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Post by Minion on Feb 6, 2018 17:10:24 GMT -6
If the valley's MPO do merge, I'll be keeping a close eye on how the money is distributed. I still don't favor a merger but seems like this is what may end up being... Pretty sure everyone will be keeping a close eye on how money is distributed. But you must know, deep down, that the larger county will get proportionally, more money. The money needs to go where the need is greater. Brownsville has done fantastic with their toll road pulling traffic away from 77/83. Hidalgo County needs bypasses like that. Highway 365 is on it's way along Military Highway already. Funding is needed to connect to I-2 and then to I-69. Until then, it's going to get much much worse. Have you ever been in Hidalgo County during either rush hour? It's like you're driving in San Antonio - along I-2 starting on the east just outside Alamo all the way to around the Ware/Shary exit.. and north along I-69 all the way past Owassa/Trenton exit. That's not to say the streets around town are any better. All the main roads intersection stop lights will take you 3 maybe 4 rounds to get through. And the interchange? HORRIBLE. Luckily, that $150 million has already been earmarked for the interchange and construction should start right after the McAllen construction is over - so that shouldn't be an issue for an MPO merger.
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Post by Minion on Feb 6, 2018 17:16:47 GMT -6
It will be a matter of time when all valley MPOs merge so why not have a discussion on light rail in the valley. Where a light rail could be beneficial and possible routes. Building more highways/roads only leads to more congestion and that extra "$11M" in additional funding will never be enough to keep up with traffic. I do believe that our leaders read our discussion and hopefully they can see a need for alternative transportation. I don't want our valley to become another Houston, a monstrocity of roads and congestion...Dallas/Ft Worth or even San Antonio. More roads = more congestion. Lets see light rail or monorail...Let the discussion begin Light Rail would be awesome to all the different colleges and universities and major shopping areas. It will take many years to get people to use light rail instead of driving. That's just what the culture is down here, unfortunately. But it has to start somewhere. The Metro buses in the area are never full - people just don't know the schedules or don't trust it or are scared to try it. I'd give anything to hop on a train and kick back on my way to the island... or the zoo... or to the mall or to all the restaurants on Ware... to avoid traffic and hunting for a parking spot. I see the MPOs (or hopefully MPO) using the money to catch up on needed roads before they start considering any different options like light rail or more buses, etc.
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Post by Minion on Mar 7, 2018 9:37:07 GMT -6
SAN BENITO — Officials say they are continuing to discuss and weigh bylaws for a possible merger of the Rio Grande Valley’s three metropolitan planning organizations. Those bylaws, submitted to the Harlingen-San Benito MPO board by TxDOT officials, have not been made public. “We’re working through the legalities of what a merger would look like, and we continue to negotiate that,” Harlingen City Manager Dan Serna said in an interview. “It has to be something that works and is viable for everyone involved.” The merger of the Valley’s three MPOs has been discussed, debated, and tossed back and forth for about five years. A unified agency could mean tens of millions of extra dollars in highway funding for the Valley, some say. All three of the Valley’s MPOs — Brownsville, Harlingen-San Benito and Hidalgo County — would have to agree to the merger to ensure the regional agency represents a population of more than one million. If one of the MPOs balks, the whole merger idea dies. And once a merger is agreed upon to form a single unified Valley MPO, there’s no going back to the way it stands now. “I know that you’ve been working for years, and I think that we should move on this quickly and move diligently,” County Commissioner David A. Garza said last month at the Harlingen-San Benito MPO meeting. “We’re making sure that we cross all our Ts and dot all our Is, and make sure that everyone’s interest is protected — ours, San Benito’s, the MPO here,” Serna said. www.brownsvilleherald.com/news/valley/mpo-merger-might-be-coming-into-focus/article_a0c9ca5e-1f59-11e8-b74b-c741ab55df41.html
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Post by Minion on Mar 23, 2018 9:06:30 GMT -6
I think the difference between the Hidalgo County MPO, the Brownsville MPO and Harlingen MPO is that the Hidalgo County MPO already works together in tandem with the entire county. They've proven that they can work with others. McAllen isn't the bully Cameron folks make it to be. The board spends where it's needed the most for the benefit of everyone.
Brownsville and Harlingen spend it within their own city limits. And that's fine if that's what they want to do. But we are losing out on so much $$ by having 3 separate MPOs. And the state and the larger MPOs are happy to keep it this way. They get a bigger share of the pie.
If we merge, will Brownsville and Harlingen stick together on votes against Hidalgo County? Can we expect the same from the big 4 in Hidalgo County? Should Brownsville get an extra vote because of it's size? Should other cities get a 1/2 vote?
In order for the merged MPO to work, each larger/medium city has to have at least one vote. What would be the cutoff for members on the new merged MPO Board?
Larger cities over 100,000 should get 1 vote for sure : Brownsville, McAllen Medium cities over 75,000 get 1 vote as well: Edinburg, Mission, Pharr and Harlingen (if they've gone past 75,000 in the new census. The others are already over 75k).
Do the above cities get priority over small cities like San Juan or San Benito? I'd say so because the need would be greater in more populated areas that may need that expanded roadway or new bridge, etc. And i believe that's how it already works right now.
Our roadways are already overcrowded. We need more money. The only way the state is going to pony up is if we merge the MPOs.
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Post by Minion on Mar 26, 2018 7:43:29 GMT -6
RGV 'mega-MPO' needed Residents of Cameron and Hidalgo counties could be beneficiaries of increased road and highway resources to strengthen the transportation infrastructure and economic development opportunities in our region if a strategic, regional collaborative is created: merging individual Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) into one mega-MPO. Putting individual differences aside, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston-Galveston, Austin-San Marcos, and San Antonio-New Braunfels-Seguin, have all merged to create four separate mega-MPOs to gain a competitive advantage to win over greater transportation resources to benefit their constituents. As the Rio Grande Valley continues to experience unprecedented growth, the economic vitality of our region hinges on one simple question: Will we be satisfied with the status quo — competing against each other for the same transportation dollars? Or we will capitalize on our unique resources and merge into a powerhouse MPO and provide our residents the same competitive edge that the four mega-MPOs enjoy? The Federal Aid Highway Act of 1962 established MPOs to direct federal transportation dollars for regional projects. Although 25 MPOs exist in our state, only four have overcome parochial barriers and unified within their region to strengthen their ability to leverage increased road and highway dollars. The four mega-MPOs mentioned above each serve regions that exceed one million people and enjoy a competitive advantage of accessing transportation programs that require such a population to receive program funds. Over 80 percent of money disbursed to MPOs (83 percent) is distributed to these four, while the remaining 17 percent is awarded to the state’s 21 other MPOs, including the three in the RGV (Brownsville MPO, Harlingen-San Benito MPO, and Hidalgo County MPO). The Valley should not be satisfied by being relegated to competing for only one-fifth of all available funds available among the 21 remaining MPOs of our state. Rather, our region should work to maximize our local resources and strategically combine ourselves into one mega-MPO. This concept has the support from Gov. Greg Abbott and the chairman of the Texas Transportation Commission. Unfortunately, while the Valley has been debating the MPO merger over the last five years, differences of opinion and contrasting points of view have inhibited the full potential of what could be realized if our region could find the appropriate way to overcome these impasses and capitalize on the strength of our communities. As the Valley continues to grow, the merging of our three local MPOs is a conversation that has the potential for providing our communities strategic access to millions of dollars in additional funding. The benefits of merging are numerous. With a mega-MPO the Valley could become a powerhouse and compete for levels of funding historically awarded to the large four mega-MPOs. According to Pete Alvarez, district engineer for TXDOT, the combined population and traffic counts of the areas served by the current Valley MPOs, could potentially increase formula-funding by an estimated $11 million per year. A united Valley MPO would be eligible for funding intended for rural connectivity, giving us the ability to improve the quality of future interstate corridors north of Raymondville and along US 281, as well as other rural projects. A realized merger would also grant the Valley the ability to fight for different categories of formula-based funding that would only be possible through a regional effort. Lastly, a mega-MPO would also overcome our eligibility barriers that have prevented our region from accessing a discretionary fund of over $1 billion dollars intended for large-scale projects. The future of the Valley is at our grasp. We can join hands and work together toward a more prosperous region, and ensure our constituents get all the benefits of collective leveraging of transportation funds. Or we can continue to be relegated to competing for a fraction of all the funds available with five times as many competitors. A more vibrant and economically stronger Valley requires us to reflect on what we want the future of the Valley to be. I, for one, urge our Valley communities to unite for a greater share of transportation funds. State Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr., D-Brownsville, is chairman of the Senate Committee on Intergovernmental Relations and vice-chairman of the Senate Education Committee. He is a member of the Senate committees on State Affairs, Veterans Affairs & Border Security. His Senate district includes Cameron, Hidalgo, Kenedy, Kleberg, and Willacy counties. www.themonitor.com/opinion/columnists/article_da7ebfc0-2fad-11e8-9433-1b6d4ef04f51.html
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Post by miles on Mar 27, 2018 7:40:06 GMT -6
We keep hearing from all these leaders as to why it should happen. Yet no one is stepping up and saying why it shouldn't.
FEAR of the unknown is not a reason. The smaller cities around Houston, Austin, San Antonio and Dallas have merged to great benefit. Why not us?
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Post by btx on Mar 27, 2018 10:14:28 GMT -6
We keep hearing from all these leaders as to why it should happen. Yet no one is stepping up and saying why it shouldn't. FEAR of the unknown is not a reason. The smaller cities around Houston, Austin, San Antonio and Dallas have merged to great benefit. Why not us? No true. Mr. Martinez, Brownsvill Mayor, clearly spelled out the reason on a MPO meeting. I saw the video either in this forum or the other. Don't have time to look it up but you can if you have time. He doesn't say no directly and idefinately but there are a lot of reasons he is not support it in the current form as of right now.
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Post by vyzee on Mar 27, 2018 11:58:15 GMT -6
We keep hearing from all these leaders as to why it should happen. Yet no one is stepping up and saying why it shouldn't. FEAR of the unknown is not a reason. The smaller cities around Houston, Austin, San Antonio and Dallas have merged to great benefit. Why not us? No true. Mr. Martinez, Brownsvill Mayor, clearly spelled out the reason on a MPO meeting. I saw the video either in this forum or the other. Don't have time to look it up but you can if you have time. He doesn't say no directly and idefinately but there are a lot of reasons he is not support it in the current form as of right now. All I say is I'm surprised that Harlingen and Brownsville never merged their MPO's to be one county wide MPO like Hidalgo County is.
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Post by miles on Mar 27, 2018 13:11:29 GMT -6
We keep hearing from all these leaders as to why it should happen. Yet no one is stepping up and saying why it shouldn't. FEAR of the unknown is not a reason. The smaller cities around Houston, Austin, San Antonio and Dallas have merged to great benefit. Why not us? No true. Mr. Martinez, Brownsvill Mayor, clearly spelled out the reason on a MPO meeting. I saw the video either in this forum or the other. Don't have time to look it up but you can if you have time. He doesn't say no directly and idefinately but there are a lot of reasons he is not support it in the current form as of right now. I saw that video. It is true though. Fear of the unknown is what's keeping him from going for it. They're scared that they'll end up with less money. They're scared that they won't have a say (hello! Brownsville is the largest city in the RGV). They're scared that other areas in other cities might get priority over their own. It's more money for everyone for their projects. We either get a share of 80% of the money as ONE MPO like the other big 4 MPOs... or we get smaller shares as THREE MPOs as part of the 20% that's left.
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Post by miles on Mar 27, 2018 13:14:19 GMT -6
No true. Mr. Martinez, Brownsvill Mayor, clearly spelled out the reason on a MPO meeting. I saw the video either in this forum or the other. Don't have time to look it up but you can if you have time. He doesn't say no directly and idefinately but there are a lot of reasons he is not support it in the current form as of right now. All I say is I'm surprised that Harlingen and Brownsville never merged their MPO's to be one county wide MPO like Hidalgo County is. For the same reason they won't merge with Hidalgo's MPO. FEAR. Can you imagine if McAllen, Edinburg, Pharr and Mission had their own MPO too? Weslaco is almost at the 50,000 threshold too. We'd have FIVE MPOs in Hidalgo County and we'd get squat! A slice of a bigger pie is better than a slice of a smaller pie.
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