Montgomery County Road Bond Rejection

[ADCS]

http://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Montgomery-County-voters-nix-road-bond-6253824.php?t=ce987d6e4b&cmpid=twitter-premium

 

So what happens now? I can't imagine development interests are thrilled about this. Will they go to the Legislature as a workaround?

[Luminare]

There are many reasons why voters killed this but most of it stems from the fact that they completely botched the reconstruction of Woodlands Parkway over the past few years. A project that was suppose to be finished in a single season dragged on for several years and that sticks in peoples minds. Unlike some bond failures where sometimes its just tax payers not wanting to pay more needed improvements, this failure seems to be a message from voters that the system in which these projects are carried out needs to fundamentally change! The best course of action is for the state to roll out a new procedure. Start with smaller projects and make those projects very visible to the public eye. Complete them in a timely manner and then try to reintroduce this extension further down the line. That is the only way I see this ever going forward.

 

The opposite of this coin is the fact that The Woodlands is clearly becoming a tax haven of sorts for those who don't wish to participate in large city tax funded projects or see their money being allocated for government expenditures such as infrastructure, utilities, municipal services, etc... The Woodlands is about to hit a tipping point where simply leaching off Houston services will cease to be acceptable practice. Thats when they will have their "come to Jesus" moment and have to incorporate in order to get things done such as infrastructure projects.

[ADCS]

Would you happen to know more about why the Woodlands Parkway reconstruction was delayed for so long? I've long thought that the approach that they're taking was misguided - they need grade separation at major interchanges more than anything.