While state leaders remain silent, federal transportation officials are touting the proposed project’s benefits.

Plans for a high-speed train between Dallas and Houston are becoming more and more real as passenger rail projects around the nation gain steam, reports Benjamin Schneider in Bloomberg CityLab. Texas Central, the authority overseeing the project, says the project would use Japanese Shinkansen technology, a type of high-speed rail not yet available in the United States.
“The 240-mile Dallas to Houston corridor, with a stop in the Brazos Valley serving Texas A&M University, is ideal for high-speed rail,” according to Amtrak’s Senior Vice President for High-Speed Rail Development Programs Andy Byford. But the project would cost upwards of $30 billion and require the acquisition of private property. Meanwhile, the state has remained silent on any level of financial support.
Hopes for the project, which was first proposed in 2009, grew last year when Amtrak and Texas Central announced they are ‘exploring’ a partnership that would have Amtrak operate the future line. “How, exactly, Texas Central and Amtrak would work together remains unclear.” A 2017 Texas law outlaws using state funds for privately operated high-speed rail, but Schneider points out that “It’s not clear whether an Amtrak-led but partially privately funded project would be barred from funding under this law.”
FULL STORY: The Dream of a Texas Bullet Train Lives On

New Florida Law Curbs HOA Power
The legislation seeks to cut down on ‘absurd’ citations for low-level violations.

New Tennessee Law Allows No-Cost Incentives for Affordable Housing
Local governments in the Volunteer State can now offer developers incentives like increased density, lower parking requirements, and priority permitting for affordable housing projects.

Planners’ Complicity in Excessive Traffic Deaths
Professor Wes Marshall’s provocatively-titled new book, "Killed by a Traffic Engineer," has stimulated fierce debates. Are his criticisms justified? Let’s examine the degree that traffic engineers contribute to avoidable traffic deaths.

Study: Housing Crisis is About Affordability, not Supply
New research shows that there is no overall shortage of housing units, but all U.S. metropolitan areas face a severe lack of affordable units for low-income renters.

Are Race-Based Lawsuits Affecting Community Lenders?
Shelterforce spoke with community lending leaders and experts about the current mood across the sector. What, if anything, are organizations doing to avoid becoming the next target of conservative activists?

New Park Promotes Community and Connectivity in Lewisville, Texas
The city of Lewisville just celebrated the opening of Glory Park/Parque la Gloria, helping to improve park access and the quality of life for residents.
City of Madera
City of Santa Clarita
Borough of Carlisle
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Colorado Energy Office
Pima County Community College District
City of Piedmont, CA
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