T official makes the rounds in D.C., but misses Pelosi

I just spoke with Fort Worth Transportation Authority board member Rosa Navejar, who is in Washington meeting with officials to stress the importance of long-term funding for buses and rail. Navejar had hoped to meet with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi Wednesday afternoon, but the speaker was called away. So instead, Navejar, president of the Fort Worth Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and a delegation of transportation advocates met with Pelosi's senior advisors.

They also met with Congressman James Oberstar, the Minnesota Democrat who chairs the House transportation committee, on behalf of the American Public Transportation Association. During the past year, Congress has passed temporary extensions of the federal transportation bill, rather than creating a more comprehensive bill that would provide funding for five or six years.

State and local governments, including transit agencies such as the T, say they need long-term funding because so many of their projects take years to build. The T, for example, is trying to raise $500 million-plus to build a commuter rail line from southwest Fort Worth to Grapevine, and plans to ask Congress for a federal grant for half the project.

"I told them I started riding the bus at age 18 and that's how I got to work because I didn't have a car. We were a one-car family," Navejar said during a phone call.

Of the group's goal in Washington, Navejar said, "We want a bill that pays for projects so we can really improve transportation and people can achieve a better quality of life."

— Gordon Dickson

Comments

[Garl Boyd Latham]

I wonder why ANYONE would want to meet with Pelosi; but, then again, who cares?!

I also wonder why, grammatically (or semantically), we should ever speak of "buses and rail." The phrase should either be "buses and trains" or "road and rail" - right?

Whatever. It's been a long and fairly depressing day...

Garl

[Gordon]

Sorry to add to your bad day, Garl. I meant to write "buses and rail lines," which is still probably not an ideal grammatical structure.

[judge_bill]

It would be nice if the T cameos to Summersfield and NFW, we must be the only part of Fort Worth that doesn't have hourly service.

[DEKARONデカロン-RMT]

In Texas you are issued two license plates and you must have both on your vehicle. Sorry you don't think it looks good, but that's the law, and I wish every person who didn't display both plates or display them correctly would be issued citations.