Two of my primary responsibilities are to protect our tax dollars from being wasted or overspent and to protect our quality of life in District 7.
These vital responsibilities unavoidably compelled me to strenuously oppose Houston Metro’s unaffordable rail plan in the 2003 referendum. I passed legislation in the House that summer which required Metro to accurately detail how much rail they wanted us to approve, how much it was going to cost, and precisely where they wanted to build it. Once I required Metro to tell the public the truth and put the details on the ballot, suddenly their public story changed and we found out the truth. No longer was it only 22 miles of rail at a cost of $640 million – they were actually trying to trick us into approving 72 miles of rail at a cost of nearly $9 billion. Once they were forced to be honest and transparent, we discovered they were trying to build 14 times more rail than they had told us. In fact, this was the largest capital improvement project in the history of Houston.
The only two segments in District 7 were on Post Oak north of Richmond, and the other was identified on the ballot as being built on “Westpark to the Hillcroft Transit Center.”
I always keep my word. So once Metro narrowly won the election, I have honored the will of the voter and I have consistently supported federal funding for the rail segments approved by the voters.
Once the election was over, Metro began to discuss building an at-grade rail line down the center of Richmond Avenue from Greenway Plaza to beyond the 610 Loop. This was not on the ballot, and as you can see from the attached survey, 97% of the people who live, work or own property on Richmond are opposed to it. They organized their opposition and formally asked me to help them prevent this unapproved and unwanted rail line, and I agreed. I am protecting their quality of life, and I am also protecting our tax dollars by preventing Metro from building more “house” than taxpayers can afford.
In November 2011, for the first time, Metro and the FTA admitted to me privately and, less directly in writing, that Metro cannot afford to build any more rail beyond the three lines already under construction on Harrisburg, the North, and Southeast lines. Metro admitted to me that they never discussed Richmond before the election and that the ballot only specified Westpark. Additionally, both Metro and the FTA have confirmed that the other rail lines do not need the ridership from either Post Oak or the “University” line to continue.
This is simple.
These two rail lines are unaffordable, unnecessary and the Richmond line is unapproved by voters. For obvious reasons, both lines are strongly opposed by the people who live, work or own property on these two streets. Rail has destroyed most of the businesses on Main and Fannin and dramatically diminished their property values.
Despite the review and conclusions of his own experts at the FTA, this week the President released a budget that includes an earmark for the very light rail line in our district that just two months ago the FTA said the city cannot afford.
Yesterday, I kept my word to the residents in District 7 and filed an amendment to H.R. 7 — American Energy and Infrastructure Jobs Act of 2012 with the Rules Committee. The amendment is straightforward and simple. It restricts federal funds for light rail on Richmond Avenue and on Post Oak. It will give Houston residents and business owners on Richmond and Post Oak some peace of mind after years of uncertainty.
In the future, if the residents and business owners in District 7 change their minds and want light rail built on Richmond Avenue or on Post Oak Boulevard, this amendment would allow Houston Metro to get federal funds. For this to happen, Houston Metro would be required to include Richmond Avenue and Post Oak Boulevard on a ballot as part of a comprehensive mass transit plan. If the voters approve the plan, then Houston Metro would regain their eligibility for federal funding for these proposed lines.
Despite the criticism from Houston Metro and the Houston Chronicle, I am proud to be standing up for the residents of District 7 and helping them stop an unwanted and unapproved rail project in their backyard.
