Light rail nationwide, but Houston faces challenges

Some want METRO Board changes

Alex Wukman, Jan 03, 11.

Throughout the country there is a light rail boom. Despite the recession, cities are undertaking plans to install, expand or upgrade light rail service and in some places the addition of light rail has brought in additional businesses.
The development of light rail in downtown Denver has attracted at least one new business and has allowed the city to reduce commute times, according to NPR.

Locally there are concerns about what the new Census numbers will mean for the Metro board. According to the Houston Chronicle, if Census figures show that the population has increased in certain areas outside of the City of Houston inside Metro’s service area, this could trigger an expansion of Metro’s board from the current nine to 11. This would allow the City of Houston to appoint five members, the Mayors of 14 other cities to appoint three and the Harris County Commissioners’ Court to appoint three, something that Harris County Precinct 3 Commissioner Steve Radack looks forward to.

“If we got a new board over there that’s interested in things other than electric trains, we might be able to do a heck of a lot more mobility,” Radack told the Chronicle. “I believe Metro money should be spent on transportation.” Radack went on to suggest that a board composed primarily of representatives from outlying areas might not be willing to spend billions on light rail projects in the city’s urban core. Radack’s sentiments are being echoed by some in Houston’s blogging community.

Radack’s comments come a few weeks after Metro announced that it had finally resolved the nagging procurement issues that put nearly $1 billion in federal funds in jeopardy. The decision by Spanish rail company CAF to drop an expected lawsuit against Metro allowed the agency to recoup $14 million of the $40 million that had already been paid on a $118 million contract.

On the strength of that announcement the Federal Transit Administration issued a statement that they would be awarding Metro $50 million to help fund the planned expansion of Houston’s light rail.