HamptonRoadsPerforms.org in the Media

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New website to rate and measure the progress of Hampton Roads
by Hugh Lessig

A virtual report card for the region aims to spur discussion and provide a wider window onto Hampton Roads.

From traffic to health care, Kaine says, the region will be able to hold itself accountable.

The press conference convened on the top floor of the tallest building in Virginia, but organizers had an even broader view in mind.

Hampton Roads officials joined Gov. Timothy M. Kaine Tuesday to roll out a new web site – a high-tech, data-heavy answer to a deceptively simple question: Just how is Hampton Roads doing these days?

The site is called "Hampton Roads Performs," and it rates the region on everything from work force quality to obesity, from personal income to public transit. Even that perennial sore spot – traffic congestion – gets its own spot in cyberspace.

"This is going to be a platform for us to measure our progress, to empower our leaders, to empower our citizens," said Dana Dickens, president and CEO of the Hampton Roads Partnership, which launched the site. Dickens addressed the media from the penthouse atop the 38-story Westin Virginia Beach Town Center.

The site is built along the same lines as a state web site, Virginia Performs, although certain features are unique to southeastern Virginia. For instance, the Hampton Roads site includes a section on ports and maritime issues.

It gives web surfers the ten-thousand-foot view with a simple arrow that points up or down next to a topic. An upward arrow indicates improvement; a downward arrow shows things are getting worse.

But the site also provides an opportunity to get behind the numbers, offering context and comparing Hampton Roads with other regions in Virginia and similar urban areas around the nation.

Take traffic. Every political leader – and every commuter -- knows that Virginia has struggled find ways to ease congestion in Hampton Roads. The web site gives traffic a "maintaining" grade -- noted by a sideways arrow – perhaps appropriate for a General Assembly that has been stuck in neutral.

The data behind that grade contains mixed news.

Compared to similar metropolitan areas across the country, Hampton Roads does pretty well – it has the second-lowest average commute time, better than areas such as Jacksonville, Fla., or the Raleigh/Cary, N.C. area.

But compared to other areas of Virginia, it has one of the longest commute times – a whopping 25 percent longer than Harrisonburg, Va.

It also contains inside-baseball stuff that the average person might not know. For example, Hampton Roads is one the three leading areas of the country for the modeling and simulation industry. The other two are Orlando, Fla., and Huntsville, Ala.

The web site received a good grade from Gov. Kaine, who called it a way for the region to hold itself accountable.

"I'm a passionate believer that the way you make a difference is by setting concrete and measurable goals," he said, "and letting citizens understand what your goals are."

The web site is www.hamptonroadsperforms.org.