Richmond: what we know
John Culberson has announced that he will announce his position on light rail on Richmond:
Culberson to Announce Position on Richmond Rail
U.S. Representative John Culberson will hold a press conference in Houston on Tuesday, August 1, at 10 a.m. to announce his position on METRO ’s proposals to build light rail along Richmond Avenue. METRO has held a series of public meetings outlining these proposals, and Congressman Culberson has received nearly 2000 letters from concerned constituents on this important issue.
WHO: Representative John Culberson
WHAT: Richmond rail announcement
WHEN: Tuesday, August 1, 10 a.m.
WHERE: James Coney Island parking lot, 3607 South Shepherd Drive, Houston, Texas 77098
We pretty much know what that position is since the email he sent out announcing this included a link to a slick (but factually inaccurate) anti-rail site, http://www.mobilitycoalition.org/.
As luck would have it, I posted a lengthy post on this subject earlier. Read it for the details.
To summarize, a few salient facts:
- METRO only began its study of the University rail line in April. That study isn’t complete, and a lot of important information (like costs and ridership) has not yet been released.
- We do know that rail can be built without eliminating traffic lanes or street trees or even most of the medians. In the section of Richmond with the tightest right-of-way — Main to Kirby — some private property would need to be taken to do this, but even in that section only a minority of properties would be affected, and most of those would only lose 1-4 feet.
- The most important factor in ridership on rail lines is how many jobs are served. An alignment following Richmond all the way from Main Street to South Rice would serve 3 times as many jobs with a 1/2 mile radius of stations as a “Westpark” alignment over the same stretch.
- A Westpark alignment built at grade would likely cause more traffic problems than a Richmond alignment.
- If METRO can’t build any of the University Line on Richmond, the line may well not meet cost-effectiveness standards. If it doesn’t, the University Line — including the section east of Main Street — doesn’t get built. And that may well mean the Uptown line doesn’t either.
- There is a lot of opposition to a Richmond alignment. But there’s also a lot of support for rail on Richmond and opposition to a Westpark alignment.
- The 2003 ballot didn’t specify that this line would be build on Westpark.
- It is not John Culberson’s job as a congressman to decide what the locally preferred alternative is for a rail line. That’s METRO’s job. Neither is it John Culberson’s job to decide whether city streets can be used to build a rail line. That’s the City of Houston’s job. METRO hasn’t even asked for federal money to build this line yet.
We know John Culberson doesn’t mind bulldozing small businesses: his pet project, the Katy Freeway, required the condemnation of 450 lots, including hotels, restaurants, shopping centers, and an entire residential street. It also happens to be 80% over budget — that’s $1.1 billion in taxpayer money (here’s the Texas State Auditor Office report).
In short, tomorrow’s press conference is a political stunt. John Culberson doesn’t like rail or METRO, and he thinks he can win some points with his West Side constituents by killing this project.
Is that the way to make decisions about our future? I think not.
What do you think? Visit our forums.