Students Weigh In on Streetcar
Don't let Austin be shown up by Dallas and Houston, say students who advocate rail
By Katherine Gregor, Fri., July 25, 2008
"With fuel costs soaring and environmental damage associated with autos mounting, we need to unite all UT students looking to get rail-transit options, sooner rather than later," said UDS officer Greg Anderson. "Our great city is a leader in so many ways; it is time for us to catch up in the one place where even Houston and Dallas have us beat." He expressed frustration that the Central Austin streetcar circulator once headed for a November voter referendum appears stalled.
UT urban design professor Sinclair Black presented a ridership rationale to UDS for why the proposed streetcar route through the UT campus should run along Speedway (or possibly Guadalupe), not along San Jacinto as the administration insists. Also on hand to hear from students were Glenn Gadbois of the Alliance for Public Transportation and Jim Adams and Jana McCann of ROMA Austin (which will present its streetcar recommendations to City Council July 24).
UDS is organizing another meet-up for Wednesday, Sept. 10, 6-7:30pm, at the Texas Union on the UT campus, to unite more UT students in advocacy for transit and sustainable urban development.
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