Texas transportation officials will spend the month considering the state's Unified Transportation Program, which could greenlight construction on some $70.2 billion in highway construction between 2017 and 2026.

Dug Begley reports: "Texas' 10-year plan for transportation, which reflects the state's traditional mindset centered on road building rather than greater investment in alternative forms of commuter travel, is expected to send billions of dollars more to expand Houston-area highways, including some of the region's most sought-after freeway projects."
Contrast that statement with the recent CityMap report produced by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), which considered ideas for removing and rerouting some of the urban highways located around Dallas.
The plan under consideration in Begley's article, however, is called the Unified Transportation Program—"a blueprint for non-maintenance work on Texas roadways using state dollars via the Texas Department of Transportation." According to Begley, the "Texas Transportation Commission is scheduled to approve the long-term program on Aug. 25. Texans have until Aug. 22 to comment on the plan before it is approved."
FULL STORY: Big Houston-area freeway projects to take shape with state windfall

Alabama: Trump Terminates Settlements for Black Communities Harmed By Raw Sewage
Trump deemed the landmark civil rights agreement “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

The 120 Year Old Tiny Home Villages That Sheltered San Francisco’s Earthquake Refugees
More than a century ago, San Francisco mobilized to house thousands of residents displaced by the 1906 earthquake. Could their strategy offer a model for the present?

In Both Crashes and Crime, Public Transportation is Far Safer than Driving
Contrary to popular assumptions, public transportation has far lower crash and crime rates than automobile travel. For safer communities, improve and encourage transit travel.

Report: Zoning Reforms Should Complement Nashville’s Ambitious Transit Plan
Without reform, restrictive zoning codes will limit the impact of the city’s planned transit expansion and could exclude some of the residents who depend on transit the most.

Judge Orders Release of Frozen IRA, IIJA Funding
The decision is a victory for environmental groups who charged that freezing funds for critical infrastructure and disaster response programs caused “real and irreparable harm” to communities.
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