Tag Archives: Metro

Up or down, more or less

Posted on August 4, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Metro has chosen its referendum. A sharply divided Metro board approved a plan Friday that would give the city of Houston tens of millions of dollars more for road projects under a ballot referendum to be put before voters in … Continue reading →

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Metro and UH make nice

Posted on August 3, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Good. Construction of a light-rail line that would cross University of Houston property can continue now that UH and Metro officials settled differences that threatened to delay the project. UH announced in a statement Tuesday that university officials have agreed … Continue reading →

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Keep Moving Houston Forward PAC poll on Metro and GMP

Posted on July 31, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Yesterday I wrote about a poll commissioned by Houstonians for Responsible Growth on Metro and the General Mobility Program. That poll suggested that any changes to the GMP would be difficult for Metro to get, especially in the face of … Continue reading →

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HRG poll data on Metro and the GMP

Posted on July 30, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

I mentioned on Friday that there had been a poll commissioned to measure voter attitudes towards Metro and the General Mobility Program. That poll was commissioned by Houstonians for Responsible Growth, and Joshua Sanders was kind enough to send me … Continue reading →

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Here come the GMP proposals

Posted on July 27, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

At Metro’s board meeting yesterday, trustees presented their proposed ballot referenda for the General Mobility Program. “I’m anxious to see the outcome just like everybody else,” said Chairman Gilbert Garcia, before anyone offered their specifics. As it turned out, city-appointee … Continue reading →

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County wants to keep its share of the GMP

Posted on July 26, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

No surprise. Harris County Commissioners Court made it official Tuesday, passing a resolution calling on Metro to keep a quarter of its 1 percent sales tax flowing to road projects. The 5-0 vote leaves only Mayor Annise Parker backing Metro … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: An opponent for Culberson

Posted on July 22, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron gets around to another race it ignored in May, the Democratic primary in CD07. The winner of the Democratic primary runoff for Texas’ U.S. House 7th District will face quite a battle against incumbent Rep. John Culberson on … Continue reading →

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Joshua Sanders: Required Referendum Does Not Need To Be A Bump In The Road For A New Metro

Posted on July 19, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The following is from a series of guest posts that I will be presenting over the next few weeks. The METRO Board should not risk its newfound goodwill by raiding its member entities’ General Mobility Program (GMP) funds after the … Continue reading →

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Christof Spieler: Deciding the future of Houston’s transit

Posted on July 17, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The following is from a series of guest posts that I will be presenting over the next few weeks. We as a region are facing a huge decision about our future. If we don’t increase transit use by offering more … Continue reading →

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How many bonds are too many?

Posted on July 17, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

We may find out this November. Houston voters may face a dizzying array of decisions in November as the city, school district and community college system seek authority to borrow more than $2 billion for construction work. The multiple measures … Continue reading →

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Laura Spanjian – From Industrial to Green Revolution: The New Houston

Posted on July 16, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The following is from a series of guest posts that I will be presenting over the next few weeks. Bike Share kiosks in downtown. Electric vehicle charging stations at the grocery store. Over 15 miles of new rail lines being … Continue reading →

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Public meetings on the General Mobility Program

Posted on July 7, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

From the Inbox: If you haven’t had a chance to share your opinions about METRO’s General Mobility Programand the upcoming referendum, METRO’s Board of Directors is hosting additional public meetings and invite you to attend. The next round of meetings … Continue reading →

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Mayor Parker’s Metro decision

Posted on July 5, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Mayor Parker may be in a jam because of the upcoming Metro referendum, but if so it’s not because what Metro is likely to propose is bad for Houston. “I’m between a rock and a hard place on this,” Parker … Continue reading →

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Metro sets the schedule

Posted on July 3, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Metro will take some time and get some feedback before settling on the language for its November referendum. Metro Chairman Gilbert Garcia on Thursday laid out for the board what he called a “tight time frame” for a possible November … Continue reading →

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Culberson’s Univesity Line attack makes it through the House

Posted on July 2, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Great. Advocates of federally subsidized expansion of the Houston Metro light rail system lost a crucial round to Houston Congressman John Culberson on Friday, leaving dwindling opportunities to overturn spending restrictions on the Richmond Avenue project. The House adopted a … Continue reading →

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For spending Metro’s sales tax revenue on transit

Posted on June 27, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

A list of contributors almost as long as the University Line will hopefully someday be wrote a Sunday op-ed in favor of giving Metro more money for transit. Unfortunately, not all of the money that we voted for back in … Continue reading →

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UH prof writes letter in support of resolution with Metro

Posted on June 26, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

After I published about UH holding up construction on the Southeast Line over concerns about the route, I was forwarded a letter sent by UH English professor Irving Rothman to UH President Renu Khator asking her to get this issue … Continue reading →

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Culberson up to his old tricks

Posted on June 22, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

You almost have to admire the single minded focus on doing something only he and a few other people really want to do. For the first time in his long-running dispute with Houston Metro, Rep. John Culberson, R-Houston, has managed … Continue reading →

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Your vote on the Metro referendum may not matter

Posted on June 20, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Unless of course you vote the way the developers want you to vote, in which case it’s all good. In an interview prior to Monday’s meeting, Joshua Sanders, the acting executive director of Houstonians for Responsible Growth, said the group … Continue reading →

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Downtown shuttle back in operation

Posted on June 17, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

For those of you who missed the old downtown trolley, here’s its successor. [T]he Greenlink bus service was launched Monday as a free offering for tourists and locals alike. The 18-stop route makes the rounds of eight hotels, the George … Continue reading →

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UH versus Metro over Southeast Line route

Posted on June 16, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Not sure what’s up with this. Half a year after receiving a long-delayed $450 million federal funding grant for its Southeast line, Metro appears to have run into almost as big an obstacle to progress on that light-rail alignment much … Continue reading →

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Metro meeting about the General Mobility Program

Posted on June 15, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Put it on your calendar. You’re invited to attend a special board meeting to tell METRO what you think about the agency’s General Mobility Program (GMP) and the upcoming referendum. The board meeting is scheduled for Monday, June 18, from … Continue reading →

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Why the small cities like the GMP as is

Posted on June 8, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The GMP is Metro’s General Mobility Program, which distributes funds for road projects to Houston, Harris County, and the smaller Metro member cities. The smaller cities like it as it is, don’t want any changes made to it, and claim … Continue reading →

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Open house meetings for US90A/Southwest Rail Corridor project

Posted on June 7, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

From Metro: The New METRO is continuing work on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the US90A/Southwest Rail Corridor Project with meetings to inform the public about alternatives that will be considered as part of this federal process. The … Continue reading →

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Metro floats compromise on mobility funds

Posted on June 5, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

As we know, Metro is preparing for a referendum this fall on the status of the general mobility fund, which is one fourth of the sales tax revenue Metro collects and which goes to Metro member cities for road projects. … Continue reading →

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Can we please call a critic a critic?

Posted on May 14, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Metro had a public meeting on Thursday to address the question of the diversion of transit funds to cities for road projects, which is expected to be a referendum topic this fall. The Chron has a story about the meeting … Continue reading →

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Metro comes to a fork in the road

Posted on April 30, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Which way will they go? It’s up to them, and it’s up to us. The Metropolitan Transit Authority is preparing for a referendum, likely to be on the November ballot, asking voters to decide whether to put millions more of … Continue reading →

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Houston area transit preferences in 2012

Posted on April 25, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The 2012 Houston Area Survey is in the can, and though the data has not been published to their website yet, there have been a few preview tidbits tossed out to whet everyone’s appetite. One of them has to do … Continue reading →

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First Metro HOV toll lane opens tomorrow

Posted on February 12, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Enjoy your new option, Gulf Freeway commuters. Metro is set to debut its first high-occupancy toll lanes on the Gulf Freeway between Dixie Farm Road and Dowling Street on Monday. This arrangement allows solo drivers to use high-occupancy vehicle, or … Continue reading →

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Houston Central Station

Posted on February 5, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

This is pretty cool. [Last Tuesday], the Houston Downtown Management District hosted a competition featuring designs from five award-winning architectural firms. The challenge: to design an iconic new Central Station – Main on Main Street between Capitol and Rusk. The … Continue reading →

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Here come the HOT lanes

Posted on January 14, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Those of you who commute from the ‘burbs into the central core will have new options for how to get there, if you don’t mind spending a few bucks. Solo drivers willing to pay extra to breeze through heavy traffic … Continue reading →

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Council approves B-Cycle, and other bike news

Posted on December 23, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

One other item that Council approved on its last day of business for the year was to clear the way for the city to start up bike sharing with B-cycle. As you know, I’ve been following this along, and am … Continue reading →

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Cover that cough

Posted on December 19, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Fascinating. A decade-long study found passengers on certain Metro bus routes were more likely to have tuberculosis, raising the question of whether they contracted the disease on the bus. “We see a higher prevalence of clustering with bus riders,” said … Continue reading →

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Metro signs Full Funding Grant Agreement

Posted on November 29, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Full speed ahead. The head of the Federal Transit Administration on Monday signed $900 million in grant agreements to help pay for two Houston light-rail lines under construction by the Metropolitan Transit Authority. The grants, the first federal funds ever … Continue reading →

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