Transportation Whatnot

Three weeks ago, stakeholders for METRO’s Universities line gathered at St. Luke’s UMC. Houston Mayor Bill White told the enormous crowd that “we make our best decisions when we listen to each other,” and “this won’t be the end of the conversation.” Houston City Council Members Anne Clutterbuck, Ada Edwards, and Pam Holm have held just 4 out of 8 of the preliminary neighborhood forums that the City committed to lead.

The planning process is only just beginning, and it’s important. From UH, to TSU, to Wheeler Station, to Neartown, to Greenway Plaza, to Uptown and the Galleria, the fate of the entire Universities line hangs on building community consensus around a set of route alignments. An open and informed public planning process based on rigorous technical analysis is essential. And METRO is poised to do just that during the next 6-8 months, with consultants scheduled to start work next Friday.

But… Congressman Culberson doesn’t seem to want to wait around for a pesky study to inform his transportation policy-making, as evidenced by this email he sent some of his constituents:

Dear Richmond-Area Home or Business Owner,

This Wednesday, April 12, I am hosting a Town Hall meeting in the Shell Auditorium in Rice University’s McNair Hall (6:30 to 8:00 PM) to gauge for myself the level of support or opposition to METRO’s proposal to build light rail down Richmond Avenue. I take my job as Representative very seriously, and my job requires me to work on behalf my constituents when they reach a strong consensus on quality of life issues. In the last few months, I have received hundreds of letters, emails, and phone calls opposed to building light rail on Richmond. I also recognize that the ballot used in the referendum in November 2003 clearly spelled out the “Westpark Corridor” as the proposed route, and that there is much more land and room for development along Westpark.

I know that there have been a number of meetings on this issue, and that you are fatigued from all the time this process is consuming. I am grateful for the time and energy you have spent so far, and I am confident we will reach a point this week where all members of the community have been thoroughly educated on the proposals, and have given their final input. At this town hall meeting I will listen to your comments and ideas, and make a decision based on your input. Afterwards, I will inform METRO of my position. It is very important for me to hear from as many Richmond-area residents and business owners as possible so that I can reach a conclusion based on your opinions. I am respectfully asking that you set aside one more night to share your thoughts with me, so that I can best represent you in Washington. Thank you for your patience and your time, and I look forward to seeing you on Wednesday.

John Culberson
Member of Congress

Houston doesn’t need this kind of politics. What we need is good planning. CTC believes that:

And these same principles apply to every high-capacity transit line METRO is planning to build.

If you agree, I encourage you to come to Culberson’s town hall at Rice at 5:30 pm Wednesday night at Rice and speak up for good transit planning. Plan to arrive early since this venue is much too small for the expected crowd.

And in the meantime, contact the Congressman’s office (713) 682-8828, ask to talk to District Director Nick Swyka or Chief of Staff Bill Crow and tell them that we need to keep all the alignments on the table and study them. If you send email, I encourage you to copy Mayor White and the Chronicle at the same time.