Governor Greg Abbott touted massive public investments in roadbuilding in a televised town hall last night even as he predicted that the state will reach “peak road” within a decade.
However, the governor declined to endorse mass transit solutions to the state’s metropolitan traffic problems.
Abbott made the remark in response to a question from an Austin resident, Geoffrey Aldridge, while speaking at the town hall hosted by Nexstar Media Group. Aldridge asked, “With the population of Texas continuing to grow and our urban corridors becoming more and more dense, what are your plans and policies to include a forward-thinking transit Texas, one that might include high-speed rail?”
The governor responded, “There are several perspectives to bring to this. The first thing I want to let you know is that Texas is adding more than $8 billion a year to build roads and we’re doing that without raising taxes, fees, tolls, or debt. So we’re working on building roads.”
“But the second is, people need to look at the future of transportation in a far different way because I think we will hit peak road probably in about a decade. With the ridesharing that is coming and – believe it or not – with flying vehicles that are coming, there are going to be different ways that we commute and get around.”
Abbott added, “I know a man who is building a parking lot in downtown Dallas, but he’s building it in a way where ten years from now it will be able to be converted into apartments because they will no longer need that parking garage in downtown Dallas because of changes in the way that people commute. Leave it to the advancements of technology and ingenuity that is unparalleled in the United States of America to come up with different ways for people to commute and travel. That is going to be the answer to Geoffrey’s question.”
The governor did not take an explicit position on the proposed high-speed rail project between Houston and Dallas, which private developer Texas Central is seeking to build. But he did touch on the topic of eminent domain in response to a follow-up question from KETK-TV anchor Neal Barton, who cited the example of a freeway expansion in Dallas “displacing families and farmland.”
“Private property rights are paramount and we must protect private property rights in Texas,” Abbott said.
In response to Abbott’s remarks, Luke Metzger, Executive Director of Environment Texas said, “He seemed to avoid giving a direct answer” on the topic of high-speed rail “and talked instead of roads and innovation. Our transportation system has serious problems, from traffic to pollution to aging infrastructure. I’m excited about innovation too, but we’ve also got proven strategies like rail which give Texans alternatives to traffic while reducing pollution.”
Metzger added, “Hoping for flying cars isn’t a strategy. We absolutely need high-speed rail linking our cities and I’m disappointed the Governor failed to endorse it.”
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