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METRO APPROVES HISTORIC CONTRACT TO BUILD MORE LIGHT RAIL/CONSTRUCTION BRINGS JOBS TO HOUSTON :

Date: March 4, 2009

METRO's Board of Directors adopted an historic contract today with Parsons Transportation Group to build four more light-rail lines for Houston.

The contract, worth $1.4645 billion, will create 60,000 jobs before the approximately 20 additional miles of light rail are completed.

"These light rail lines, along with the highly successful Main Street line, will serve as the backbone for a regional system that will serve commuters across the entire Metropolitan area, and across county lines, for generations to come," said METRO Board Chairman David S. Wolff. "We are building not just a better transportation system; we are building a better future for all our citizens"

Apprentice to Darth Holden : "Please, please tell me these rail lines are being built over the dead body of Tom DeLay."


By definition. These projects could never had gone forward if he had anything to say about it. I've long been convinced that he got a cut of the highway money.

Running out of Places To Park

Atrios discusses Car Sharing...

Maybe some other Houstonians can check me on this, but I'm getting the distinct impression that even here, we've run out of places to park. Any place worth getting to, you can't park there any more.

I believe that there would be major benefits in offering substantial tax incentives to taxi companies to increase their sizes in the short term.

Any major public transit intiative would take ten years to enact, but in the meanwhile, encouraging taxi companies to take up the slack will create employment, decrease emissions, and probably enhance public safety.

"...Of the poor and the very poor alike..."

Professor Wagstaff : "Didn't Lisa Simpson describe the city bus as "the transportation choice of the poor and the very poor alike"?

I had a conversation with one of my bus drivers the other day (three each way), and I suggested they look into increasing frequency on the last leg - just talking, of course, drivers have no say.

His opinion was, "there's no increase without an increase in ridership"; my argument, "increase frequency and you'll increase ridership".

I mention all of this because Houston is an interesting case of a love-hate relationship with public transit. I don't know if we have MORE concrete here than anyplace else, but they are increasing I-10 to 18 freaking lanes. At the same time, they've hired George Foreman as a spokesperson to increase ridership.



A situation worth watching.