Opinion: Houston Should Vote Yes for MetroNext to Build Transit and Clean the Air — News

Cars are respon­si­ble for an increas­ing num­ber of bad air in Hous­ton, accord­ing to an op-ed by Luke Met­zger, and it’s time for the to focus on clean­er trans­porta­tion alter­na­tives.

Con­tin­u­ing to dou­ble down on cost­ly car-cen­tric infra­struc­ture will only induce more demand for dri­ving and lead to more pol­lu­tion and con­ges­tion, as the expan­sion of the Katy Free­way years ago proved. Because Hous­ton can’t pros­per with­out clean air, we must clean up the way we get around. And Hous­to­ni­ans can help do that by vot­ing to approve Metro’s bond ref­er­en­dum on this Novem­ber’s bal­lot.

If , the bond would pro­vide $3.5 bil­lion in fund­ing to imple­ment the MetroNext Mov­ing For­ward Plan.  

MetroNext will include 75 miles of new bus — fast, con­ve­nient ser­vice that works like light rail, with ded­i­cat­ed lanes and new sta­tions. MetroNext will include 290 miles of “boost­ed” routes, which will keep bus­es mov­ing and pre­vent idling. It will cre­ate 16 miles of new light rail, which is elec­tric, and it will fund a 25 increase in local bus ser­vice, adding new routes and rebuild­ing with shel­ters and real-time pas­sen­ger infor­ma­tion, It also will enhance acces­si­bil­i­ty improve­ments to help peo­ple on foot and on bikes or ride to that first and last mile to and from stops.

The ben­e­fits to mobil­i­ty are one rea­son to vote for the bond, accord­ing to Met­zger, but improv­ing the air in Hous­ton is the main sell­ing . “With MetroNext, by 2040, Hous­ton will see as many as 500,000 vehi­cle trips elim­i­nat­ed every day. That will reduce the region’s ground-lev­el ozone pol­lu­tion and our green­house gas emis­sions by 680,000 met­ric tons every year.”

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