Thank prime. But what took them so long?
Just not so fast anymore
Metro officials restored signal priority Wednesday to the Red Line light rail in downtown Houston following weeks of pushback from riders who complained about the sluggish pace of the route.
“These adjustments are part of our broader effort to improve mobility for everyone who shares the roads,” said Metro Board Chair Elizabeth Gonzalez Brock in a statement released Wednesday. “Our transportation network is designed for multi-modal use, and finding the right balance takes careful testing, coordination, and ongoing adjustment.”
Metro and the city initiated adjustments to the traffic signals at intersections along Main Street in September. Metro officials told residents the goal was to improve traffic coordination and flow of all transit options in Houston — vehicles, buses and pedestrians, not just light rail.
When signal preemption was removed on the Red Line, riders said that travel times doubled as the train kept stopping at red lights. Some complained to Metro board members at a public meeting, saying the problem disrupted a popular light rail route used by thousands of commuters.
Transit advocates presented a petition with over 650 signatures to the board members, demanding that Metro officials fully restore signal preemption on the Red Line.
Metro officials said they had been collaborating with the city’s traffic engineers and the Public Works Department on the changes. In October, officials said they had reduced the number of extra stops.
See here and here for the background. If Metro and/or the city had ever bothered to explain what exactly the goal was here and how long we’d have to put up with their screwing around, that would have at least made this all somewhat understandable. But it was all done in secret – we still have no idea what they had in mind, and they still haven’t even bothered to say what they believe they accomplished in all this – and so we’re all left with inchoate rage and too many questions. I’m glad enough people yelled at Metro to force them to knock it off. It’s just, again, what were we even doing here. You can see a copy of Metro’s press release here, not that it will tell you anything useful.