Category Archives: Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

Today’s the day for the TIP

Posted on March 25, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

That postponed Transportation Policy Council meeting to determine how to allocate unprogrammed federal transportation funds happens today. A proposal before the regional Transportation Policy Council last month could have clawed back $12.8 million in funding set aside for bicycle and … Continue reading →

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HGAC hearing on TIP

Posted on March 21, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

From Houston Tomorrow: The Houston – Galveston Area Council Transportation Policy Council will host a public hearing to discuss citizen priorities for the use of discretionary funds in the 2011-2014 Transportation Improvement Program on March 25, 2011 at 8:45am at … Continue reading →

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By the way, we have no money for roads

Posted on March 15, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Just another issue we won’t be dealing with this session. During the next 20 years, the Texas Department of Transportation will need $315 billion to spend on the state’s roads and freeways for maintenance and construction just to keep traffic … Continue reading →

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TPC delays vote on TIP

Posted on March 3, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Houston Tomorrow: The Houston-Galveston Area Council’sTransportation Policy Council (TPC) unanimously voted on Friday morning to delay by thirty days its vote on a full $79.8 million allocation of unprogrammed federal transportation funds toward Mobility – roadway and freight rail – … Continue reading →

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Speed trap city

Posted on March 2, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Apparently, we’re number one. The number one speed trap city in America, that is. Houston, TX Speed traps: 373 And the winning city is from … Texas! Seriously, the speed traps in Texas are so bad, Dornsife said, “any place … Continue reading →

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TxDOT gets Grand Parkway approval

Posted on March 1, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Another step in the march of the inevitable. The state Transportation Commission on Thursday granted the Texas Department of Transportation authority to begin design work and negotiating contracts to build a key segment of the Grand Parkway. The unanimous vote … Continue reading →

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Metro settles with Higgins

Posted on February 26, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

And the last bit of “old Metro” business gets put to rest. The Metropolitan Transit Authority’s board [Thursday] agreed to settle a lawsuit by the agency’s former chief counsel in which she accused Metro of firing her for trying to … Continue reading →

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More on Metro’s rail to Fort Bend plan

Posted on February 24, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s a story from the first of the public meetings Metro is holding on the proposed US90A rail line to Fort Bend. Planners of a proposed project to extend light rail service from Houston to Missouri City are hopeful about … Continue reading →

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More on H-GAC and the TIP

Posted on February 23, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

I received some feedback from Judge Ed Emmett’s office regarding this post about H-GAC’s Friday Transportation Policy Council (TPC) meeting, at which funding in the 2011-2014 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) will be discussed and voted on. There’s some context missing … Continue reading →

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Bye-bye, intermodal center

Posted on February 22, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

In the process of writing off some bad assets in what one hopes is the last ritual cleansing of the Frank Wilson era, Metro says good-bye to something we hadn’t heard of in awhile. Metro has given up on what … Continue reading →

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Why aren’t we investing more in non-road transportation?

Posted on February 22, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Houston Tomorrow has some disturbing news. A proposal to limit bike, pedestrian, and livability funding in the 2011 Transportation Improvement Program will come before the Houston-Galveston Area Council’s Transportation Policy Council (TPC) this Friday, February 25, at a public meeting in the … Continue reading →

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More on the Lone Star Rail District

Posted on February 19, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

The following comment was left on my earlier post about the Lone Star Rail District and its efforts to build a rail line between Austin and San Antonio, and I thought it was worth highlighting: LSTAR is actually much further … Continue reading →

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Metro in the President’s budget

Posted on February 16, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

They did all right. Houston Metro’s expansion is getting a $200 million boost in Obama’s budget request to Congress. The money for the North Corridor and the Southeast Corridor projects is $50 million more than the $150 million set aside … Continue reading →

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You should now be avoiding Buffalo Speedway

Posted on February 15, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Ugh. Road work designed to solve traffic jams at Buffalo Speedway and U.S. 59 is scheduled to get under way Tuesday, Feb. 15. Work will begin on the east side of Buffalo Speedway between Bissonnet Drive and U.S. 59, with … Continue reading →

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San Antonio still in for Austin rail line

Posted on February 15, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

I wish them the very best of luck with this. San Antonio officials will continue to pursue a passenger rail line that one day could connect the Alamo City to Austin, a transit project that’s already been in the works … Continue reading →

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Metro seeks input for commuter rail line to Fort Bend

Posted on February 14, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Metro is taking another step forward on the commuter rail line along US 90A to Fort Bend County that was part of the 2003 Metro Solutions referendum. Kimberly Slaughter, Senior Vice President of Service Design & Development for Metro, unveiled … Continue reading →

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Texas lags on rail: Film at 11

Posted on February 12, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

I’m pretty sure we’ve seen this story before, but here it is again anyway. According to a study commissioned by the Texas Transportation Commission, during the next 20 years, more than $300 billion in 2009 dollars needs to be invested … Continue reading →

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Study says red light cameras save lives

Posted on February 7, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Now they tell us. In a study released on Tuesday, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, found that red-light cameras could save lives. The findings by the institute, a nonprofit group funded by the insurance industry, found that from 2004-8 … Continue reading →

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TxDOT to take on primacy for Grand Parkway

Posted on February 5, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

From Houston Tomorrow: “There are potential opportunities to help advance [the Grand Parkway] in its entirety over the short term,” according to John Barton, assistant executive director for the Texas Department of Transportation’s (TxDOT) engineering operations, told the Transportation Policy … Continue reading →

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Yet another threat to light rail expansion

Posted on February 2, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Great. The House could vote as soon as mid-February on a plan by the conservative House Republican Study Committee to end the 35-year-old Federal Transit Administration’s “New Starts” program,” which pours $2 billion-a-year into urban transit projects such as Houston … Continue reading →

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Where the SUPERTRAINs should be built

Posted on January 29, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Via Infrastructurist, a group called America 2050 recently put out a report on high-speed rail corridors with the greatest potential to attract ridership in each of the nation’s megaregions. The full report is here, and the section on Texas and … Continue reading →

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Safety train

Posted on January 17, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

I’m passing along the following press release from Metro for those who might be interested: METRO TO UNVEIL WRAPPED RAIL CAR PROMOTING SAFETY WHAT: The NEW METRO will unveil a rail car wrapped in a bumper-to-bumper decal promoting safety along … Continue reading →

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Department of rail-related corrections

Posted on January 16, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Council Member Sue Lovell writes a letter disputing certain aspects of the recent story about Galveston commuter rail being off track. Barry Goodman blames lack of a regional transportation policy as a big obstacle. The eight-county transportation planning region represented … Continue reading →

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The pothole patrol

Posted on January 15, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Haven’t seen this yet, but I’m sure I will sooner or later. As the operators of the city’s Street Surface Assessment Vehicle — a van equipped with lasers that scan streets for rough patches, potholes and cracks — Bruno Rodriguez … Continue reading →

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Harris County hands the Grand Parkway back to the state

Posted on January 14, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Commissioners Court wants TxDOT to take over construction of the Grand Parkway. Harris County took control of the project about 15 months ago in the belief that the Texas Department of Transportation did not have the money to build it, … Continue reading →

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More on paying for roads and other forms of transportation

Posted on January 12, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Given that the private toll road debate is set to gear up again in Texas, it is fortuitous that the Texas Public Interest Research Group, a/k/a TexPIRG, chose last week to release a report called Do Roads pay For Themselves? … Continue reading →

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Galveston commuter rail project off track

Posted on January 11, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Bummer. A depressed economy and a budget-cutting political climate have indefinitely delayed a proposed Houston-Galveston passenger rail line, a project that could have been under construction by now according to earlier predictions. Despite strong support from governments in Galveston County, … Continue reading →

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No more texting while driving in Seguin

Posted on January 9, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Add another city to the list of those that have banned the practice. Seguin has joined several area cities in banning texting and using applications on cell phones while driving. The new ordinance went into effect [last] Saturday, joining bans … Continue reading →

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We’ll take it if you don’t want it

Posted on January 8, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Dallas would like the FTA to know that they will gladly take any federal streetcar funds that Fort Worth doesn’t want. That’s the message the Regional Transportation Council, with the support of Dallas leaders, is sending to the Federal Transit … Continue reading →

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Metro restarts some light rail construction

Posted on January 8, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

As if to punctuate Gilbert Garcia’s op-ed, the news for Metro at the start of 2011 is good. Last month, the Federal Transit Administration sent the first $50 million of the grant money for use on the North and Southeast … Continue reading →

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Will we re-fight the toll road privatization battle?

Posted on January 7, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Maybe. I’m a little dubious, however. Over a long July Fourth weekend two years ago, with time running out on a chaotic special session, the Legislature refused to extend authority for the Texas Department of Transportation to contract with private … Continue reading →

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San Antonio streetcar study

Posted on January 7, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Fort Worth may have punted on streetcars, but San Antonio is still moving ahead. It’s not a green light, but it is a boost nonetheless for VIA Metropolitan Transit’s plans to build two streetcar lines downtown. The transit agency recently … Continue reading →

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A more suburban Metro?

Posted on January 6, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Another possible feature of the Census data, of which I had not been previously aware, could be characterized as Metro redistricting. The city of Houston could lose its majority control of the Metro board if the 2010 Census shows that … Continue reading →

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Garcia writes about the New Metro

Posted on January 5, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Metro Board Chair Gilbert Garcia wrote an op-ed for the Sunday Chron that outlined what Metro did in 2010 and plans to do in 2011. If you’ve already listened to my interview with Garcia and Board member Christof Spieler, what … Continue reading →

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