Neartown residents want walkability, light rail

Community transportation forum

Jay Blazek Crossley, Sep 20, 11.

Neartown residents gathered for a transportation forum on Saturday, September 17, 2011, to discuss the future of the planned University Line light rail transit as well as walkability issues, especially in terms of the redevelopment of Richmond during rail construction, according to the Houston Chronicle:

Improved transit and pedestrian opportunities can’t reach Neartown soon enough for Joyce Almaguer-Reisdorf, a resident of Dearborn Place.

Almaguer-Reisdorf was among residents to attend a transportation forum Sept. 17 that explored the resurgence of walkable communities, the future of light rail in Houston and other mobility issues that impact the Inner Loop neighborhoods that are part of Neartown.

Afterwards, she wished out loud that Metropolitan Transit Authority’s University Light Rail Line was on the ground already.

A preferred route
Metro has managed to select a preferred route from 55 alternates examined for its University line, but the agency now faces questions about how to fund it and still maintain and operate its existing transit system, said Kimberley Slaughter, the agency’s senior vice president of service design and development.

Metro President and Chief Executive George Greanias, who also spoke at the forum, articulated key sections of the proposed fiscal 2012 budget that include establishing five-year cash flow and capital improvement plans.

He said the agency’s light rail plans “are achievable, but we’re going to have to decide if we want to do it because all of it costs money.”

David Crossley, president of Houston Tomorrow, a nonprofit devoted to urban issues, pointed out Neartown’s proximity to major employment centers downtown, in the Texas Medical Center and in Greenway Plaza and said light rail offers the potential to link 65 diverse neighborhoods with these and other major job centers.

Neartown Association and other stakeholders in the area have adopted a plan promoted by nonprofit RichmondRail.org that views the University Line as a chance to upgrade infrastructure, including sidewalks, for a community already committed to a walkable lifestyle.

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