On Friday, September 24, from 9:30 AM to 11:00 AM, the Houston-Galveston Area Council’s (H-GAC) Transportation Policy Council (TPC) will meet to discuss a number of issues; one of the topics on the agenda is the drafting of the 2050 Regional Transportation Plan (RTP).
Please join us at this meeting to tell our regional leaders to incorporate climate change and equity into their long-term plans.
The RTP is our region’s long-range transportation planning document: it includes vision and value statements about the goals for our transportation system, data and projections about our regions growth and demographics, and a comprehensive list of potential transportation projects the H-GAC has identified for future construction.
Past versions of the RTP (see: 2045 RTP) have focused on building infrastructure to continue supporting the dominant car culture in Houston and the surrounding areas. Goals tend to focus on issues such as expanding capacity for single occupant vehicles or improving freight efficiency. Additionally, noticeably absent from past H-GAC planning documents are goals for preventing climate change and substantively addressing environmental justice issues, among other important topics.
We see the results of this line of outdated thinking every day in Houston: unsustainable transportation practices become further entrenched, even as the urgency of addressing greenhouse gas emissions increases. The I-45 expansion is a perfect example of this and should be considered a culmination of decades of misprioritization in transportation planning.
The Opportunity: Houstonians invested in building an equitable, sustainable transportation system can call on their regional leaders to build these values into our long range planning document, the 2050 RTP. COMMENTING ON THE 2050 RTP
The upcoming TPC meeting on Friday, September 24, where the RTP will be discussed will be held on Zoom at 9:30 AM and public comments are given virtually:
- Public comments are taken at the first part of the meeting
- All commenters have 3 minutes to speak
- There is no need to sign up ahead of time
ZOOM LINK TO JOIN THE TPC MEETING
If you prefer to call in, please find the call-in info here below:
Dial 888-788-0099 (Toll Free) or 877-853-5247 (Toll Free)
Meeting ID: 858 6726 3030
Participant ID: Press #
Password: 828674
If you’re unable to join the meeting, written comments may be sent by email to [email protected]. Comments received by 5pm Thursday 9/26 will be incorporated into the meeting record.
Need help with your talking points? Join us for a pre-meeting working session!
Harrison Humphreys, Transportation Program Manager with Air Alliance Houston, will hold an informal working session on Wednesday, September 22 from 5-6pm (CST) to discuss this issue and collaborate on talking points. Anyone interested is welcome to join!