I’m a little late in getting to this, but this is what petitions are for. From my inbox:
Richmond residents WANT RAIL on Richmond!
RichmondRail.org demands equal airtime for Richmond rail supporters:
Get the full story at METRO board meeting Thursday at 1:00 pmThursday, July 20, 2006
Houston, TXIn the last three weeks, almost 1,000 Houstonians have signed their support for this clear statement:
“I support neighborhood-friendly light rail on Richmond Avenue.â€
The papers and airwaves have been cluttered with misinformation and anti-Richmond propaganda, masterminded by a small group of vocal NIMFYs who fear change and fight rail just to fight it. But they do NOT speak for everyone! It’s time for the media to tell OUR side of the story:
- Richmond is where we live.
- Richmond is where we work.
- Richmond is where we shop, eat, and play.
- And Richmond is where we want to go! We WANT rail on Richmond!
Many who currently oppose rail on Richmond have been unable to get the facts. These people have legitimate concerns and fears which the media has fanned. METRO has just begun to have the information to start answering tough questions. The answers look great, but time is running out.
Rep. John Culberson has put METRO under the gun “to sell the public on Richmond,” and he’s given a two-week deadline to do it. Make no mistake: there IS support for rail on Richmond. And we need to show the Representative just how strong it is!
Richmond supporters to present petitions to METRO board on Thursday at 1:00 pm
We will hand deliver our stack of petitions — more than 50 pages of them — to the METRO board on Thursday. Residents, businesses, and property owners will voice their support for rail on Richmond.What: Richmond supporters to address METRO board (public comments)
When: Thursday, July 20, 2006 at 1:00 pm
Where: METRO administration, 1900 Main St. at St. Joseph Pkwy, 2nd floor board room
I presume they’ve done this by now, so I’ll look for media coverage later. The RichmondRail.org blog has more.
One minor item: As Lair notes, the RR.org drawings show a station at Newcastle, which is currently not in the plan. I do hope some thought is given to changing that, especially if the line is running on Westpark at that point.
See, the right kinds of petitions ARE exciting!
Yes, it does actually matter if the petition signers are a genuine constituency of the people they’re petitioning. Funny, that.
Indeed.
In fact, the GOP ought to be asking people to sign an Amicus brief in the Tom DeLay case, not a “petition”.
Looks to me like the Newcastle thing is an error. But a Newcastle station would make a lot of sense on a Westpark alignment: I’d suggest placing it between Newcastle and Loop Central Drive, with direct pedestrian access from both streets, and with a park-and-ride lot off of Newcastle. There would be a lot of apartments within walking distance of that, plus the office buildings on Loop Central. And you’d also relocate the dog park as part of the same project.
Agree? Tell METRO.
A Newcastle station should be added and the South Rice station moved over to Chimney Rock to better serve the Gulfton area.
This is a tough one. On one hand, I can understand why some residents along the Richmond corridor might not want it. But on the other hand, I would think a Richmond line would be considerably more useful than a Westpark line.
The Richmond line would be a good thing