“To deal with traffic, we’ve got to get the basics right: cut congestion, give residents real transportation choices, and focus on getting people where they want to go. As Mayor, I’ll use my experience and practical solutions to get results and keep us moving.” - Peter Brown
Peter Brown’s Transportation Blueprint has real solutions to improve our transportation infrastructure and keep us moving, building on the best ideas and making them work for Houston. As Mayor, Brown will get roadwork done right, improving our construction processes and keeping roads working in bad weather or emergencies. He’ll implement real traffic solutions by building on Mayor Bill White’s progress, connecting and timing our traffic lights remotely to help roads move faster and deal with congestion better, and using our street grid more effectively to prevent gridlock. He’ll also work to provide real transportation choices, giving people more ways to get where they want to go. He’ll make Houston more walkable and pedestrian friendly, enhance support for bicyclists, and work towards a functional multimodal transit system that incorporates buses and light rail. Finally, he’ll shape a vision for the future and a more livable urban environment with a renewed emphasis on mixed use development and stronger neighborhoods. Under his plan, Houston will stay ahead of traffic congestion: keeping us moving, saving time, and saving money.
Poorly maintained roads slow down traffic, are unsafe and susceptible to flooding, and cause costly wear and tear on residents’ vehicles. By investing in keeping our roads working, we can avoid accidents and other traffic problems. That means safer roads with less congestion and lower commute times. Roads are the foundation of Houston’s transportation system. Peter Brown has real solutions to make sure they work. More »
GET ROAD CONSTRUCTION DONE FASTER
Under Mayor Bill White, the City has made great progress using construction incentives to get work done sooner and ease the congestion caused by necessary improvements. Peter Brown will expand this program. We should build incentive packages into contracts, rewarding contractors for finishing projects early and penalizing them for finishing late. By tying contractor’s profits directly to their performance, we can drive down the cost of contracting while getting better results for Houston.
KEEP ROADS WORKING
Peter Brown will make sure that despite the weather, our roads keep working so that Houston can keep moving. His Blueprint to Prevent Flooding laid out a strategy to reduce the problems caused by flooding across Houston by making the right investments, finding regional solutions, and engaging in proactive prevention. We need to do a better job of maintaining our drainage system for critical roadways, and make it a priority to invest in additional drainage where it’s needed.
KEEP SIGNALS WORKING
Downed traffic signals and signs can cause confusion, congestion, and often, accidents. Where possible, we should replace traffic signals with mast arms to ensure that they stay functional and reduce unnecessary visual clutter. Further, we should retain rapid response contractors who can respond quickly to fix our transportation infrastructure.
COORDINATE ROAD WORK TO MINIMIZE CONGESTION
We need to coordinate with other local governments and groups – especially METRO during new light rail line construction – to minimize gridlock and disperse the congestion these projects cause. By working with other jurisdictions in the area, Peter Brown will reduce the impact that construction will have on commutes and help everyone get where they need to go faster.
ACCOUNTABLE CONSTRUCTION IN REAL TIME
The development of new technology provides great opportunities to make City efforts more accountable and responsive. Major projects should post comprehensive advance details, as well as frequent updates enabled with RSS technology to keep residents informed. Interactive online maps overlaid with GIS data can be used to detail road maintenance efforts, making it easy for residents to access project information.
EMPOWER HOUSTON TO HELP
Peter Brown will use the latest technologies to allow residents to instantly alert the City of poorly maintained infrastructure – including potholes and signage problems – to help make roadwork more responsive. Smart-phone applications can enable streamlined reporting to city departments, allowing residents to quickly collect and share photographic evidence of disrepair or neglect. We can also connect with residents via their existing social networks to enhance communication between residents and the City.
Under the leadership of Mayor Bill White, our city has made great strides in applying smart, effective traffic management policies to get our roads moving. We’ve made progress but there’s more to be done. Peter Brown will build on that progress, shaping an efficient traffic management system to keep our roads moving. More »
TAKE THE NEXT STEP TO IMPROVE AND SYNCHRONIZE TRAFFIC LIGHTS
Mayor Bill White’s program to begin synchronizing traffic lights has been a success. It should be expanded. Peter Brown will enhance our efforts to synchronize traffic lights along major commuting corridors to reduce congestion during peak periods and improve traffic flow. The City should use available tools to connect more traffic lights to traffic management centers via remote signals. This will allow for greater flexibility in managing traffic lights and give traffic management centers the capabilities to shift light timing to deal with congestion, accidents, and emerging traffic patterns.
GET MORE OUT OF MOBILITY RESPONSE TEAMS
When traffic gets tied up, well-trained and carefully deployed units can immediately take stock of the situation and find solutions to get cars moving. Peter Brown will deploy more trained and accountable Mobility Response Teams to jammed intersections and ensure their effectiveness.
CONTINUE SAFEClear
Congestion caused by stalled cars and accidents can be a significant problem during rush hour. Under Mayor Bill White, the SAFEClear program has helped get our roads moving by dealing with problems as they arise. Peter Brown will make sure that we continue to respond to incidents quickly and decisively, helping care for victims, clear accidents, and keep traffic flowing.
USE THE WHOLE GRID TO ALLEVIATE CONGESTION
We should do a better job of using the streets we’ve got. A well-connected street grid disperses traffic along many different roads, saving drivers time. Most trips people take are short, and forcing drivers onto already-congested corridors and freeways wastes time and creates congestion. Peter Brown will work to minimize the number of trips concentrated onto major corridors and avoid gridlock. We can save time and money, give drivers more route choices, and distribute traffic more effectively – taking advantage of the untapped roadway capacity that already exists. By making targeted roadway improvements, we can do this without endangering the quality of life in our neighborhoods.
BUILD BETTER ROADS
Using proven techniques from around the country and around the world, Peter Brown will make sure that future improvements handle traffic more efficiently and are designed to reduce congestion, rather than cause it. Entrance and exit ramps should be designed to minimize problems caused by merging. One-way road couplets can carry significantly more traffic than the same pair of two ways streets, and their use should be expanded as part of an effort to maximize our street grid. There isn’t a “silver bullet” to solve our transportation challenges, but a good place to start is with roads that reduce traffic and get people moving.
Our transportation system should give us choices while helping achieve our long term goals of better air quality. If you want to drive to work, you should be able to get there efficiently without wasting time stuck in traffic. If you want to bike to school, it should be possible with safe, direct routes that take you where you need to go. If you want to use transit, there needs to be a dependable route that is user friendly and saves you time. Giving residents transportation alternatives will reduce pollution and make Houston a healthier, greener city. More »
WALKABLE NEIGHBORHOODS
In order to make neighborhoods more walkable, they must have local destinations and be safe for pedestrians. We should encourage development that improves Houston’s quality of life and allows residents to live, work, shop, and play in the same neighborhood. In addition to public safety efforts, we should expand local access to traffic calming tools like raised crosswalks, mini-roundabouts, and speed-bumps, allowing residents more choices to keep their neighborhoods and children safe. Moreover, we need to provide safe sidewalks – wider and well-repaired – to enhance neighborhoods and encourage walking.
A BIKE-FRIENDLY HOUSTON
We need to work to expand Houston’s bike infrastructure to make riding more viable for commuters and bike enthusiasts, including expanding dedicated bike lanes, trails, and signed routes. We should grow the city’s successful rails-to-trails program, and make Houston friendlier to bicyclists with well-trained and informed law enforcement and a transit system that facilitates biking. The city should also continue to ensure that future planning considers the needs of bicyclists, so that our transportation network works for all of Houston.
INTEGRATE RAIL WITH EFFECTIVE BUS SERVICE
We need to lead METRO towards improved bus service, and connect that system so it effectively complements our fixed-rail transit infrastructure. As Mayor, Peter Brown will work to integrate METRO’s bus service into a coherent mass transit system rather than allow it to inefficiently serve as a stand-alone service disconnected from other programs. As our light rail network continues to grow, buses must play a critical role expanding access to it. We should also utilize express buses that run longer routes with coordinated with traffic signal timing, to provide viable choices for long-haul commuters.
A LONG-TERM VISION
Houston’s future demands a multi-modal system, with a light rail network integrated with commuter rail and regional rail, and supported by buses. It’s critical that we lay a foundation to allow us to make the right investments. Peter Brown will build support in the region and the City, using the resources and powers of City Hall, to get this done. To do this, we need to look at ways to expand funding, including aggressively pursuing the City’s share of state and federal funding, and exploring the potential for publicprivate partnerships.
MAKE METRO ACCOUNTABLE
As Mayor, Peter Brown will appoint board members committed to keeping METRO accountable for its promises and stated goals. METRO is responsible for the implementation and management of Houston's public transit and is therefore an important part of increasing our transportation choices. They need to offer increasingly more efficient and frequent service aimed at increasing ridership. Additionally, METRO needs to continue a more open dialogue with the community and business leaders who play an important role in the success of the agency.
The simplest way to reduce congestion is to put fewer cars on the road at the same time. Today, thanks to advances in technology and the growth of the information economy in Houston, many jobs can be done off-site or during off-peak hours. By working with employers and employees, we can promote innovative solutions and commuter options that will save us all time and money, cut congestion, and keep us moving. More »
INCENTIVES FOR FLEXIBLE EMPLOYERS
Employers who help reduce traffic during peak periods and keep us moving should be rewarded for the time and money they are saving all of us. Peter Brown will find ways to provide incentives for companies that offer flexible schedules and stagger shift times to avoid rush hour commutes, based on the amount of traffic that they are able to off-set.
CITY GOVERNMENT MUST LEAD BY EXAMPLE
The City of Houston employs over 20,000 workers. When it comes to keeping us moving, our City departments need to be leaders by embracing scheduling policies that give workers greater flexibility and reduce congestion while maintaining productivity. Peter Brown will reward City employees who carpool to work, and he’ll expand the city’s use of flexible working schedules and staggered shifts. City departments should also explore the role that telecommuting or partial telecommuting can play, which could help save money on overhead costs.
Houston is a big, sprawling city and we’re going to continue to grow. The further away residents live from work, the more time they spend on the road. Unless we start building smarter our traffic problems will only get worse. We need a different approach that focuses on giving residents the choice to live closer to where they work, avoid long commutes, and save time for themselves and their families. More »
GROW CLOSER TOGETHER
We should encourage denser mixed-use growth and development near public transit to help reduce car trips and save time. With shops, amenities, and employers all located close to housing, growing livable, mixed-use centers will help minimize the amount of time residents spend on the road. Similarly, encouraging growth near public transportation will give residents more transportation choices.
AFFORABLE CHOICES NEAR EMPLOYMENT CENTERS
Oftentimes, workers are forced to take long commutes because they can’t afford to live near work. Peter Brown will coordinate our housing policy with our transportation plan and enable workers to live closer to their places of employment. We need to ensure a variety of housing choices so that new development is accessible to the entire community.
ENCOURAGE HIGH-QUALITY URBANIZATION
With nearly a hundred square miles of undeveloped land in Houston, we have a tremendous opportunity to shape our future that few other large cities have. Peter Brown will encourage smart, high-quality development of urban density that improves the quality of life and strengthens neighborhoods. A denser Houston would put workers closer to their jobs, allowing them more choices about the routes they take, including better access to the city’s street grid as an alternative to commutes along primary arterials and highways. Aside from the transportation benefits, it will also reduce response times for emergency services and first responders by keeping population centers closer to public safety facilities.
BUILD THE RIGHT ROADS
We should make sure the roads and streets we build match the character and expected growth of the areas in which they’re built. That way, roads will fit their environment and serve the right function. Industrial thoroughfares shouldn’t force big rigs through quiet neighborhoods like Denver Harbor, and narrow residential streets shouldn’t line commercial districts like Bellaire. Residential neighborhoods should be served by safe, pedestrian-friendly streets.
If we’re going to keep moving, we’ve got to look ahead. We need to lay the foundation for our transportation infrastructure and shape a mobility strategy that will make Houston even better. It requires agile and aggressive thinking, innovation, and most of all, a clear plan for where we want to go. Peter Brown’s Transportation Blueprint will protect our city’s future, building on the best ideas to make them work for Houston. More »
SHAPE A REGIONAL STRATEGY
We need to look at the big picture: how does our transportation thinking integrate with the region and its future. We can work with other cities and other partners in the region to meet transportation challenges by integrating their own projects with ours at every level, getting the most for our money and coordinating our strategy. The entire region has a vested interest in Houston’s success. As Mayor, Peter Brown will work with our neighbors, expanding upon our existing planning efforts to keep the region moving forward.
OUR FAIR SHARE
We have to ensure that we have the resources to keep Houston moving and build the transportation infrastructure we need. Houston received less funding than other cities under the recent federal stimulus package, mostly because our economy has done relatively better than other regions of the country. In the future, we’ll need to make sure that Houston is able to fund the same level of transportation improvements that other cities are currently receiving federal dollars for. Peter Brown will fight to ensure that we receive our share of state and federal funding for our transportation programs.
A STRONGER VOICE IN THE REGION
Despite Houston’s critical role as a regional leader, our city is under-represented on critical decision making boards and bodies, especially the Houston-Galveston Area Council, where we only hold two out of thirty-five seats despite making up over a third of the area’s population. Our city’s future depends on retaining a strong voice and the authority to advocate for the needs of our residents. Peter Brown will work to correct this disparity and make sure that our city retains the authority to make critical decisions for our future to get the results and resources we need.
RESOURCES FOR RESULTS
Some of this can be done by making existing programs work better, finding cost savings elsewhere in the city budget, or securing more in grants. But we may also need to find new sources of funding. We can look to expand the use of targeted reinvestment zones (TIRZ) in Houston, seek out public-private partnerships and joint-venture opportunities, and build on the support of companies who recognize the value of a strong transportation foundation in Houston. And we must continue to grow our local economy with proactive efforts to bring new jobs and new businesses to Houston, expanding our tax base to provide us with additional resources.
A BLUEPRINT ACCOUNTABLE TO ALL OF HOUSTON
We need to shape a real, detailed, and forward-looking plan for our city’s transportation future. Investing now in more efficient solutions will help save taxpayer money. By broadening the ability of residents to provide input on transportation planning that affects them, we can do more to make our city responsive and our government more accountable. Peter Brown will open up city government, increasing opportunities for concerned residents to weigh in on their city’s future.
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