It seems like there is a trend to "wall off" entire city blocks to vehicle traffic. I have heard they are thinking of doing this downtown Norfolk - as well as discussions occurring in Yorktown, Hampton, Newport News and Richmond. Even the Mayor of New York has jumped on the bandwagon and wants to block traffic from Times Square (for real - no joke!). They claim that the average cost per square foot for office space in areas limited to "foot traffic" significantly increase. In addition, these sections can be "beautified" with fountains, park benches, statues, ornamental facades on the buildings and so forth.

My personal opinion is having to walk a block is no more inconvenient than parking in some garage or mall parking lot and having to walk a half mile to get to the store. Only difference is you wont have a shopping cart to help get your stuff back to your car. Maybe some enterprising kids can earn some cash with a delivery service to the car.

The down side is why should I pay more taxes so the city can invest in a "town square" and the only people who make money are the developers who own the buildings? Put a tax surcharge on the building owners to make them pay for it. That's what they did when the city force me to hook up to the city sewage system instead of allowing me to continue to use my septic tank. Plus npow I have to pay for sewage treatment every two months! (and by the way - Newport News is doubling the fees from $52 to $104 - another reason to move out of the city)