The following is a letter to Metro, which I have been given permission to publish:
August 16, 2006
Mr. Frank J. Wilson
CEO METRO
Re: North Corridor, University of Houston – Downtown to Northline MallLindale Park Civic Club Board of Directors would like to thank METRO for its commitment over the years to achieve the goals of today. Lindale Park is a quiet, well poised neighborhood four miles north of downtown. Many of our past and present board members have spent countless hours devoted to Light Rail Transit (LRT).
We would like our neighborhood of over 1,200 homes and over 4,000 concerned citizens to go on record as one voice, one VERY LOUD UNIFIED VOICE.
The change to Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) with the infrastructure of taking the required right-of way, the installation of the rail tracks, and other requirements to convert to LRT in the future has been accepted; although if rail car funding is available it should be provided.
The Board of Directors for the Lindale Park Civic Club wants METRO to know our three major concerns.
- LRT or BRT must be a part of Northside Village.
- LLRT or BRT should take the Fulton route and not deviate.
Using Irvington Boulevard and Cavalcade between Cavalcade and 610 Loop will:
- Block Emergency / Ambulance and Fire Department routes into Lindale Park and other area neighborhoods.
- Destroy many beautiful historic trees (Ms. Lucille Nash, one of the first female Master Gardeners in the State of Texas, and her team of volunteers secured many of these trees).
- Divide our neighborhood which Fulton Street is our western boundary and Robertson Street (one block east of Irvington Boulevard) is our eastern boundary.
- LRT or BRT must have a stop in Lindale Park, currently called “Graceland Stationâ€, as stated in the Draft Environmental Impact Statement dated June 15, 2006.
Lindale Park Civic Club and its Board of Directors support either mode of transportation in our neighborhood. If we can be of further assistance, please contact us at our letterhead address.
Please keep us advised of the progress of this project. Thanking you in advance.
Sincerely,
Ed Reyes
President
Lindale Park Civic Club
The actual letter will be signed by the full board of the Lindale Civic Club. The bolded passage is in the original. The underlined bit, emphasized by me, may be read as “In the event some extra funding becomes available because another project has fallen through (*cough* *cough* Universities line *cough* *cough*), we want it so we can get real rail instead of that bus thing.”
Just though y’all would find this interesting. I did.