home
about us
contact us
site map
CLEAN Air
CLEAN Energy
CLEAN Vehicles
CLEAN Health
CLEAN Living
CLEAN Business
news
calendar
action
comments
heros
|
by Carroll G. Robinson, November 2007 If we are going to continue making Houston better, our City needs a real Capital Improvement Plan (C.I.P.) and not just a list of disjointed and unconnected infrastructure projects. During my six years on City Council, I tried to get this done as Chairman of the Transportation, Technology and Infrastructure Committee but could not get others interested in focusing on the need to plan for Houston’s future. People are now interested in planning for the future of our City and making the C.I.P. a real plan. To get the C.I.P. to the status of a true coordinated blueprint for fixing, expanding and improving the physical infrastructure of Houston, we will need to convert it from a list of disjointed projects on paper into an interactive computerized Geographic Information System (GIS) visualization database. The GIS visualization database should include information on population growth in Houston and all the known public, private and non-profit plans for construction and development throughout the City. As requests for permits are filed with the City, that information should be placed in the database along with METRO’s, TxDOT and all Harris County construction and development projects. This information should be used to show Houstonians and our policy makers what the City would actually look like if all the planned projects were actually built and to analyze their cumulative impact on (1) traffic congestion citywide and neighborhood by neighborhood; (2) wear and tear on city streets; (3) drainage needs; (4) green space requirements; and (5) the need for parks, libraries and healthcare clinics. Based on this objective analysis, a twenty (20) year plan of coordinated drainage and infrastructure projects with citywide impact for improving drainage and reducing flooding should be developed. Current funding for City drainage and flood control projects (Stormwater Fund and General Obligation bonds and debt service payments) should be placed in a dedicated account and voter approval should be sought in 2009 to supplement that existing funding to implement the twenty (20) year coordinated flood control and drainage plan. Houstonians should be asked if they are willing to allow the City to keep excess tax revenue above the current city spending cap to invest in fixing the City’s flooding and drainage problems. If approved, the authorization should sunset at the end of the twenty (20) year drainage and flood control plan unless reauthorized by Houston voters. If Houstonians approve this request, the money should be used to issue additional bonds to combine with the $200 million already proposed by Mayor Bill White for 2008-2012. Houston needs approximately $150 million a year for the next ten (10) to twenty (20) years to fix, expand and improve flood control and drainage projects throughout our entire City. Houston needs to invest more than $40 million a year to fix the flood control and drainage problems in our City and we have the money to do so without raising taxes if the voters decide that reducing flooding in our City should be a top tier infrastructure project. Improving our City’s drainage and flood control infrastructure will also help improve traffic mobility in our City on rainy days. We need to Educate and Inform Houstonians on our City’s flood control and drainage issues and needs and then let the people vote. Robinson is a former At-Large member of the Houston City Council and was Chairman of the City’s Transportation, Technology and Infrastructure Committee during his service on the City Council. |
top · home · about us · contact us · links
air ·
energy ·
vehicles ·
health ·
living ·
business
 |
Citizens League for Environmental Action Now 5120 Woodway Drive, Suite #9004 · Houston, Texas 77056 phone: (713) 524-3000 · email: info@cleanhouston.org |
All graphics, text, and photos are the property of TC Concepts and/or CLEAN.