“Changing Directions”

Transportation town hall

Steve Hawley, May 20, 09.

Tagged with transportation, transit, livable centers, transportation reauthorization, public meeting

UPDATE (5/27/09, 6:24 pm): Video of the event now available below at the bottom of the post.

UPDATE (5/26/09, 11:44 am): Carolyn Feibel of the Houston Chronicle provides coverage of the town hall: “Who’s Safety Lou, and what does she mean to you?”

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Houston Tomorrow and the Citizens’ Transportation Coalition co-hosted a town hall on Tuesday, May 19 to address the region’s transportation needs. Six panelists provided their thoughts, and about 115 people attended the event, providing questions and comments. All PowerPoint presentations are included at the bottom of the page.

The town hall was held in partnership with Transportation for America, the Texas Southern University (TSU) Center for Transportation Training and Research, RichmondRail.org, the Texas chapter of the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), and KPFT 90.1 FM. Leo Gold, host of The New Capital Show on KPFT, moderated the discussion.

At the beginning of the town hall, Gold asked how many people drove to the meeting, prompting almost everyone to raise their hands. Only four individuals got to the meeting by alternative means.

David Crossley, president of Houston Tomorrow, introduced the speakers, and Robin Holzer, CTC’s chair, concluded the town hall with a few comments. The panelists included:
• Robert Heineman, FAIA, Vice President of Planning for The Woodlands Development Corporation
• Dr. Stephen Klineberg, Professor of Sociology at Rice University and founder of the annual Houston Area Survey
• Dr. Carol Lewis, Associate Professor and Director of the TSU Center for Transportation Training and Research and Chair of the City of Houston Planning Commission
• Christof Spieler, Director of Technology and Innovation for Morris Architects and CTC technical advisor
• Jeff Taebel, FAICP, Director of Community and Environmental Planning at the Houston-Galveston Area Council (H-GAC)
• Marla Turner, Associate State Director for AARP Texas

Lewis discussed the history of federal transportation bills, noting that the federal government funded its first highway in 1912 but did not provide funding for a transit project until 1966. Before 1991, funds were simply divided into highway and transit categories, with most of the money going toward highways. However, the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA, pronounced “ice tea”) that year allowed states to use their funds somewhat more flexibly. Lewis stated that under ISTEA, every state, including Utah and the Dakotas, used some of their flexible dollars for non-highway purposes.

Lewis said she would not speculate on the contents of the upcoming transportation reauthorization bill, which House leaders hope to have in June, but that previous transportation bill have often arrived beyond their deadline. The current transportation bill—the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU)—expires on September 30.

Klineberg said that public attitudes toward transportation in Houston, as measured by his annual Houston Area Survey, are changing dramatically. Last month, he released the results of the 28th annual survey, which indicated that 50 percent of Harris County residents believe the solution to traffic congestion is public transportation improvements, an increase of 10 percent in four years, compared to just 25 percent who said to build new roads.

In addition, 83 percent—which he said is as close as one can get to a consensus—favor a general plan to guide Houston’s development and accommodate the more than one million people who are expected to move here in coming years. (According to H-GAC estimates, an additional 3.5 million people will move to the region by 2035, almost doubling its current size.) He said that Harris County residents recognize that “we can’t solve our problems the way we have in the past.”

Heineman discussed planning efforts in The Woodlands, which has made an effort to attract jobs as well as residences. According to Heineman, more people commute into The Woodlands than out every day, and the average commute is only about four miles. He said, “If you look at density, if you look at diversity, if you look at destination and accessibility, you can end up with a reduction of about 40 percent in your [vehicle miles traveled].”

Taebel talked about livable centers, citing the Sugar Land Town Square and The Woodlands as examples. Those kinds of town squares, he said, are transportation investments. He noted that in the Houston region, the average employee drives 51 miles per day. However, employees in the Texas Medical Center drive only five miles per day on average, while those downtown drive nine miles and Greenway Plaza employees drive 14 miles. Furthermore, he noted that 36 percent of all work trips downtown are accomplished via transit.

“[Livable centers are] not a magic bullet,” Taebel said, but they have significant environmental, economic, and quality of life impacts. He said the future success of the transportation system will not depend on street carrying capacity, but on how many travel choices residents have. Because livable centers can be created anywhere, he said they tend to be more politically popular than things like light rail, which are restricted to existing high-density areas. H-GAC is studying a number of livable center proposals in Houston and around the region.

Turner told the audience that elderly residents have extremely limited transportation options, noting, “The majority of [Harris County] seniors [over 60 year old] have to get rides from other people.” Over half are afraid to travel alone, and many have trouble getting to medical appointments and the grocery store. “We’re talking about health care reform,” she said, “and we can’t even get people to their appointments.”

She said that AARP endorses a complete streets model, which would provide safe and adequate access to all forms of transportation, including pedestrians, bicyclists, transit, and cars. “If we can be elder-friendly,” she said, “we would be people-friendly.” Two Congress members introduced a complete streets bill earlier this year.

Spieler wrapped up the panel discussion by talking about the disparities between transit funding and highway funding. He noted that while the federal government originally became involved in highway-building because the highways crossed state lines, “The federal government has gotten intimately involved in your trip to the grocery store.”

Spieler said that METRO’s Southeast Line had to undergo an alternatives analysis, a voter referendum, cost-effectiveness studies, and a risk analysis, none of which apply to highways. Once it emerged from that process, the line became eligible for 50 percent federal funding. Highways, on the other hand, are subject to very loose requirements and are eligible for 80 percent federal funding. He noted that officials are moving ahead to build the Grand Parkway, a highway through the uninhabited Katy Prairie, despite a study showing it to be a money-losing project.

The panelists answered a number of questions from audience members. “Stop the Grand Parkway project!” said one participant in a written comment. “Make road projects cost-justify themselves before getting stimulus money.” Some inquired about high-speed rail, launching into a discussion about how Houston could connect to New Orleans in the federal high speed rail plan, but not to the rest of Texas. (However, it does appear that there are a number of key officials who are working to link Houston to the rest of the state.)

In response to a question about transit and education, Spieler said that university students are under-appreciated in the transit planning process and that as a result, not many transit lines serve university districts. Students are difficult to track with census numbers, but they are also less likely to own a car and more likely to take transit, which could potentially affect the viability of transit lines adjacent to universities.

Other participants asked how to influence public officials and get them to implement smart transportation projects. Crossley said that there are several key leverage points in the process, including H-GAC, the various County Commissioners Courts, and the City of Houston Planning and Development Department.

He and Holzer encouraged participants to attend meetings and share their thoughts with those policymakers. “If the only thing you got out of tonight is thinking, ‘Wow, I learned a lot,’ then we have failed,” said Holzer. Holzer said that elected officials listen carefully to their constituents, and that by some estimates, one personal letter to a local official is worth 30-50 signatures on a petition.

David Crossley’s presentation (.ppt 28 mb, pdf 29 mb, .key 45 mb)
Stephen Klineberg’s presentation (.ppt 1 mb, .pdf 1 mb)
Jeff Taebel’s presentation (.ppt 3mb, .pdf 4mb)
Marla Turner’s presentation (.ppt 1mb, .pdf 1mb)
Christof Spieler’s presentation (.ppt 13mb, .pdf 13 mb)
Robin Holzer’s presentation (.ppt 6 mb, .pdf 6 mb)