Tag Archives: Texas Southern University

Houston, Houston Politics

Houston: Get Ready For More B-Cycle

1 Comment

Just 5 years ago, the thought of a city like car-centric Houston having a bike sharing program was still something of a fantasy.  Even those working to start such an endeavor were unsure whether or not it would catch on.

But since it’s commencement in 2012, Houston B-Cycle has grown at a consistently higher rate than anyone could have expected.  And would you believe that some of the highest months of ridership are in the midst of the area’s most oppressive heat?

With these facts in mind, the program has announced plans for a big expansion.

Here’s the info, via City press release…

Houston’s Bike Share Program is growing!

Today, the Houston-Galveston Area Council Transportation Policy Council (H-GAC TPC) approved $3.484 million of Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) dollars to expand bike sharing in Houston. The funding will enable the bike share program to increase three fold over the next 18 to 24 months, expanding from 29 stations to 100 stations and nearly 800 bikes when the phases are completed. The program will stretch from south of the Texas Medical Center to the north up into the Heights and from the west to Memorial Park to the Greater East End.

“Following on the heels of our METRORail expansion and METRO’s New Bus Network launch, this is a great day for transportation in Houston. Bike Share is an extremely successful and sustainable transportation initiative, and with the support of our regional and federal partners, we are able to expand the system into a large and thriving bike network, providing a real commuter and recreational transportation option for workers, residents and visitors while also improving health and quality of life,” said Mayor Annise Parker.

The expansion will be divided into three phases, with community input. The first phase will populate the Texas Medical Center, Rice University and Rice Village. Phase II will focus on creating greater station density; primarily in the Museum District, Midtown, Montrose and Downtown. Phase III will broaden the footprint into the East Side, SE around Texas Southern University and University of Houston Main campus, up into the Heights and west of Downtown.

The expansion will also create the largest bike share program in Texas and the Southwest.

Students at the University of Houston and Texas Southern University have been eyeing the B-Cycle program for a while.  For those that live on campus without a car, it will make for much-improved trips to places like the closest grocery stores and pharmacies to those campuses.  The only question so far would seem to be around the station densification plans for places like Montrose and Downtown.  As a casual observer, it seems that after Phase I, the most logical route would actually be to implement Phase III before working to fill in the already established areas.  But that assumption is made without looking at the proper data of which stations are most heavily-used.

In any event, this is great news for Houston’s growing bike culture, and overall transportation needs.  Let’s hope they can continue the expansion effort and bring all the benefits of bike sharing to places outside the loop as well.  The Energy Corridor, with rapid trail expansion and it’s new Portsmouth Street Woonerf, is ready to go.

Have you tried B-Cycle?  What are your thoughts on the expansion plans?  Leave them below in the comments.

B-Cycle

 

Texas Politics

Texoblogosphere: Week of June 8th

Leave a comment

The Texas Progressive Alliance is happy there’s no hint of any special sessions to come as it brings you this week’s roundup.

Off the Kuff notes that while Travis County is ready for the Supreme Court to legalize same-sex marriage, there’s likely to be no small amount of chaos in the state once they do.

Letters from Texas explains how a recent ruling in a North Carolina redistricting case may bode well for Texas’ plaintiffs.

LightSeeker at Texas Kaos calls “ethics reform” in Texas for what it is. Government is for, by and of the highest bidder. Texas leads the pack. Texas Ethical Reform – DOA.

SocraticGadfly, reading about a new study that claims classical psychological conditioning during sleep can reduce racist tendencies, has two thoughts: it’s either too good to be true, or, if it has real and lasting change, it’s probably got an element of Clockwork Orange.

CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme is glad McAllen ISD and others are taking care to feed children during the summer.

Do you think Greg Abbott’s first legislative session as governor was a success or a failure? PDiddie at Brains and Eggs wants to know.

From WCNews at Eye on Williamson, the threat was enough for the clandestine video scheme that may have changed the game on the budget and taxes in 84th Texas Legislature, Timing Is Everything.

Neil at All People Have Value offered a framework about how to live our lives. APHV is part of NeilAquino.com.

Nonsequiteuse missed the Houston Mayoral Candidates Arts and Culture Forum, but it got her thinking about getting arts organizations out of their silos and engaged as advocates for progressive change.

On her long road seeking the Presidency, one of Hillary Clinton’s greatest challenges will be to re-create the infamous Coalition of 2008. This week at Houston’s Texas Southern University, she worked hard to mend some fences, and shared some important views on Voting Rights.

================

And here are some posts of interest from other Texas blogs.

Texas Watch celebrated its victories from the legislative session.

Grits can’t wait to see if the state’s new junk science writ will be interpreted broadly or not.

The Texas Election Law Blog asks if our government is supposed to represent everyone, or just everyone who is allowed to vote.

The Texas Living Waters Project warns of a new environmental danger to the Brazos River.

Molly Cox bemoans low voter turnout in San Antonio.

Keep Austin Wonky explains how percentage-based homestead exemptions help fuel inequality.

Paradise in Hell is not impressed by Rick Perry 2016.

Texans for Public Justice and Public Citizen call Greg Abbott “just plain wrong” on the matter of dark money and disclosure.

Texas Vox managed to find a few small rays of hope from the legislative session.

Equality Texas produced its report card for the 84th Legislature.

Politics

Hillary Clinton Talks Voting Rights In Houston

Leave a comment

Speaking on the campus of Texas Southern University, Former First Lady, Senator and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton caused something of a firestorm in Houston Thursday.

The storied politician was at TSU to receive a first of its kind award… the Barbara Jordan Public Private Leadership medal, which was established to honor the monumental legacy of Texas’ first African-American female elected to the Texas Senate and to Congress.  Barbara Jordan was also the first African-American woman to deliver the keynote address at major party’s National Convention.

With Jordan’s storied legacy before her, Clinton took to the podium to further her own achievements, and speak on the issue of Voting Rights.  Here’s more on the speech from CNN…

Hillary Clinton accused four potential GOP presidential rivals by name of being “scared of letting citizens have their say” as she called Thursday for every American to automatically be registered to vote.

Clinton told an audience at the historically black Texas Southern University that she supports the concept of signing every American up to vote as soon as they’re eligible at age 18, unless they specifically opt out. She called for expanded access to polling places, keeping them open for at least 20 days and offering voting hours on evenings and weekends.

For the first time in her campaign, she attacked her likely opponents by name as she laid into four GOP governors — Texas’s Rick Perry, Wisconsin’s Scott Walker, Florida’s Jeb Bush and New Jersey’s Chris Christie — telling them to “stop fear-mongering about a phantom epidemic of voter fraud.”

“All of these problems voting just didn’t happen by accident,” she said. “And it is just wrong — it’s wrong — to try to prevent, undermine and inhibit Americans’ right to vote.”

The candidate’s remarks were an important shift to the Left on the whole Voting Rights conversation, which has long been dominated by the policies in place in Republican-controlled states seeking to do anything but ensure the rights of every citizen to vote.  As Clinton pointed out, Texas is one of the nation’s worst offenders when it comes to Voting Rights discrimination.

After lambasting her competitors, Clinton went on to talk about how communities must work together to create a successful prosperous nation.

“America was built by people that knew that our common interests are more important than our self interests.”

Beyond her concern for Voting Rights, Clinton definitely had a complex agenda for today’s speech. For one, she’s working hard to put the infamous “Obama coalition” back together from 2008. Talking about the erosion of voting abilities is a sure fire way to get noticed in the minority community.

But as an added bonus, Clinton’s big speech happened to be on the same day as former Texas Governor Rick Perry’s announcement that he too is running for President, amongst a slew of other Republican candidates.  Whether by accident or not, it’s fair to say that Clinton’s appearance was well-timed to steal a little Texas thunder on Perry’s big day.

Whatever the additional factors at play, Thursday’s event was an indication that Hillary Clinton is off to a very good start in rebuilding the historic coalition that put Obama into office seven years ago.  For sure, she now has some friends at Texas Southern University, but there’s still more consensus building to do.

Monica Rojas of The Daily Cougar has more on the event.

Hillz4

Hillary Rodham Clinton speaking at Texas Southern University. June 4th, 2015.