I am a believer in public transportation. I'm convinced that a well-designed transportation network can reduce the number of cars on the road, combat congestion, and generally improve the quality of life. When the first MetroRail project was presented to Houston voters over a decade ago, I supported it enthusiastically, and I've been pleased to see the system's recent expansion. I hope it goes to the airport someday.

So when I first heard about the proposed high-speed rail project that would link Houston and Dallas, I was intrigued. Certainly, I was concerned about the impact that one of the proposed routes would have on my First Ward neighborhood. But I still reflexively supported the idea of a Dallas-Houston high-speed rail line. My problem with the proposal was that routing it through residential neighborhoods was completely inappropriate, given the 50-foot-high infrastructure involved. But my objection was to the chosen design — not to the overall concept.

Because of its potential impact on me and my community, I've ended up spending a fair bit of time and energy on the Dallas-Houston high-speed rail proposal over the last few months. And after attending numerous presentations and meetings, and talking with lots of people, I've discovered that key parts of what I thought I knew about the project aren't true at all.

Most crucially, it's not public transportation. First off, there's nothing public about it — it will be operated and funded privately, which is touted as a benefit (although many skeptics are wary of this claim, worrying that if the finances don't work out, the burden may eventually fall on taxpayers). More importantly, it will do nothing for the vast majority of Houstonians.

Texas Central Railway, the for-profit company behind the proposal, has indicated that its target market is the 50,000 or so individuals it estimates travel between Houston and Dallas on business three or more times a week. Pricing will be in the same range as air travel between the two cities. So, as a Texas Central Railway representative stated in a January public meeting, your family of four going up to visit Grandma for the weekend is still going to drive. The upshot is that high-speed rail between Dallas and Houston would amount to nothing more than an alternative transportation option for a very small group of people.

If you're like me, this is a bitter disappointment. Any thoughts of willingness to sacrifice for the greater good become significantly less inspiring when you realize that that "greater good" will accrue only to a small elite. But that's not all — it gets worse.

A bit more background is necessary here. The location of the station in Houston hasn't been determined yet. Texas Central Railway seems willing to settle for a location around 290 and 610 (the near-defunct Northwest Mall being a promising option), which makes sense given how expensive it will be to extend the line into downtown, along with the fact that business activity in Houston is quite spread out geographically. But it appears that local politicians are pressuring Texas Central Railway to put the terminus downtown, and the company has played along, presenting two potential routes for getting there. Both of these routes follow existing freight-rail rights-of-way that run through residential areas: One would follow the BNSF track along 34th Street north of the 610 Loop, while the other, apparently more favored by Texas Central Railway, would traverse the UPRR line in the Washington Avenue corridor. Following an outcry from residents of the potentially-affected areas, the company has agreed to investigate an alternative route down I-10. But no final decisions have been made. Only after studies confirm the feasibility of installing the massive high-speed rail infrastructure in the I-10 corridor will we know whether that routing is viable. Unless and until that happens, our neighborhoods remain under threat.

If, for some reason, it turns out that the I-10 route is not workable — and if political considerations trump economic sense and consideration for Houston's neighborhoods – the track stretching from the 290/610 area to downtown may yet be built through one of these residential corridors. If that occurs, then ironically, the Dallas-Houston high-speed rail project will have dealt a setback to the future of public transportation in Houston. That's because these routes — particularly the Washington Corridor — are prime candidates for future MetroRail expansion, linking downtown with the west side of Houston. But filling up the right-of-way with massive high-speed rail infrastructure will foreclose the possibility of a MetroRail option forever.

The current narrow focus on the Dallas-Houston high-speed rail line, with its limited potential ridership, is shortsighted. A wiser approach would consider how different transit modes might reinforce each other, resulting in much larger and more widely shared benefits. A light-rail line along the Washington Corridor could connect a high-speed rail station in the 290/610 area to downtown, while also serving many Houstonians who will never set foot on a high-speed Dallas-Houston train. Tellingly, the same civic leaders who vociferously oppose introduction of high-speed rail infrastructure into their communities welcome a MetroRail line as a less-intrusive alternative that would also serve the communities it runs through.

If conceived in isolation, the Dallas-Houston high-speed rail project will benefit only a few, and potentially at the cost of blighting thriving neighborhoods. But if planned intelligently, with an eye to how it will interoperate with local mass transit, it can benefit many more Houstonians while preserving precious homes and communities.

Evan Michaelides is a member of the First Ward Civic Council.

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