Capital Metro will be back in November to ask you to approve a Communter Rail project ($60 million of your money that they have in the bank today).
They do own a rail line. Did you know that ? They own section that runs from the Holly Street Power Plant in East Austin up to Leander.
So, my question is this. If two members of the Cap Metro board decided to vote FOR the TxDOT/CTRMA Mobility Plan that converts our highways into Toll Roads, WHY THEN, should we listen to them promote this Commuter Rail ?
The rail system is impressive in size and scale, but WHO does it serve ? In fact, it HELPS NO ONE IN SOUTH AUSTIN !!
Why should we allow Cap Metro to use our tax money to pay for a rail line that does nothing for US ?
I admit south Austin probably didn't contribute half of that $60 M, but we probably did contribute to as much as a third of it. The point is, it's OUR tax money and it is being spent on a rail line for a narrow corridor of North Austin, Cedar Park, and Leander (same folks who DON'T pay Cap Metro taxes and who failed to support our efforts to stop the CAMPO vote on the Mobility Plan that Double Taxes south Austin.
I say, VOTE NO for the Commuter Rail until that plan includes some real traffic relief for us in South Austin.
(I do think it's time for light rail in Austin, I just think we need to be part of that plan and I won't settle for being ignored, again and again)
Russ Hodes
They do own a rail line. Did you know that ? They own section that runs from the Holly Street Power Plant in East Austin up to Leander.
So, my question is this. If two members of the Cap Metro board decided to vote FOR the TxDOT/CTRMA Mobility Plan that converts our highways into Toll Roads, WHY THEN, should we listen to them promote this Commuter Rail ?
The rail system is impressive in size and scale, but WHO does it serve ? In fact, it HELPS NO ONE IN SOUTH AUSTIN !!
Why should we allow Cap Metro to use our tax money to pay for a rail line that does nothing for US ?
I admit south Austin probably didn't contribute half of that $60 M, but we probably did contribute to as much as a third of it. The point is, it's OUR tax money and it is being spent on a rail line for a narrow corridor of North Austin, Cedar Park, and Leander (same folks who DON'T pay Cap Metro taxes and who failed to support our efforts to stop the CAMPO vote on the Mobility Plan that Double Taxes south Austin.
I say, VOTE NO for the Commuter Rail until that plan includes some real traffic relief for us in South Austin.
(I do think it's time for light rail in Austin, I just think we need to be part of that plan and I won't settle for being ignored, again and again)
Russ Hodes
