Too much, too fast, is the analysis from The Transport Politic. Based on a voter-approved, Nov, 2003 plan funded by a one-cent sales tax, the transit plus HOV/HOT conversion plan has run into funding problems. This article focuses on LRT expansion.
Houston may prove no different than Denver and Charlotte in its light rail expansion plans based on bonds backed by a 1% sales tax. While that may be the conventional basis for capital funding, this article suggests that the formula may no longer succeed, especially if operations must be reduced when the lines are built.
"The Metro Solutions plan aims to add 30 miles of light rail to the existing 7.5-mile corridor at a cost of $2.6 billion (as well as additional transportation projects), may simply be too ambitious a project for a metropolis concerned about fiscal restraint in a period of budgetary black holes.
Just a few years ago Houston had grand plans for an extensive new light rail system that would crisscross the nation's fourth-largest city from end to end. With new sales taxes, the local transit authority would be able to afford the construction of five lines by the early 2010s.
The decision to backload virtually all spending on the project through bonds will cause problems if the economy ten years from now doesn't perform exactly as predictions assume today."
Thanks to Marilyn Skolnick
FULL STORY: Houston Leaders Fear Too Large, Too Quick a Commitment to Light Rail

Alabama: Trump Terminates Settlements for Black Communities Harmed By Raw Sewage
Trump deemed the landmark civil rights agreement “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

The 120 Year Old Tiny Home Villages That Sheltered San Francisco’s Earthquake Refugees
More than a century ago, San Francisco mobilized to house thousands of residents displaced by the 1906 earthquake. Could their strategy offer a model for the present?

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Contrary to popular assumptions, public transportation has far lower crash and crime rates than automobile travel. For safer communities, improve and encourage transit travel.

Report: Zoning Reforms Should Complement Nashville’s Ambitious Transit Plan
Without reform, restrictive zoning codes will limit the impact of the city’s planned transit expansion and could exclude some of the residents who depend on transit the most.

Judge Orders Release of Frozen IRA, IIJA Funding
The decision is a victory for environmental groups who charged that freezing funds for critical infrastructure and disaster response programs caused “real and irreparable harm” to communities.
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