Metropolitan Transit Authority
of Harris County, Texas

University Corridor DEIS begins circulating today 

The University Corridor Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) officially makes its public debut today, Friday, August 3, 2007.  This major milestone of the environmental process, which began in May 2006, delivers a comprehensive, detailed assessment of a short-list of alternatives, as approved by the METRO Board of Directors in December 2006.  The document also identifies the cost, ridership, and potential environmental and socioeconomic impacts. 

The DEIS is a government required document that does not include a decision or recommendation on any particular route.  Based on information in the DEIS, METRO's Board of Directors is expected to select a Locally Preferred Alternative (LPA), which includes the route and technology, this fall.

This date marks the beginning of an official 45-day circulation period for the public and agencies to review and comment.  The deadline to submit written comments is September 17 at 5 p.m.  All comments will be addressed in the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS).  However, METRO will address general concerns received during this period.  Please keep in mind that many questions are unanswerable at this time, as only about five percent of the engineering has been completed for the alternatives. 

Formal comments may be submitted by mail (addressed to Mrs. Rhonda Boyer METRO, P.O. Box 61429, Houston, TX, 77208-1429), online, or at any of the following opportunities:

When METRO announced, in May, the approval of a contract making Washington Group Transit Management Company (WGTMC) our Private Partner in the construction of four Guided Rapid Transit corridors, we also heralded the local economic impact.

Since then, METRO has received 15 resolutions and letters of support from local chambers of commerce, including one from the Greater Houston Partnership (GHP) on July 18.  These resolutions and letters recognize the powerful economic engine of METRO Solutions. 

The ripple effect on the local economy was also the focus of a presentation by METRO's President and CEO, Frank Wilson, at a Houston Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (HHCC) breakfast on Wednesday, July 18.

August 3, 2007
Volume II, No. 22

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Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, Texas
1900 Main
Houston, TX 77002