Houston

A long-fought high speed rail project may be coming back from the dead — and what happens next could be instructive for other communities hoping to someday run trains in highway-dominated states. 

The post What Will It Take to Build a Bullet Train in Texas? appeared first on Streetsblog USA.

"The lesson here is, Secretary Pete is not going to come in and save the day," said one highway opponent. "And he probably isn’t capable of saving the day."

The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) is pushing forward with an $85 billion, decade-long plan to expand the state’s highway system, despite widespread opposition and even a federal lawsuit — even if that means tearing down housing.

There's a place just outside Houston where the vinyl siding and attached garages thin out and recede into grasslands.

Nobody would accuse the Houston region of lacking auto infrastructure. Now local bicycling and pedestrian advocates are fighting to protect their tiny slice of the pie. They're anxiously awaiting a final decision tomorrow about a pro-road money grab by the Houston-Galveston Area's Transportation Policy Council.