Ray LaHood

Hou rail means jobs, options

U.S. Secretary of Transportation , Nov 29, 11.

Tagged with transit, jobs, walkable urbanism, recovery, federal transportation funding

America’s fourth largest city deserves a world class transit system that will meet the region’s needs for the 21st century, and the investments we’re making will help accomplish that.

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These leaders know that light rail makes sense for Houston. The Main Street Red Line, Houston’s first light rail service, offers undeniable proof. This line carries an extraordinary 45,000 passengers per day—well ahead of expectations—making it the nation’s most heavily traveled per track mile.

The new light rail segments, the North and Southeast lines, are scheduled to open for service in 2015 and will provide alternatives to two congested highways, Interstate 45 and U.S. Route 59. They are expected to carry more than 58,000 riders on weekdays, including more than 13,000 new transit riders each day, by the year 2030.

What do those riders get? Time. Shorter commute times mean more time at home with their families and in their communities. Riding a train instead of sitting on a congested highway means time better spent—reading a morning newspaper, studying, catching up on e-mail, relaxing—not simmering in traffic. They also gain access: access to jobs, education, and other opportunities.
And this crucial investment is putting people back to work right away. Already, 400 construction workers are back on the job, and 1,800 more men and women will be back on light rail jobsites in Houston within the next two years.

Light rail will also spur economic development. It will connect the places people live with the places they work, study, and shop. It will help entrepreneurs launch and grow businesses. It will create communities.

Full Story: Expanding Houston light rail will create more transportation choices, more jobs
Source: US DOT Fastlane Blog, November 29, 2011

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