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October 18, 2007
METRO Goes Bold
Most observers of the long and controversial debate over expansion of light rail in Houston expected the METRO Board to vote today in favor of constructing the east-west University Line as the next phase in rail expansion. In this vote, the Board did not shock. After exhaustive study and public comment, the Board voted to approve the University Line.
Much more surprisingly, the Board also opted to approve light rail construction, rather than bus rapid transit (BRT), on the other four planned expansion lines. Though voters approved the five rail lines in a 2003 referendum, METRO had hinted it would initially go with BRT, which would have laid the infrastructure for rail, but used futuristic buses until ridership numbers got high enough to justify federal funding for trains.
METRO decided, however, that current projected ridership numbers were sufficient to justify going straight to rail on all five lines, whcih would have trains running on them by 2012. This decision was a bold one by the METRO Board, and not anticipated.
Houston's population is growing by about 8% per year -- a huge rate. Millions more people are projected to come here in the next few decades. As traffic worsens and gas prices go higher and higher, mass transit alternatives are simply a must for this area, in terms of maintaining worker productivity and a decent quality of life.
On a day when President Bush's rejection of children's health insurance was narrowly upheld in the U.S. House, it was nice to see some good news on the public policy front. Kudos to METRO, as well as our friends at CTC for their hard work and advocacy on this critically important issue.
Posted by houtopia at October 18, 2007 10:48 PM