I Am Asking Metro Board Not To Be "Penny Wise But Pound Foolish,"

My remarks this morning are my own personal views based on my experience as the former Chairman of the City of Houston’s Transportation, Technology and Infrastructure Committee, my support of public transit and what I believe is in the short and long term best interest of all Houstonians and residents of the METRO service area.

Today, I am asking METRO Board not to be “penny wise but pound foolish.”

This morning, I want to begin with the end. Failure to connect the University Line East of Main Street to the Eastwood Transit Center NOW, is a disservice to those who are transit dependent as well as to those who are willing to use public transit as an alternative mode of transportation. The primary goal of the system is supposed to be improved mobility and that comes from greater connectivity.

Failure to connect the University Line to the Eastwood Transit Center would be a missed opportunity to connect two historic communities. It would also mean:

(a) Loss of ridership.

(b) Making it more time consuming for East End residents to get to Uptown, Greenway Plaza, the Galleria area and out to Southwest Houston by rail.

(c) Losing an opportunity to make it easier for East End residents to get to two of Houston’s citywide assets, Texas Southern University (TSU) and the University of Houston Central Campus (U of H). (It is also a lost opportunity to make it easier for Third Ward and Southeast residents to get to the East End.)

(d) Losing an opportunity to connect to existing commuter transit from Clear Lake and increasing the cost of a future connection with commuter rail service to NASA and Galveston.

Additionally, putting the University Line on Alabama dead ending into Scott Street will cause the Southeast Line station on Scott Street to move further away from the TSU campus and it will also have a negative impact on the Cuney Homes.

The Wheeler or Alabama to Ennis to Elgin option is the best route if takings for on street parking next to rail stations are eliminated and a residential parking permit system is implemented as has been done in other areas of the City.

Taking Ennis to Elgin will take passenger rail into the heart of Northern Third Ward which will help make Project Row Houses more accessible and a bigger tourist attraction as well as assist the OST/Almeda TIRZ with its planned economic revitalization of Northern Third Ward and Dowling Street.

A lot of us have fought for a passenger rail system in Houston; and that is what we want, a connected whole that is a system.

To paraphrase another old adage, an ounce of connectivity now, is worth a pound of connectivity later. Thank you.