Texas Triangle highlighted in Federal study

Academic research not just "academic" when it comes to long-range planning

The Federal Highway Administration commissioned a survey of literature related to planning on a regional and mega-regional basis. The extensive 103-page document highlights the handful of mega regions identified by regional planners and academics.

1. Piedmont Atlantic Megaregion
2. Northeast Megaregion
3. Northern California Megaregion
4. Southern California Megaregion
5. Great Lakes Megaregion
6. Texas Triangle
7. Southern Florida Megaregion
8. Gulf Coast Megaregion
9. Cascadia
10. Arizona Sun Corridor
    

Interestingly, Houston is one of the few metro areas to belong to two different mega regions: the Texas Triangle and the Gulf Coast. While certainly Houston is connected to the Gulf Coast because of the oil and gas industry, I would argue other ties are much more tenuous than compared to the strong bonds connecting H-town to the Texas Triangle.

This would all be academic apart from the fact that plans for high speed rail are being bandied about, and, as mentioned before (see "Mind the Gap"), no rail link is being proposed to connect Houston to the rest of the Lone Star State.

Below is material adapted from the FHWA report, describing the various mega regions. .:.

Mind the Gap

Plan for Texas-sized rail system missing pieces

When the economic stimulus bill was signed into law, $8 billion was set aside for high-speed rail. Although rail helps reduce carbon emissions, it also plays a role in urban planning. Professor Robert Lang at the Metropolitan Institute has noted previously that proposed high-speed rail plans closely conform to the megapolitan areas that he mapped out.

The analogy is that high speed rail is the "subway" of future megacities. However, in Texas, the proposed map seems slightly askew. Logically, the Texas Triangle cities of San Antonio, Austin, Dallas, and Fort Worth are interconnected, strangely Houston is left out.

It is interesting to note also that the South Central plan connects North Texas to Oklahoma City. Professor Lang has long suggested that OK City could merge with The Metroplex to form a third center of gravity for a megapolitan area. To many Texans, that notion is about as crazy as Houston and New Orleans forming a mega city, which brings me to plan 2 for Texas.

In the so-called Gulf Coast plan, Houston is the end/start point for a system that runs all the way to Atlanta. While this may make sense to somebody in Washington, the citizens of Houston consider themselves Texans before any other affiliation.

The founders of Southwest Airlines realized this decades ago when they drew a "Golden Triangle" connecting Houston, Dallas,-Fort Worth, Austin, and San Antonio on the back of napkin as they sketched out a business plan for their new airline.

It remains to be seen if any of these plans will come to fruition, and even if they are attempted, high-speed rail could go the way of the Trans-Texas Corridor. .:.

Texas' Mega Highway

Plans for massive new road network generate hope and suspicion

Perhaps no other emerging mega region is generating as much political friction as the Texas Triangle. It's not concerns over sprawl or environmental issues that overhang the TXT, but something much thornier--the Trans Texas Corridor (TTC).

From the standpoint of regional development and integration, the TTC promises many benefits by adding massive amounts of transportation bandwidth for ground travel through two main projects. The first is TTC-35, which will parallel the existing I-35, and extend 800 miles from the Rio Grande Valley to north of Dallas/Fort Worth. According to the Texas Department of Transportation, today 45 percent of all Texans, 9.5 million, live along the I-35, and that number is projected to increase to 15 million by 2025.

As envisioned, TTC-35 (map) will include as many as six lanes for passenger vehicles and up to four lanes for large trucks. The corridor will also have up to six rail lines for high-speed passenger rail between cities, high-speed freight, and conventional commuter and freight transit. Furthermore, planners are suggesting that the route can accommodate a 200-foot-wide dedicated utility zone for water, oil, and gas pipelines, and transmission lines for electricity, broadband, and other telecommunications services.

Such a massive logistics artery running through central Texas would have a huge impact. Establishment of TTC-35 is widely seen as the catalyst needed to make a combined San Antonio-Austin metroplex a reality. Furthermore, the TTC would have a large impact on international trade as most U.S. imports from Mexico and South America travel through Texas, as do most exports to Mexico and South America--estimated at 79 percent.

A similar route is planned called I-69/TTC (map). It would be part of the 1,600 mile-long I-69 national highway that would connect Mexico, the U.S., and Canada. The Texas leg of I-69 would run from the Mexico border to Houston and then on to northeast Texas.

Although TTC is pitched as a unmitigated good for Texas, it has become a hot-button issue for many Texans and other Americans. Among the many wrongs projected to come from the TTC project is a rather ominous theory that the so-called NAFTA Superhighway is a linchpin in the creation of a "North American Union," an entity formed from the merger of Mexico, the U.S., and Canada.

The alleged seeds for the NAU were planted by the creation of the SPP in 2005. All governments involved say the NAU is myth, but conspiracy theories continue to abound. (Well done Seattle Times article on the subject.)

Some U.S. presidential candidates have even made reference to these theories by including language in their platform regarding protecting the sovereignty of the United States. It remains to be seen whether opponents will be able to generate enough counterpressure to impede the TTC. .:.

Texas Triangle Sightings [1.2]

A short study by three University of Texas academics, on the America2050.org site, looks at the Texas Triangle and historical transportation linkages. "Connecting the Texas Triangle: Economic Integration and Transportation Coordination by Ming Zhang, Frederick Steiner, and Kent Butler (5 MB)" .:.

High Speed Rail Booms

Airlines' loss is Amtrak's gain

Just this year, the number of commuters using Amtrak has grown by 6%. The Wall Street Journal reports that the biggest surge in ridership since the 1970s. For the high speed Acela line running between New York and Washington, D.C., ridership is up 20% in just 10 months. The paper attributes the rise to increasing delays and security hassles with flying, making trains a good option for the estimated 10,000 daily train and plane commuters traveling between New York City to D.C.

Accompanying the article is an interview with Amtrak's CEO Alex Kummant. GEO