Prop B would mess up Houston-area transportation
If Proposition B is approved by the voters of Houston, the result would be major delays or cancellations of future transportation projects in and around Houston.
Proposition B would require the city of Houston to withdraw from the regional council of governments and the metropolitan planning organization that allocates federal dollars to the region for highways and other improvements unless there is a change in the voting procedures at the Houston-Galveston Area Council. Promoted by a group called Fair for Houston, the petition is seeking to have cities’ and counties’ voting strength (within organizations such as the H-GAC board of directors and Transportation Policy Council) be proportional to their populations. In theory that sounds logical, but such an approach fails to recognize the purpose of regional councils of government. It would change H-GAC from a collaborative, future oriented council of peers into a politicized feeding frenzy where the biggest players pursue their self-interests at the expense of future growth areas.
Since its formation in 1966, H-GAC has played a key role in allowing our thirteen- county region to grow in a manner that has resulted in one of the nation’s most dynamic and diverse metropolitan areas. That result came about through cooperation, not the wrangling of politics. Transportation projects, for example, are vital for regional and even statewide and national mobility and commerce. If Houston had been able to control the growth process for their own selfinterest, projects in Montgomery, Fort Bend and other surrounding counties would have been delayed or even stifled, leaving residents and newcomers with fewer, less attractive alternatives for living and working.
H-GAC has no taxing authority and does not pass laws or ordinances. It has always been a forum for area governments to come together as peers and plan for the future and, in some cases, provide input to state and federal agencies. To politicize H-GAC would be a big mistake that would ultimately harm the entire region, including Houston and Harris County.
The part of H-GAC that decides which transportation projects get approved is the Transportation Policy Council. Each metropolitan area in the country is required to have a metropolitan planning organization to develop a transportation plan for the area. That is the role of the Transportation Policy Ccouncil. If Proposition B passes and H-GAC refuses to change its voting procedure, the City of Houston will be required to withdraw from the Transportation Policy Council. Proponents of Proposition B say that Houston could then form its own metropolitan planning organization, but that is not possible unless the governor agrees to such a plan. So, absent participation in the Transportation Policy Council, the City of Houston will not be eligible for most federal or state transportation improvement funds, and those funds will go to other cities around the state.
What will approval of Proposition B bring to Houston? Traffic congestion will increase for everyone. Freight transportation moving to and from Port Houston, area industries and retailers will be hampered. Interstate commerce moving through the region will be slowed or diverted. Outdated highways will be less safe and evacuation routes less efficient. Flooding of highways and adjacent neighborhoods will continue to get worse.
Proposition B was born out of frustration on the part of those who wanted to stop the Interstate 45 North Improvement Project. If you read their posts on social media, their goal is to stop highway improvements in Houston in the naïve hope that people will stop moving to the suburbs and Houston will develop in a way that doesn’t rely upon the automobile. The result, however, will be the decline of the city of Houston and damage to the economic vitality of the entire region.