August 9, 2004

G U L F  C O A S T  G R O W T H  N E W S

A publication of the Gulf Coast Institute

NOTABLE QUOTES

≥Pattern of development is the single most important part of preserving our natural environment.≤

John Jacob, Ph.D., speaking at the recent Density by Design conference in Houston.  For more on the conference, see the reports at http://www.densitybydesign.com.

≥Widespread private sector and public support exists that is needed to greatly expand the regionπs tree population. However, there is also substantial support for actions that reduce the tree population through the development process. Whatever works in the Houston region must recognize this tension.≤

From ≥Cool Houston Plan,≤ published by Houston Advanced Research Center. See story below.

REGIONAL NOTES

Density by Design report, presentations available

Speakersπ presentations and a report on the recent ≥Density by Design: Building a great city, preserving a great environment≤ conference are now available at http://www.densitybydesign.com. The event featured national experts on citybuilding and transit-oriented development, and was hosted by the Gulf Coast Institute, Texas Sea Grant/Texas Cooperative Extension, and Houston-Galveston Area Council. Sponsors were the Main Street Coalition, American Institute of Architects/Houston, and American Planning Association/Houston.

Billboard war

During his 2004 ≥State of the City≤ address, Mayor Bill White called on Clear Channel to remove 250 billboards the media company owns across Houston, according to the Quality of Life Coalitionπs July newsletter. The mayor based this demand on the Cityπs ≥billboard reduction through amortization plan,≤ and also because of Eller Media v. City of Houston, a lawsuit that unsuccessfully challenged the City Sign Codeπs prohibition on  new billboards in the corporate limits. The newsletter said  Clear Channel has refused to take down the billboards, and has based their refusal on issues that were not part of the original lawsuit.  The newsletter also reports that another billboard company, RTM Media, has erected over 26 new and unlicensed billboards throughout the cityπs extraterritorial jurisdiction. To date, the Cityπs Sign Administration has issued almost 1,000 citations to RTM, but the company has publicly refused to take the signs down, the newsletter says. http://www.qolhouston.org/newsletterpdf.asp

Researcher says Metro should have elevated light rail line

A Houston-Galveston Area Council (H-GAC) researcher is quoted in an Associated Press story on vehicle crashes with the Main Street rail train that Metro was ≥told repeatedly by transportation planners, anytime you do an at-grade rail line you're asking for trouble.≤ Ned Levine, lead traffic safety researcher for H-GAC, was quoted by AP reporter Mark Babineck in a story published August 7 in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. The story reports that Levine said if cars continue to collide with the trains, transit authorities may not have any other choice than to rebuild the line, raising the tracks above the streets. http://www.dfw.com/mld/startelegram/news/state/9342951.htm?1c

Cool Houston Plan published

A new ≥Cool Houston Plan≤ is available from the Houston Advanced Research Center.  The plan addresses the ≥heat island≤ effect, a phenomenon caused by the use of dark roofing materials and dark pavements along with the extensive removal of trees and vegetation. The combination of many factors actually raises the temperature in urban areas, and this higher-than-normal temperature has a significant effect on the formation of ozone pollution. The plan addresses a variety of measures to reduce the effect, including cool paving, cool roofing, and cool trees. As part of the plan, the report cites the Regional Reforestation Plan developed in 2003 by Gary Woods for the Gulf Coast Institute, The Regional Reforestation Plan recommends that 9.4 million trees be planted in the region over the next 10 years. http://www.harc.edu/harc/Projects/CoolHouston/

Houston 19th most difficult for drivers

The Houston metro area is the 19th most difficult to drive in, according to a new study by researcher Bert Sperling, commissioned by Avis and Motorola. The study rates metro areas based on factors such as street layout; sprawl; obstacles such as rivers, lakes and bridges; and congestion data calculated by the Texas Transportation Institute. Texas has nine metro areas rated, the most of any state. Most in the state, however, rank relatively low, with the exception of Houston. http://www.usatoday.com/travel/destinations/2004-08-03-cities.htm

Removal of Westpark bike lanes at issue

Houston bicycle advocates have been warned that there is a movement to widen motor-vehicle capacity along Westpark to enhance access from the Westpark Tollway to the Texas Medical Center. One of the options is to remove existing bike lanes from 610 to Wakeforest. This option to remove bike lanes from Westpark would require the mitigation of the designated bikeway with another viable east-west connection, according to City of Houston bicycle-pedestrian coordinator Lilibeth Andre.

GBCPA to sue TCEQ over ozone violations

The Galveston Bay Conservation and Preservation Association (GBCPA) plans to sue the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) over what the preservation group sees as the TCEQπs ≥habitual failure≤ to get the Houston-Galveston area into compliance with federal ozone standards. ≥The State of Texas through its environmental agency has failed to attain the national standard for 34 years,≤ says Jim Blackburn, GBCPA Chair, referring to the ozone standards set in the Clean Air Act of 1970. ≥This is unacceptable and violates the law,≤ he added. In December 2000, TCEQπs predecessor agency, the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission, filed revisions to the State Implementation Plan, making three ≥enforceable commitments≤ to attain ozone compliance by May 1, 2004, a GBCPA press release states. On July 14, with Texas still out of ozone compliance, the GBCPA sent a notice of intent to sue to TCEQ board members. For more information, see http://www.gbcpa.net/Press/TCEQ_suit_O3_Violations.htm

Walkability workshop to feature Dan Burden

A two-day workshop called ≥Creating Walkable Communities≤ will be held August 24-25 at the Houston-Galveston Area Council.  The workshop will be led by Dan Burden, a nationally recognized authority on bicycle and pedestrian facilities and programs. He has 25 years of experience in developing, promoting and evaluating alternative transportation facilities, traffic calming practices, and sustainable community design. The event is sponsored by the Houston section of the American Planning Association and costs $60 for APA members and $90 for non-members. To register, go to http://www.houstoneapa.com, and for more on Burden, http://www.walkable.org/

City announces neighborhood conference

The City of Houston Planning Department will host a city-wide conference for neighborhood leaders in September. The conference, entitled ≥Directions & Connections: Charting a Path for Your Neighborhood,≤ will be held Saturday, September 11, at the George R. Brown Convention Center. The free, day-long conference is geared toward community-based organizations and individuals interested in improving their neighborhoods. It will provide Houstonians with training, resources and solutions through a combination of workshops, presentations, and networking opportunities. To register on-line go to http://www.houstonplanning.com <http://cohowa.cityofhouston.net/enewsletterproenterprise/t.asp?S=2&amp;ID=621&amp;NL=81&amp;N=305&amp;SI=17799&amp;URL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Ehoustonplanning%2Ecom> . For more info,  713-837-7500 or e-mail conference@cityofhouston.net.

Commute Solutions awards event set

Commute Solutions will celebrate their Leadership Awards at a luncheon on August 25, 2004, at the Houstonian Hotel in the Galleria area. Early registration, through August 15, costs $35.  After August 15 it's $45.   For more information, call Kim  Green at 713-993-4577  or email Kim.Green@h-gac.com.

TEXAS NOTES

Texas slides in health, danger, livable, and smart rankings

Texas ranks 42nd, down from 39th last year, in the 2004 ≥healthiest state≤ listings from Morgan Quitno Press.  ≥Health Care State Rankings 2004≤ is an annual reference book of state health statistics. New Hampshire was number one, followed by Vermont and Hawaii.  At the bottom were Louisiana, New Mexico, and, finally, Mississippi. The company also publishes rankings for the Most Livable State, the Most Dangerous State, and the Smartest State.  In the Most Livable category, Texas finished 39th (down from 36th in 2003); in Most Dangerous, Texas was 9th, up from 10th; and in Smartest (2003), Texas was 34th, down from 16th in 2002. http://www.morganquitno.com/hcrank04.htm

Mercury pollution more prevalent

The nationπs waterways are increasingly yielding small, sickly fish covered in sores, which is evidence of worsening levels of mercury pollution, according to a story in Environmental Update, published by the Citizensπ Environmental Coalition. Representatives from Texas Black Bass Unlimited (TBBU), the Texas Public Interest Research Group (TexPIRG), and Baylor College of Medicine, speaking at a recent press conference in Houston,  pointed to the mercury levels the Bush administration currently allows, and would allow in the future. ≥Weπve got problems, big problems,≤ said HBBUπs Ed Parten, whose 10,000-member nonprofit group focuses on conservation and protection of Texas fish and fisheries. "The EPA recently estimated that up to 8 percent of women of childbearing age have levels of mercury in their bodies that exceed EPAπs current guideline," said Winifred Hamilton, Ph.D., director of the Environmental Health Section at Baylor College of Medicine. ≥We want the Bush administration to go back to the drawing board,≤ said Chris Cardinal, a representative of TexPIRG. Texas is particularly subject to mercury pollution, as power plants in Texas emit more mercury than plants in any other state, according to the critics. The EPA has recently warned that 630,000 American newborns could have unsafe levels of mercury in their blood. http://www.cechouston.org

Toll roads in Austin

If TxDOT plans for the construction of toll roads in Austin go forward, the Texas capital will have some 110 toll road miles per million people, as opposed to 12.7 such miles per million in Dallas, and 16.9 miles per million in Houston. The TxDOT plan calls for the construction of new roads, and the conversion of existing public roads into toll roads.  Opponents such as People for Efficient Transportation (PET) refer to the plan as a ≥double tax,≤ as it calls for drivers to pay tolls to use highways on which they have already spent their tax money.  Opponents are also concerned that the miles of tolls will lead to sprawl, and to the possible pollution of the Edwards Aquifer. The PET website is at http://www.txpet.org/contact.htm. For arguments in favor of the toll roads, go to http://www.Congestionrelief.com.

Fort Worth plans to redevelop downtown

≥Very few cities have so much underutilized land so close to downtown—and so ripe for development≤ as Fort Worth, says Star-Telegram columnist Mitchell Schnurman in his appraisal of a $360 million project to reroute and reshape the downtown part of the Trinity River. He says that plan will convert the junkyards, used-car  lots, and vacant buildings on its north side into a "showcase of waterfront properties," and make the whole area the city's centerpiece.  The proposal is modeled on the acclaimed Vancouver urban waterfront, and was designed under the leadership of Vancouver-based architect Bing Thom.

www.smartgrowth.org/news/article.asp?art=4165&state=44 <http://www.smartgrowth.org/news/article.asp?art=4165&amp;state=44>

NOTES FROM OTHER PLACES

ENVIRONMENT

Limits to growth revisited

≥Limits to Growth,≤ a groundbreaking environmental book of the 1970s, has for the second time been updated and re-released. The original volume, using a computer model called World 3, posited that industrial and population growth were approaching the outer limits of viability, and that global society could suffer real damage if effective steps were not taken to control growth. In the updateπs assessment, humanity has already passed the tipping point and sustainable development is no longer feasible.  Serious environmental decline, it says, can no longer be averted. According to the authors, the choice is between uncontrolled collapse and a carefully planned reduction in our consumption of energy and raw materials, down to supportable levels. The authors find some room for optimism in the new technologies and heightened awareness of environmental issues that have arisen in the past 30 years, but say those wonπt be enough to avert disaster if their use is not grounded in a deep understanding of the earthπs physical economy, population, materials, and energy flows.  For more information, go to http://www.enn.com/businesscenter/products/797_25328.asp

PLANNING

More flexible zoning in California

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed legislation relaxing zoning regulations for cities trying to build mixed-use neighborhoods.  AB 1268 will allow for more flexible ≥form-based zoning,≤ which advocates say will be more helpful in combining stores, housing, and offices into the same neighborhood. Advocates describe this measure as a return to pre-WWII zoning patterns. For more information, go to http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/state/20040722-1510-ca-smartzoning.html

URBANISM

Chicago impresses

Bicycling Magazine has recently picked Chicago as the countryπs best bicycling city. Meanwhile, attendees of the annual Congress for the New Urbanism Conference left the Windy City wowed by Chicagoπs density, mixed-use character and functional transit system. For the bicycling story, go to http://www.suntimes.com/output/travel/tra-news-bike20addon.html. For reporting on the New Urbanist conference, go to www.planetizen.com/news/item.php?id=13603&rf=e

Affordable housing crisis in Atlanta

According to a recent Atlanta Metro Housing Consortium report, funded largely by the Ford Foundation, Atlanta is on the verge of a San Francisco-style crisis in affordable housing.  The report shows the radical mismatch among where the jobs are, what they pay, and where the housing affordable to those workers is located.

For more information, go to www.andpi.org/mici/

TRANSPORTATION

Las Vegas Bus Rapid Transit service begins

While most of the media attention was on Las Vegasπs new monorail transit line, the city also began operation of the nationπs first real second-generation Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) line. On June 30, the futuristic-looking Metropolitan Area Express (MAX) vehicles began to carry paying passengers between the Downtown Transportation Center and Nellis Air Force Base. ≥This is not your grandfatherπs bus system,≤ said Regional Transportation Commission General Manager Jacob Snow, citing the sleek vehicles and specially designed MAX stations. ≥Weπre thrilled to put the future of mass transit on the road today. We also look forward to charting the success of this initial route and to establishing future MAX routes in other parts of town with similar transit needs.≤ MAX uses the French Civis hybrid bus with an optical guidance system to direct it along specially painted lines in the street. Each MAX vehicle carries up to 120 passengers. Cost for the 7-mile line was $18 million.

BRT groundbreaking in Oregon

Lane Transit District in Eugene, OR, celebrated the groundbreaking for its first Bus Rapid Transit line, called EmX, on July 1. The first corridor to be built is a four-mile line from downtown Eugene to downtown Springfield. The corridor provides a link between the area's two largest transit hubs and will serve major destinations. Service on EmX is scheduled to begin in Fall 2006. http://www.ltd.org/site_files/brt/index.html

Bus Rapid Transit in Hawaii

Work has begun on 25-mile Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) line on the west side on Honolulu in an attempt to ease the cityπs chronic traffic congestion. The line will run between Kapolei, west of the city, and the University of Hawaii in the Manoa neighborhood to the southeast. Honolulu will spend $31 million from its own budget on the initial segment, and then will seek $20 million in federal transportation funds to finish the project.

www.smartgrowth.org/news/article.asp?art=4186&state=12

Miami pushes for streetcars

Miami leaders hope to build streetcar lines as a way of getting young professionals to live downtown. To speed development of the lines, city officials hope to fund the plan locally, rather than federally. City council members who represent the poorest neighborhoods claim the plan serves only the ≥Gucci-driven.≤ For more information, go to http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/front/9111837.htm

Transit on the ballot in Denver

Thanks to an all-volunteer petition drive that turned in more than 52,000 signatures, the Regional Transportation Districtπs FasTracks plan will be on the November ballot in Denver. The plan calls for a 0.4-cent sales tax increase that will pay for six new train lines, a new light-rail line and extensions of two others, 18 miles of Bus Rapid Transit, and other transit improvements. Denver Post deputy editorial page editor Bob Ewegen calls the election ≥the long-awaited confrontation between Smart Growth and its smog-fueled evil twin, Dumb Growth.≤ For more information, go to http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36%257E73%257E2249679,00.html

Wall Street Journal examines transportationπs burden on low-income families

In a front-page article published on July 12th, The Wall Street Journal described how sprawling development and the lack of transportation choices drives up transportation expenditures, particularly for low-income families.  The Journalπs article draws heavily on analysis from STPP to be released in the update to ≥Transportation Costs and the American Dream≤ due out this August.  As gasoline prices have skyrocketed in recent months, the burden is even greater. With few transportation choices other than driving available to many families – just over half of American households report having public transportation service available, according to the Census Bureauπs 2001 American Housing Survey for the United States – the high cost of transportation has become an obligatory expense. The article was also picked up by other papers. To read the article, go to –  http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/local/bal-gas071904,0,359787.story?coll=sfla-business-headlines

TAXATION

Taxpayer dollars being spent offshore

According to ≥Your Tax Dollars at WorkäOffshore,≤ a report by the Corporate Research Project of Good Jobs, state governments are contracting with foreign outsourcing firms to perform mainly information technology work overseas, and are thus spending millions of state taxpayer dollars offshore. The report indicates that nearly every state has contracted with these foreign firms.  Eighteen such firms aggressively seek the offshore work, and have captured over $75 million in state contracts to date. (Texas shows 6 of those 18 firms in its vendor registries.) The report further states that, because many of the firms use U.S. addresses, or subcontract the work from U.S. firms, many states are not aware that they are sending tax dollars abroad.  The states have little or no power to regulate work performed offshore. http://

goodjobsfirst.org/

ENERGY

Western governorsπ clean energy initiative

At the annual meeting of the Western Governors Association (WGA), state leaders unanimously agreed to work together to develop ≥a clean, secure, and diversified energy system for the West and to capitalize on the regionπs immense energy resources.≤ According to a WGA press release, the governors set preliminary goals of both increasing energy use efficiency by 20 percent by 2020, and developing 30,000 megawatts of clean energy by 2015. By ≥clean energy,≤ the governors mean all renewal energy sources, and also clean coal and natural gas technologies. http://www.westgov.org/wga/press/energy.htm

Smart growth and energy efficiency

Smart growth advocates need to call for greater energy efficiency in building design, argues a new paper by the Fundersπ Network for Smart Growth and Livable Communities. Smart growth land-use policies are already more energy efficient than their sprawl-based counterparts, but the paper argues that this energy efficiency should extend to the building design as well. http://www.fundersnetwork.org/

Political conventions, clean energy, and mass transit

The Democrats attempted to raise awareness about clean energy during their convention by buying enough renewable energy credits to match the electricity used during the four-day gathering According to a press release from the Democratic Party. The party also used a 250-kilowatt, natural-gas-powered fuel cell to help power the Fleet Center in Boston. The convention committee also bought enough greenhouse gas emission credits to offset the gases caused by the convention. The Republicans report that they will emphasize mass transit during their gathering in New York. The 50,000 participants will be given Metrocards, which will give them free access to buses and the subway. The convention will also use an express bus service to ferry conventioneers between their hotel and the convention location, Madison Square Garden. For more information on the Democratic Convention, go to http://www.enn.com/news/2004-07-23/s_25802.asp.  For more information on the Republican Convention, go to http://www.greenbiz.com/news/news_third.cfm?NewsID=26959

EVENTS

REGIONAL AND STATE

First Ring Suburbs, Sept. 23, 30, Oct. 7, Dallas. The Greater Dallas Planning Council hosts a symposium to explore ≥first ring suburbs.≤ http://www.txplanning.org/EdOp/GPDCsymposium.pdf

NATIONAL

Rail~Volution, Sept. 18-22, Los Angeles. The 10th annual Rail~Volution conference that will explore how regions reinvent themselves as more livable places with transit. To register, visit http://www.railvolution.com