Rep. Culberson should demand Metro go back to the voters
From today's Rad Sallee story on Metro's meeting with Afton Oaks residents:
Several speakers said they voted for Metro's rail plans in the November 2003 referendum and now felt betrayed that Richmond was being considered.
Some noted they had fought a similar battle in 1990, defeating a previous rail plan under then-Mayor Kathy Whitmire that included a line on Richmond.
Whiteley, an attorney, said sending rail down Richmond would be "a substantial deviation" from what voters approved, since the ballot referred to the line as "Westpark."
Attorney Cliff McAdams, a director of the club, asked [Metro President and CEO Frank] Wilson if he thought the ballot language was misleading. Wilson said he did, but said he thought the line legally can be built on either street.
Remember what Metro official George Smalley said:
Smalley said the changes are covered by a footnote to the ballot resolution that says: "Final scope, length of rail segments or lines, and other details, together with implementation schedule, will be based upon demand and completion of the project development process including community input."
It was in the fine print.
Except that Rep. John Culberson forced Metro to specify the expansion lines it planned in the 2003 Metro Solutions referendum:
Rep. John Culberson , R-Houston, inserted a provision into this fiscal year's transportation appropriations bill banning federal funding for rail in Houston unless voters approve each segment.
And Richmond wasn't on it:
The following summary lists the components and segments of MetroRail and commuter line, as described in Exhibits A and A-3 through A-9 of such resolution and the official notice of the election, and is a part of the ballot and the proposition being submitted to the voters at the election. The segments marked ** are expected to be completed by the end of 2012 utilizing the proceeds of the $640 million of bonds, if approved at the election.
1. NORTH HARDY
**A. UH-Downtown to Northline Mall
B. Northline Mall to Greenspoint
C. Greenspoint to Bush IAH Airport2. SOUTHEAST
**A. Downtown/Bagby to Dowling
**B. Dowling to Griggs/610
C. Griggs/610 to Park & Ride in the vicinity of Hobby Airport
D. Sunnyside: Southeast Transit Center to Bellfort
E. Sunnyside: Bellfort to Airport Blvd.3 . HARRISBURG
**A. Dowling to Magnolia Transit Center
B. Magnolia Transit Center to Gulfgate Center
C. Gulfgate Center to Telephone Road4. WESTPARK
Wheeler Station to Hillcroft Transit Center5. UPTOWN/WEST LOOP
**Westpark to the Northwest Transit Center6. INNER KATY
Downtown/Bagby to Northwest Transit Center7. SOUTHWEST COMMUTER LINE
Fannin South Park & Ride to Harris County line
But Westpark is in there. Frank Wilson tiptoed around the Westpark problem:
But Wilson said the route cannot run solely on Westpark, which he described as a "desert" separated by the broad Southwest Freeway from Greenway Plaza, Lakewood Church and other sources of riders to the north.
That means, he said, the Westpark route as initially designed would be "a non-starter" with federal funding authorities, who look at a project's benefit-to-cost ratio.
Which means if Metro needs to change the plan, Metro needs to go back to the voters. Rep. Culberson required Metro to specify each segment in 2003. Metro is now altering the 2003 Metro Solutions plan and Rep. Culberson should force Metro to go back to voters.
RELATED: A first-person account of Frank Wilson's meeting with Afton Oaks residents; Business owner: No rail down Richmond (River Oaks Examiner); For some, the only good rail is no rail (River Oaks Examiner)
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 07/27/05 08:28 AM | Houston Transit | Print | Comments (1)
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