METRO Board Chooses University Corridor Alignment, Plus Light Rail Immediately for All Five Lines
Thursday, October 18, 2007 6:22 PM
In a board room packed with media and the public, the METRO board this afternoon voted for an alignment along the University corridor that was not exactly what anyone was expecting.
At issue was the segment east of Main Street. Instead of the three rail alignments this blog has reported on, the board voted on an amendment to the motion that would make the segment east of Main run north on Scott, then east on Elgin to the Eastwood Transit Center.
The University Line route - about 10 miles - would pass along the University of Houston and Texas Southern University and near Rice and University of St. Thomas.
As expected, the board approved the alignment west of Main St. that was the lowest cost and produced the most riders, according to the Draft Environmental Impact Statement: It runs west on Richmond Avenue, crosses over the Southwest Freeway at Cummins, then goes west on Westpark to the Hillcroft Transit Center.
The amended motion that had the eastern segment of the corridor follow a route that was different from the three mentioned in the DEIS was triggered by the passionate public comments earlier this morning when speaker after speaker asked METRO to consider an alignment that would end up at the Eastwood Transit Center. The board approved the extension to the Eastwood Transit Center on the condition it was financially feasible.
Light rail supporters were ecstatic with the board's decision.
"I was surprised but really pleasantly surprised," said Christof Spieler, a board member of the Citizens' Transportation Coalition, a volunteer, grassroots transportation advocacy group. "I think this is going to make a much better transit system. The lines get to where it needs to go. It serves TSU well, it serves UH well. It connects to the Southeast line very well. It's a really good solution. It's economical, too, by having two lines share a track."
Spieler was referring to the fact that under this new alignment, the University Corridor and Southeast Corridor would share a section of track on Scott Street.
Robin Holzer, chairwoman of the coalition added: "I feel like they listened to everyone. They worked out the concerns. We urge people to solve problems creatively, but agencies rarely do. And I feel like they did today. It's a victory for democracy."
Robert Graham, a resident on Hawthorne Street, said the University Line was long overdue. "I couldn't be more pleased," adding that he was happy the alignment was on Richmond and not Westpark.
But residents of Wheeler Street, who showed up in force wearing white T-shirts with red letters saying "No to METRO" remained upset over METRO's choice of alignments, despite the amendment to change the route to Eastwood Transit Center.
East of Main St., the line still starts on Wheeler - a residential street with mostly elderly neighbors. Residents want the line to go down Alabama, instead, where there are more businesses and tenants, they say.
"On Wheeler, there are homes and a Cadillac in the driveway," said Renita Thornton, president of Washington Terrace Civic Association. "You're not going to give up your car to take transit."
Cheryl Armitage, past president of Washington Terrrace Civic Association, said of all the corridors, only the University Line goes through a residential neighborhood.
"I don't see any benefit to the residents of Wheeler. They don't take rail. Rail is going to be in the way. They're going to be backing into the rail," she said.
Chairman David S. Wolff said he understood their concerns and promised METRO would continue to work with the Wheeler Street community.
In another stunning move, the board voted to approve light rail on all five planned lines - not the previously bus rapid transit lines that are later convertible.
"It does allow this generation to leave a legacy of 37 miles of rapid transit," said Frank J. Wilson, METRO president and CEO, at the board meeting.
Later, after a press conference, John Sedlak, executive vice president at METRO, explained that METRO recommended immediate light rail to the board because the federal rules changed and allowed METRO to qualify its projects under the federal process.
"The change of federal rules allowed us to look at a system connectivity factor - to look at all the corridors tied together at one time. That allowed us to have a better performance on the overall system. That change allowed us to re-run our models, and they have a better ridership," said Sedlak.
In addition, the federal rules allowed METRO to include a factor known as "rail bias." While people accustomed to cars won't ride buses, they will board a train.
"We have been able to prove here in Houston that people ride the Houston light rail system just because it is rail," said Sedlak.
Third, since Houston has no zoning or land use controls, METRO was able to adjust its models to include a higher level of growth and development in the inner corridor of the city.
"That's been happening over the last decade, and in particular, around the rail line. And the federal government has accepted that change," said Sedlak.
And finally, METRO looked at its financial capacity and using a conservative analysis, realized it had a capacity to make this change directly to light rail now.
"This will save us money in the long run, rather than to convert at a later stage, which will be more costly down the road," said Sedlak. "It's great to see us make this change now and get on with the program."