Isn’t it interesting the different reactions that Anne Linehan, Charles Kuffner and Tory Gattis had to the 2007 Houston Area Survey regarding transit options? The Chronicle and other light rail enthusiasts immediately seized upon the survey as evidence that Houston-area residents want to dump more money into the light rail money pit.
But the problem with such surveys is that they generally ask people questions in a vacuum and do not address Peter Gordon’s three elegantly simple questions regarding economic choices:
1) At what cost?
2) Compared to what? and
3) How do you know?
For example, assume for a moment that the persons surveyed were informed of the fact that the average urban freeway lane costs about $10 million per mile and that the average light rail line costs about $50 million per mile while carrying only one-fifth as many people as the freeway lane. And these are only average figures — as Randal O’Toole recently pointed out, Seattle’s recently rejected light rail expansion was projected to cost $250 million per mile, a whopping 125 times more expensive at moving people than a freeway.
Moreover, let’s also assume that the persons surveyed are informed that the expenditure of a billion or so of public money on expanding a poorly-used light rail system has real consequences, such as leaving inadequate funds to make improvements to Houston’s infrastructure that would dramatically decrease the risk of death and property damage from flooding. Or whether the billion or so being flushed down the light rail drain would be better used to fix various area traffic “hotspots” where accidents or bottlenecks occur with high frequency.
No one knows for sure, but my bet is that the survey results would be dramatically different if the foregoing costs and alternatives were included as a part of the survey. It’s a shame that neither the City’s current leaders nor the mainstream media are asking the simple questions set forth above that would generate a meaningful cost-benefit analysis and ensuing well-informed debate regarding continued investment in expensive public works projects such as Metro’s light rail system.
Instead, we get this:

Metro executive vice president John Sedlak led off [a presentation to the Transportation Policy Council, a group of elected officials and agency staffers that sets priorities for transportation spending in the 13-county Gulf Coast planning region] with a slide show describing the [proposed Metro University light rail line] project and told the panel its approval was needed so Metro could get federal funding and start engineering work.
If there was a short delay, Holm asked, “What would be the consequence?”
Sedlak replied that the project is on “an aggressive schedule” and that a delay “would send a message to Washington that there are issues with our overall program.”
Holm asked why Washington would think there were issues and not just loose ends to tie up.
“They watch every activity that takes place very carefully,” Sedlak said. “The federal government is aware we are having this meeting today.”
Holm asked what the application deadline was. Sedlak said it was “in the month of December.”
“If the delay was just a few days, would it jeopardize the funding of the entire program?” Holm asked.
“I truly believe it could,” Sedlak replied.
Kemah Mayor Bill King had questions, too.
How many more passengers would the rail carry than the buses on Richmond do now?
Sedlak said he did not know, but Metro could get him the answer.
King asked how the line would impact traffic on Richmond.
Sedlak said there would be some negative effects, but the finished line should “take vehicles off the street.” Numerical estimates are in the line’s environmental impact document, he said.
Holm spoke again, her voice a little shaky.
“There are cities,” she said, “that have never been turned down for a funding request. It’s not because they agree on everything they want. It’s because they do their due diligence and they do their battles at home.
“We need to still build consensus in this community. We need to be able to walk hand-in-hand in supporting a project,” she said.

Update: As usual, Tory Gattis has additional insightful thoughts.