Metro lost the legal fight with the Texas Attorney General, and now the question for the transit authority is a simple one.
Do you want to do this the easy way or the hard way?
Today the lawyer representing opponents of a plan to tear up Post Oak Blvd for a bus rapid transit project offered Metro a clear choice.
“Metro must stop spending money on this project immediately, or call for a public vote,” says Attorney Andy Taylor. “If Metro refuses, we will go to court. This bus project is dead on arrival.”
In 2003 Houston voters approved $640 million dollars in bonds for rail projects, including a 4.4 mile stretch of light rail down the middle of Post Oak. The money was spent, but the rail project was scrapped. Now Metro and Uptown Development Authority want to tear up Post Oak for dedicated bus lanes for a bus rapid transit project.
The Texas Attorney General rejected Metro’s argument the 2003 election was just about money. The five page legal opinion says voters were voting on more than money, including transit technology and specific routes.
“The Texas Attorney General makes it clear this 2003 vote represents a contract between Metro and voters,” says Taylor. “This project is illegal, and if Metro goes through with it, we will be forced to file suit and force them to repay taxpayers for every illegal dollar spent.”
Taylor is the election law expert that forced the November HERO election and overturned Houston’s rain tax election.
The Post Oak Property and Business Owners Coalition called on Mayor Elect Turner to follow through on his election night promise to do what is good for Houstonians.
