Texas Downtown Association

Click Here for the following Resources

Sample Letters
National Map of Transportation Projects by County
List of Immediate affected projects and proposals
Letter sent by TXDOT to Texas communities

February 19, 2007

Texas downtowns nominated to national list of threatened places

The downtowns of Texas were nominated to the list of the 11 Most Endangered Historic Places to call attention to the funding crisis caused by the halt of Texas' Transportation Enhancements Program. Many thanks to all the organizations, individuals and communities who submitted a letter of support for our effort. The announcement of the 11 Most Endangered Historic Places list of the National Trust for Historic Preservation will be made in May, 2007. We will be sure to keep you updated. Click here for more information about the 11 Most Endangered Historic Places list.

Transportation Enhancements Program still halted

As you know, the move by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) to halt Texas' transportation enhancements program still stands. The Texas Downtown Association continues to work on behalf of Texas downtowns to return this funding back to the communities where it belongs. In this endeavor, there are many partners, including Preservation Texas, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the Texas Bicycle Coalition, to name a few.

1. In January, the Texas Senate Transportation and Homeland Security Committee Chair, John Carona, issued Senate Resolution 2, which calls on TxDOT cease efforts to influence Congress and other states for changes in federal law relating to the statewide transportation enhancement program. While SR 2 doesn't directly address the current funding cuts, it's important that we let the committee know the impact the current funding cuts are having on your communities. SR 2 will be given a public hearing at the next meeting of the Senate Transportation and Homeland Security Committee meeting, February 21 at 8:30 am in Austin in the Capitol Extension, Room E1.016 Hearing Room. Link to the Hearing Agenda. Please try you best to attend and speak about the effect of the Transportation Enhancement Funding Cuts. We will be there on your behalf as well. Please email info@texasdowntown.org if you plan to attend.

2. Since December 2006, we have had a presence at every TxDOT monthly meeting. TxDOT has never had a hearing or even put the Transportation Enhancements issue on their agenda, but we encourage our members and all affected parties to speak during the open comment period. The next monthly meeting of the TxDOT commissioners will be February 28 at 9am in Austin. Click here to link to the agenda. We encourage you to attend. We think that our continued presence is critical. When you arrive, simply ask for a comment card. Fill out the card and return it to the receptionist. You will be called to speak for 3 minutes. Please let the commissioners know how devastating these cuts are to your community. Any information about the economic impact of the Transportation Enhancements Program will be helpful. Please email info@texasdowntown.org if you plan to attend.

5. Send a letter to the commissioners of the Texas Department of Transportation and let them know what impact of their decision to cut the Transportation Enhancements Program: Link to a sample letter.

Texas Department of Transportation
Ric Williamson, Chair
Hope Andrade, Commissioner
Ted Houghton, Commissioner
Ned S. Holmes, Commissioner
Fred A. Underwood, Commissioner

Update-January 10, 2006

Pressure mounts for TxDOT to reverse Enhancement funding cuts

Last week, Senator John J. Carona (R) of Dallas introduced a Senate Resolution calling for the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) to restore funding for the Transportation Enhancement Program. Please contact your state senators and ask them to support Sen. Carona's resolution. Communities are also encouraged to attend TxDOT's monthly meeting in Duncanville, Jan. 25, 2007 (Agenda). Attendees may sign up to speak at the open comment period. It's critical that your opposition to the funding cuts be heard. If you plan to attend, please email info@texasdowntown.org.

Please scroll to the bottom of the page for links and resources relating to the Transportation Enhancements funding crisis.

Update-December 18, 2006

Last week, the Texas Downtown Association (TDA) testified on your behalf at the monthly meeting of the Texas Department of Transportation. Kim McKnight, executive director of TDA, was joined by our partners across the state, including Preservation Texas, Texas Heritage Trails Program, the City of Eden, Texas Bicycle Coalition, the City of Austin, the Texas Historical Commission and others. Our goal was to assess the situation and make our opposition known. We also requested hearings across the state so that Texas communities could present their cases against the Transportation Enhancement funding cuts. The commissioners listened to our many valid and well-presented concerns and thanked us for our comments, but no action was taken and the situation remains the same. Transcripts from the meeting will be available soon. Please check the following link: Link the TxDOT commission meeting transcripts

It was clear to us that we MUST continue to make our voices heard. We need to have a presence at all TxDOT commission meetings in the coming months. We recommend that communities in the metroplex mark their calendars for the next TxDOT commission meeting, Jan. 25, 2007 in Duncanville, TX. Link to the Jan. 25 draft agenda

Please continue to contact the governor, your legislators and TxDOT commissions. Contact information and many resources, including a sample letter, are listed below.

Act now to save the Transportation Enhancements Program

State transportation officials have abruptly ceased to fund the Transportation Enhancement Program, which has long benefited Texas downtowns and heritage tourism programs aimed at rural Texas. The agency has denied funding to hundreds of projects and programs, including the Texas Heritage Trails Program of the Texas Historical Commission. Have you taken time to contact the governor, legislators and transportation officials?

For 15 years, hundreds of communities have utilized the enhancement program for downtown streetscape projects, visitor centers, historic preservation projects and hike and bike trails. More than $466 million has been distributed to 505 different enhancement projects since 1991.

U.S. Code for the Surface Transportation Program (23 USC 133) as well as SAFETEA-LU (Public Law 109-59) says that 10 percent of federal transportation funding is to go to enhancement projects, but now the Texas Department of Transportation has decided, on its own and without consulting state legislators, to take away this valuable source of funding for important projects that improve Texas communities of all sizes.

From downtown streetscape improvement projects in Mineola, Tyler, Bowie and the Clarendon Railroad Depot Museum to the Historic Rodgers Street Bridge Rehabilitation in Waxahachie and the Fort Worth Trinity River Trail Extension, these funds have had an enormous impact on Texas.

See for yourself what countless communities have been able to achieve with transportation enhancement funding. Be sure to check "Texas" and check all the years since 1992 in your search.

Nearly all of the funding for the highly-acclaimed, award-winning Texas Heritage Trails Program came from the Transportation Enhancement Program. The Texas Heritage Trails Program provides technical, financial and marketing assistance to heritage regions across Texas. Since 1997, the program has revitalized local economies, increased visitation to cultural and historic sites and raised the awareness of the importance of historic preservation to the tourism industry.

If you disagree with the Department of Transportation's decision to cut funding of the Transportation Enhancement Program, following are steps you can take to make your voice heard. Please alert your mayors, council members, city managers and county officials.