Historic black neighborhoods like Independence Heights and the Fifth Ward are in the crosshairs of Houston highway plans, decades after expressways separated communities from the rest of the city.
Transportation
Reporting on roads, transit, infrastructure, and policy shaping travel and mobility across the state, from The Texas Tribune.
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Transportation
Texas road congestion is hitting a breaking point. Are voters ready to approve more public transit spending?
As road congestion worsens in Texas cities, public transit authorities are racing to raise money for vast expansions of light rail and buses to transport the state’s growing population.
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New Texas Laws 2019
Texas raises sentencing for hit-and-run car accidents to equivalent of DWI manslaughter
A new law increased the punishment for failing to stop and render aid to match the sentence for DWI manslaughter. The goal is to deter drunken drivers from leaving the scene of an accident.
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New Texas Laws 2019
Texas’ Driver Responsibility Program ends next month. Here’s what that means for you.
More than 600,000 Texans will immediately be eligible to have their driver’s licenses reinstated after the program’s Sept. 1 repeal. The system was widely criticized for adding additional annual fees on top of the price of tickets, but all pending surcharges will soon be waived.
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Texas Legislature 2019
Gov. Greg Abbott vetoes bill requiring children under 2 to ride in rear-facing car seats
Abbott said the measure “is an unnecessary invasion of parental rights and an unfortunate example of over-criminalization.”
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Texas Legislature 2019
Texas lawmakers hope an additional $200 million will decrease dreaded wait times at driver’s license centers
The money will be used to hire more employees, give a raise to current staffers and open two new driver’s license offices in Angleton and Denton. The Department of Public Safety’s management of the offices has drawn criticism, but lawmakers stopped short of moving those duties to another agency.
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State Government
Bill to better protect landowners during land condemnations passes Texas House
Although it cut some provisions from the Senate version, the House committee substitute to Senate Bill 421 keeps public meeting requirements and protects against low-ball offers for landowners facing eminent domain actions.
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Texas Legislature 2019
Texas lawmakers send bill to governor that would eventually outlaw red-light cameras
The legislation includes a provision to allow local governments to continue operating cameras until they finish out any contracts in effect as of May 7.
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Texas Legislature 2019
Texas Senate passes bill to kill program that critics say can trap poor people in a cycle of debt
The bill to end the unpopular program, which adds annual surcharges on top of traffic fines — and prompts the suspension of millions of driver’s licenses — is headed for Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk. If he signs it, pending surcharges will be dropped.
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Texas Legislature 2019
Texas high-speed rail plans dodge bullet after lawmakers strike provision aiming to delay the project
Legal battles over whether the developer can use eminent domain still loom over the project.