Transportation

Latest Columns

Hit the brakes on high speed rail in Texas

The fantasy of high-speed rail attracts those who believe in the urgency of a transportation transformation. These pipe dreams are a lucrative field for large developers. But taxpayers and property owners often end up sending tens of billions of dollars down the drain for this mirage.

Rural Texas highways give us a reliable path to the pump

Our almost unquenchable thirst for fuel has delivered great news on the job front, but it has also required rural highways to work overtime. Those roads are seeing far higher and heavier levels of traffic than they were designed to handle, not only from oil transports but also from myriad vehicles that support drilling operations. The result is big-city gridlock in rural locales.

Highway AND Railways: Let the voters decide

There is federal funding through the FAST Act and other programs that can be leveraged for passenger rail if Texas can step up and match it. Other conservative states, like Oklahoma and Utah, dedicate funding for passenger rail and transit and are seeing the benefits of transportation choices for their citizens. Texas has been shut out.

The Legislature’s all-out assault on passenger trains

It’s almost too late to start a statewide passenger rail network in Texas. Rail projects here have no dedicated source of revenue; no statewide projects are being considered by TxDOT. Future generations may regret that our elected leaders only focused on more highway development and left passenger train service on a dead-end track.

Austin's urban rail plan is overdue

If Austin were a person, a doctor would have told him many years ago that unless he changed his behavior, he was headed squarely in the direction of clogged arteries and life-threatening heart problems. That’s exactly where we are today.
 

A "plan B" for light rail in Austin

Austin city leaders want voters to approve a light rail system in November that can carry hundreds of people per hour in and out of downtown. But they have stopped listening to residents and instead listened to special interests. 

The case for high-speed rail in Texas

The future of business in Texas hinges on a transportation system that is fast, dependable and connects people with all modes of transportation. It's time for high-speed rail, and plans are moving forward faster than most people realize.