.com couldn’t find much effect on gas mileage, although properly inflated tires are important for safety and to reduce tire wear. Find the proper inflation level on the driver’s side door jamb or in the owner’s manual, not the maximum pressure embossed on the tire sidewall. Similar is the usual advice to replace air filters to save gas. On modern cars, replacing a filter will improve acceleration performance but not gas mileage.
• Gas additives: Advertisements for gasoline additives that supposedly deliver better mileage are exaggerations or outright lies, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, which has tested more than 100 of them. Consumer Reports’ tests of some gas-saving products that promise better fuel economy showed none worked, including Fuel Doctor and Fuel Genie. “Simply put: Don’t waste your money,” Consumer Reports says. Some “gas-saving” products may damage a car’s engine or cause substantial increases in exhaust emissions, according to the EPA.
Gregory Karp, the author of “Living Rich by Spending Smart,” writes for the Chicago Tribune.
For more information visit http://www.chicagotribune.com/.
(c) 2011, Chicago Tribune.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
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- Tim
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