If you follow the ongoing debate over rail on Richmond Avenue through the Houston Chronicle, you might think that opposition to rail on Richmond is limited to a small but vocal minority of people who live or work on Richmond. In fact, 97 percent of the home, business and property owners on Richmond who have contacted my office strongly oppose rail on their street, even though 9 of the 10 voting precincts in the Richmond corridor supported the rail referendum in 2003.

The most important and overlooked fact in this debate, and the reason many voters in the Richmond corridor supported the rail referendum, is that the ballot language and the accompanying maps specifically referred to “Westpark.” Metro provided its board members with a detailed Key Map of the entire Metro Solutions rail system in July 2003. This map clearly shows the proposed rail line extending southwest from the existing Main Street Line along State Highway 59 to Westpark and ending at the Hillcroft Transit Center. Metro actually studied and rejected the idea of rail on Richmond in 2003 because of the immense difficulty of building rail down the middle of a major thoroughfare with at grade crossings at busy streets like Shepherd, Kirby and Buffalo Speedway. I am working with Metro on a line that complies with the ballot language and protects local neighborhoods by running within the Southwest Freeway right-of-way to Westpark, without taking a lane of traffic or homes on the north or south side of the freeway.

Some supporters of rail on Richmond accuse me of applying a double standard because I spearheaded the expansion of the Katy Freeway, but the Katy Freeway cannot be moved. It was built in 1952, long before neighborhoods and businesses supplanted the rice fields and prairies around the Interstate. The homes and businesses along Richmond have enjoyed the street’s oak-lined median for generations. Richmond was never intended to be a rail corridor. During the 2000 election, I campaigned vigorously on the promise to expand the Katy Freeway as soon as possible, and the idea received overwhelming support. My support for the I-10 expansion is not a political calculation; it’s the fulfillment of a promise.

At President Gerald Ford's funeral, he was remembered repeatedly as someone who kept his word. Whenever my service to the people of District 7 is complete, I hope that I will be remembered for keeping my word. I promised to honor the will of the voters who approved the 2003 rail referendum, and I have kept my word. As a member of the Appropriations Committee, I secured $12 million for engineering on Metro’s north and southeast rail lines last year, and $6.5 million for its bus service over the last two years. I also helped Metro get reimbursed for 50% of the construction costs of the Main Street Line, which it built without seeking FTA approval, by putting language in the transportation bill requiring FTA to reimburse Metro for half of the $340 million line.

Throughout my 20 years in public service, I have done my best to protect the quality of life of my constituents. Fighting to keep rail off of Richmond is no different. The voters approved “Westpark” and the Metro Board made the solemn promise in the 2003 ballot resolution that the election "will be binding on Metro and will constitute [a] contract with the voters…and may not be repealed, altered or rescinded by any succeeding Board without voter approval at a subsequent election." Our greatest asset in life is our good name, and good names are earned by keeping your word. Metro should keep its word to the voters by building rail on Westpark instead of Richmond.

2003 METRO Key Map

This viewpoint by Congressman John Culberson appeared in the January 28 edition of the Houston Chronicle.