Dozens of residents, community advocates and elected officials spoke out Thursday against the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County’s decision to indefinitely shelve the voter-approved bus rapid transit project known as the University BRT.
A week after Metro announced the decision to pause the 25-mile bus rapid transit project, more than 50 speakers signed up for public comment during Thursday’s monthly board meeting, a majority of which came to speak about the BRT line.
“We are the fourth-largest city in the wealthiest nation in human history, and yet it seems like we can not build modern public transit infrastructure,” said resident Galen Lytle. “Does this not embarrass the members of the board the way it embarasses me?”
Speakers throughout the public comment period said they felt shame, anger and frustration while urging the board to reconsider pausing a central piece of the voter-approved MetroNext plan.
Among the speakers were a few current and former elected officials, including Harris County Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia, Houston At-Large City Councilmember Letitia Plummer, former council member and mayoral candidate Robert Gallegos, and a representative from state Sen. Molly Cook’s office. All spoke in favor of the University line and the associated plans that had come with the project.
“We were not a part of this process,” Plummer said. “We know that you’re independent. We know that you can make the decisions you want to make. But, as a courtesy, I am pleading with every single one of you. Please take an opportunity to talk to us.”
Scrutiny on BRT
MetroNext was the driving force behind a $3.5 billion bond election approved with 68 percent of the vote in 2019.
However, bus rapid transit projects have come under intense scrutiny since Mayor John Whitmire took office and appointed new chair Elizabeth Gonzalez Brock. Their goal is finding new riders, with an increased focus on public safety and so-called microtransit .
During Metro’s strategic planning committee meeting last Tuesday , Metro Chief Financial Officer George Fotinos outlined potential financial issues stemming from rising costs and falling fare revenue he said would make it difficult to pursue other projects while the University line moved forward.
His explanation did not appear to change the minds of many of the speakers.
“It is true, we do want the board to use our taxpayer dollars responsibly,” East Downtown resident Mitchel Walker said. “But we also do believe that rapid transit is a responsible use of that money.”
Bus rapid transit is designed to have a higher capacity than a normal bus route, and often utilizes dedicated lines. The idea is to provide the flexibility of buses with the reliability of trains.
Walker was one of a number of speakers who urged Metro to consider building a scaled-down version of the University line as a proof-of-concept to show how BRT could serve transit needs along the proposed route. Other speakers said they hoped a scaled-down version would help offset any financial concerns as the agency gradually built out the line one segment at a time.
Supporters spoke to a need for an east-west connection in Houston’s public transit landscape, and the integral part it would play in building a robust transit infrastructure. They dismissed concerns about lagging ridership on Metro’s current BRT, the Silver Line, saying that the ridership would improve when that line was connected to other transit lines.
“You don’t have (a rapid transit system) now. You have a bunch of buses,” said physician Stephen Longmire. “Most people don’t consider them a viable form of transit.”
Several speakers made a point of telling Metro Chair Elizabeth Gonzalez Brock and the rest of the board they were Houston residents.
Those clarifications came after Brock responded to Eastwood resident Tina Brady’s remarks in favor of pausing the University BRT project. Brady said voters approved public transportation improvements, not the BRT line specifically, and urged the board to ignore voices affiliated with advocacy groups, such as transit equity nonprofit LINK Houston.
“It’s really nice to hear from actual residents. Thank you,” Brock said.
Opponents praise pause
Brady was not alone in her opposition to the University BRT line, as a few other speakers expressed gratitude to the board for pausing the project. Their reasons ranged from issues with the right-of-way the line would take up in certain segments to fiscal responsibility to taxpayers.
“I will not stand back and watch you cut up my neighborhood,” said Third Ward resident Michael Watkins. “Run that bus line through your neighborhood and on your yard.”
Speakers also asked board members to state their position on the University BRT line moving forward. Only Alexandra del Moral Mealer, who was appointed to the board earlier this year by the 14-smaller cities in Metro’s service area, took the opportunity, saying she opposed the project.
Mealer pointed to needs in public safety as one reason, saying she was excited to pause the project to focus on the fundamentals of providing transit before considering expansion.
Brock did address the speakers, thanking them for providing feedback. She did not state her position on the BRT lines beyond committing to revisiting the project during next year’s budget cycle.
“Everything we do will tie to ridership,” Brock said, pointing out a need for an enhanced communication and ridership strategy. “We can review this project again next year to see if it is more viable once we have that ridership strategy in place.”
Transit advocate Robin Holzer resisted that idea.
“You have a ridership strategy,” Holzer said. “We called it MetroNext.”
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