WHEREAS the Harris County Metropolitan Transit Authority (METRO) has put forward Metro Transit Authority Prop A, a ballot measure to create bond authority for the implementation of a public transit expansion popularly known as “METRO Next”;

WHEREAS the METRO Next plan represents a $3.5 billion public investment in transit infrastructure, including 75 miles of new bus rapid transit service, 16 miles of new light rail service, 110 miles of dedicated regional bus transit, and 290 miles of improved local bus service;

WHEREAS unlike highway projects, which are imposed on our communities for the benefit of the wealthy business interests and real estate developers, METRO Next is designed to seek and incorporate input from the communities it impacts and make decisions based on public need;

WHEREAS increasing ridership and participation in public transit is a positive step toward raising public consciousness around democratic decision-making, public ownership, and the necessity of de-commodifying public spaces, and growing public demand for more equitable transit infrastructure, urban planning, and development geared toward communities and human need;

WHEREAS transit is inextricably linked to housing justice, as one’s proximity to employment, education, health care, and public services is a function of one’s access to transit and affordable housing, all while Houston’s dependence on highways and automobiles underpins an economic structure that creates wealth for developers and landowners at the expense of the working class;

WHEREAS eliminating dependence on fossil fuels and rapidly moving to denser, more sustainable models of development are key components to reverse climate change, equitably address those effects of climate change already present, and build an ecologically sustainable economy and society;

WHEREAS in advancing the above the METRO Next plan furthers DSA’s vision of a humane social order based on popular control of resources and production, economic planning, equitable distribution, feminism, racial equality and non-oppressive relationships;

BE IT RESOLVED Houston DSA endorses a YES vote on Metro Transit Authority Prop A, METRO Next, and shall publicly advocate for this position through mass communication, voter contact, and other means.

Passed at the Houston DSA October 2019 General Meeting.