Local and regional transportation planners responded skeptically to data from the Texas Department of Transportation showing Texans driving less.
"According to Texas DOT’s data, the average Texan is driving less every day, and Dallas, Tarrant, and Harris counties saw a decline in total driving mileage, even though they added millions of people," according to an article by Jay Blazek Crossley to summarize revelations made in earlier coverage.
The current article digs deeper into the implications of the data for growth in Texas. First, however, Crossley considers the question of whether the data can even be trusted. Count Alan Clark, transportation planning director of the Houston-Galveston Area Council (H-GAC), among those who believes TxDOT's data to be erroneous.
Clark believes that TXDOT traffic data does not accurately reflect how much people are driving in his region, and he’s worried that TXDOT will use this possibly flawed data to shortchange Houston out of several billion dollars in transportation funds that will be spent elsewhere in the state.
According to Crossley, Clark is not alone in his reluctance to accept the idea that Texas residents have drastically changed their travel habits. Meanwhile, how the state plans for its future, with new funding enabled by Prop 7, as approved by Texas voters in November 2015.
FULL STORY: Is Something Wrong With TXDOT’s Data on Driving?
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Texas Transportation Commissioners must have a hangover—backing off its highway building ambitions just a few months after approving the $85 billion Unified Transportation Plan in August 2022.
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Despite every manner of local opposition, the Texas Department of Transportation is pushing forward with a plan to widen Interstate 45 north of the city of Houston, demolishing and displacing thousands of homes, businesses, and community facilities.
Federal Carbon Reduction Funds Could Finance Highway Projects in Texas
Transit advocates say the state’s carbon reduction strategy reveals a continued preference for car-oriented infrastructure.
Depopulation Patterns Get Weird
A recent ranking of “declining” cities heavily features some of the most expensive cities in the country — including New York City and a half-dozen in the San Francisco Bay Area.
California Exodus: Population Drops Below 39 Million
Never mind the 40 million that demographers predicted the Golden State would reach by 2018. The state's population dipped below 39 million to 38.965 million last July, according to Census data released in March, the lowest since 2015.
Chicago to Turn High-Rise Offices into Housing
Four commercial buildings in the Chicago Loop have been approved for redevelopment into housing in a bid to revitalize the city’s downtown post-pandemic.
Google Maps Introduces New Transit, EV Features
It will now be easier to find electric car charging stations and transit options.
Ohio Lawmakers Propose Incentivizing Housing Production
A proposed bill would take a carrot approach to stimulating housing production through a grant program that would reward cities that implement pro-housing policies.
Chicago Awarded $2M Reconnecting Communities Grant
Community advocates say the city’s plan may not do enough to reverse the negative impacts of a major expressway.
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