 Welcome to today's, today's vital conversations with our community equity and transportation routes to opportunity, a conversation between interfaith ministries and link Houston. Interfaith ministries is pleased to be able to host these virtual conversations on topics with people and organizations in our community addressing crucial issues. We offer our thanks for the support of Citgo Petroleum Corporation as the sponsor of our whole 2021 series, before I proceed just a reminder that this event is being recorded. Thanks. Thank you to all of you joining us in zoom please keep yourselves muted and please open your chat box to send me questions along the way we welcome as those those who are joining on Facebook live which we are having a quick technical difficulty and we will resolve momentarily. The vital conversations emerged after the shooting of George Floyd a son of Houston's third ward in June of 2020 in Minneapolis. We brought our three amigos, Reverend William Lawson, Archbishop Joe Fiorenza and the late Rabbi Sam Karf to begin the series. It would be the final time that the three amigos would be together in the same space. A group of other conversations followed, and we've got those available for you to view on our website and I'll give you some information on that in just a second. Please visit IMGH org to learn more about Interfaith Ministries work and also how to donate at IMGH org you can also learn more about our work overall in the community. And as I just mentioned, you can learn more about our 2021 series as well. You will have the opportunity to register for our August and September vital conversations episodes including our upcoming dialogue on August titled indomitable spirit the strength of artistic expression with leaders from the ensemble theater. Come here more about this vital Houston institution which preserves and shares the power of African American artistic expression. You can also access a study guide that you can use with our five episodes from our 2020 vital conversations series. Today, our theme is equity and transportation. I've lived in Houston since 1998 and transportation is just figuratively and literally part of the background noise of our lives in the Bayou city. Growing up in a small town in Wisconsin and then living for nearly 10 years in two cities on the East Coast one with subways and commuter trains and more traditional urban course Houston was a change for me. The greater Houston area was built on two things air conditioning and cars and with cars often carrying one or maybe two people has come our sprawling highway system. In my 23 years here I've watched the I 10 expansion and also the I 610 West loop modification, if not two if or not three modifications. For me it's just become part of what we gripe about and what we live with. It's just part of doing business in Houston. I look at transportation in Houston like air essential sort of part of our automatic rituals of life, but I've also been fortunate to have access to carry the metaphor even further to have access to this clean air. But the essential nature of transportation the fact that it is the lifeblood of commerce opportunity economy and people being able to put food on their tables means it needs perhaps the most amount of care and scrutiny. And understanding about how transportation affects the ways that people live our lives and how transportation effects are creating a fair society. That's why this topic fits within the goals of vital conversations and why we've asked link Houston to join us. Link Houston founded in 2017 believes that transportation how we get where we need to go should not be a barrier to accessing jobs education healthcare shopping or anything else with we need in our lives. And so we welcome Ashley Johnson who is link Houston's director of Community Affairs where he monitors and develop strategy for link Houston's engagement and coalition building with neighborhood residents, peer advocacy advocacy organizations and civic stakeholders. Through cultivating relationships at the grass root level. Ashley seeks to empower members of the community to use their voice and establishing two way relationships with decision makers, plus organizing to increase awareness and make advance and advance effective change. And we also welcome Jonathan Brooks who is link Houston's director of policy and planning, and he brings an innovative and data focused approach to transportation equity advocacy and research. He actively participates in planning processes in Houston with the lens of equity for people walking rolling biking and riding local bus transit. Let me with that. I'm going to go ahead and and our slideshow and turn to our questions and let me just stop the share and be able to see Jonathan Brooks and Ashley Johnson thanks for being with us for our opening vital conversation for this for this 2021 season. Let's let's start with the first question. By learning a little more about your work, can you tell us about link Houston what do you want people to know about your work and why is it important. Greg Reverend Han, thank you so much for the opportunity of presenting today as part of the vital conversation series and thanks to your colleagues there at our faith ministries. A little bit about us organizationally, as you said, our founding is in 2017 and it really came out of a conversation that was being discussed concerning transportation and housing. It's really a dialogue that said the housing resource within the city we knew was limited, but also the resource for people who were living in affordable housing, and how they were getting the resources that they needed every day. How those two topics intersected, but where the gaps were maybe where they could seek and finding options or solutions to them. And I think that brain trust of people from whether they be residents of community whether they be civic leaders whether they be stakeholders and organizations is some of the impetus and how link Houston came to be since then, in about four years now, we have really tried to be a thought leader in some of this space and really fill a niche in an area where we could provide support to communities using data analysis and also using public narrative to find our own voice. And really for us, the conversation of transportation intersect so many areas, accessibility for people of varying ability access to jobs and, and just workforce development, health care and access to reaching just a doctor or something and education for families who are taking their kids to and from school, and, and just other aspects that you may see that have really revealed themselves during COVID-19 such as food security and other matters like that. As you said, we really envision a space where everybody is not tied to a car to get around where it is that they need to be. We're not saying don't use them, but we're saying should have a network that has options for people to use. Whatever happens, it really makes the city better. And we're talking also about things like safer and accessible conditions for people who walk by can roll and also just reliable public transit and the network that we have which makes our area better here. Super thanks. You heard my opening Congress comments about transportation, and I think of it like running water and I assume it would be there and only think about it when something goes wrong. Transportation is also a big word that covers a lot of things. What do you find that people are surprised about when you start talking about transportation issues in the Houston area. That's that question Greg. We thought about this a lot and one thing I would point out about link Houston and transportation in general is that it, it's such a large shared interest that touches our lives in so many different ways products we have access to buy the store reaching stores, both to purchase things but also to work and other aspects of our life that it's for those of us who have means have physical ability and access to a car. There are challenges enough, like with traffic, for example and safety on our streets. But I'd like to ask a few questions to help everyone think about kind of what what they might be surprised by. And these are, I hope these set of questions, which will be rhetorical. There's no quiz there's no, there are right and wrong answers right but really it's thought exercise. Think about these, form an answer in their mind, and then kind of gauge how close they were, and I'll ask a series of questions that kind of cover the gamut of what we'll talk about today. One of those is about how many households in Houston. Do you think don't have any access to a vehicle. So we think of Houston as a car centric city. How many households do live in Houston and function in Houston, without a vehicle. I'd like to answer your mind. I would ask a percent of households but really want to talk about like actual number of households, about 91,000 households, you know, a good portion and some communities that's as much as 20 to 25% of the of all households. And they aren't just households that are in central areas, cashmere gardens in the Northeast, and many of the surrounding neighborhoods, many people work and live without a vehicle. I have a question here. And thinking about safety on our streets for people walking and biking annually there's a report called dangerous by design that's a national report and it ranks metro areas around safety for people walking on our streets using sidewalks. Out of 100 metro areas ranked based on last year's data, you know, during 2020. What is Houston's rank, how bad or good are we where do we fall in that 100 metro areas. Are we better than most are we worse than most. Think for a second where you hope we would fall we could hope we would be 100 we'd be the best metro area. In fact, in 2020 were the 18th, which is a modest improvement. In the prior years where we are even, even lower in the rank of really we're only Texas is mostly only saved to come to traffic safety by Florida and a few parts of the Southwest that consistently do worse, but we have a significant issue on our streets, and both providing safe infrastructure for people walking and rolling and biking, and in fact our behaviors and how we how we really accommodate those. Another question here. This is more of a true or false. And this is about the difference in how people use local bus versus light rail. Compared to our commuter focused parking right, which the reason has spent decades investing billions of dollars in true or false. Parkways carries more commuters than the combination of light rail and commuter parking right combined. It's true. About 95,000 people every day prior to cove it we don't have more recent data. So right now there's there's a ripple there but 95,000 people every day, we're traveling to their jobs on local bus. And at peak park and ride was only carrying about 30,000 trips for the same purpose, even though we've spent a huge amount more resource to support those trips. It's really a policy question. Then lastly maybe not to labor too long here Dave, Greg, but I'm going to talk about affordability. The average household in Houston spends how much of their household income on housing, form an answer in your mind. And I'll say that before I give the answer, spending more than 30% of your household income on housing is considered severely cost burdened, and it eats into other essential expenses. In Houston about 25% of household income spent on housing for the average household that so it's relatively affordable in terms of metropolitan areas in the US. But if you look at regional moderate income households so household incomes and households that are earning more of the kind of moderate level income, that's more than 31%. The same data source from the Center for Neighborhood Technology talks about what households spend on transportation, spending more than 15% on transportation is generally considered inordinate burden. In Houston, what does everyone think households on average are spending on transportation? 20% for last year, and the moderate income households 22%. And what you would find if you dug a little deeper is the further you go down in income range for households, transportation is often a larger expense in housing. Wow. Because there's this immense pressure of access to the quality of jobs a number of jobs you compete for and there's a whole host of things so that's some of the things that might surprise, surprise people, and that there's safety, there's access, there's how our transit networks already used and by who and where. And those all have implications for policy and equity. And we as an organization like as Ashley said we're not anti car. We're just pro options and pro options that address the past and disinvestment and racism and equity. And there's really a brighter future for Houston as we work on this and that's we truly believe that. And that's what we work to empower communities and people to work on and to express themselves. Super. Thank you. Let's go. So what are the big issues facing Houston and again in the spirit of the three amigos and the per and really the spirit of vital conversations. The big issues within transportation that also affect the, you know, the most kind of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged with it within our community as well but what are those big issues that you're seeing and trying to tackle right now at the same time. So Greg, if you don't mind sharing we said we want to share a few images, just to help people visualize. If you can see the screen also verbally describe these. Sure, let me just make sure it is up. I just share screen. And I, let me start with slide number one. There we go. I think every I think everyone should see be able to see your, your slides great. All right, walk us through these. And thank everyone for your patience we're not going to use PowerPoint anymore after this. The one of the first big issues we see already touched on safety for people walking rolling and biking. And by rolling, I mean, people using a mobility device, a wheelchair and electric scooter, things of that nature for because they have a disability. What this on the map here and this information is for 2020 looking at the whole county. For example, about 170 people were killed on our streets while walking and biking. And in some parts of the state research finds a lot of those people that are dying and motor vehicle crashes when they're walking and biking. It's happening on mostly highways or highway front of drugs, but in Houston that's not true. Some of the attendees are local streets. You know, and it's a tragedy, most importantly for the individual and their family, but it's even, you know, it's a tragedy for everyone. Everyone involved in these crashes is experiencing trauma and carnage and this is a big issue we can work on again we're not doing well compared to the country on this, and the city and the county are doing some work on this and we as a public need to continue to do this. So next slide please. Let me just find my. Here we go. No worries. Another big issue it touched on is affordability on the screen here and we'll put a link to some of these resources in the chat after or in a post email, but housing in Houston can be relatively affordable. And that's, that's getting worse though the pandemic this year. Maybe many of us have seen this homes or maybe it's a bubble but home values right now and costs are really shooting up that affects renters as well as owners. But transportation is also not equally good. And so a couple years ago with rice universities kinder Institute, we did some research with the community based team of what what's the way to look at this. And we made up a map of really four paradigms where our transportation housing both relatively good and affordable, where they both aren't, and where one or the other could be improved. This is, this is a big issue though, and we need to get ahead of this. Texas is not really good policy wise on creating the tools for local governments and communities to really protect affordability and to proactively work on gentrification and other issues. So this is another big issue slide. Can I just ask a quick question on this one. So, if I'm reading this correctly, is it the, the pink area again I'm slightly colorblind I apologize is it the pink area that is where transportation and housing is, I guess for lack of a better one, where and then therefore the pink areas are the ones that are for kind of of greatest concern. Am I reading that right. Yes, you are Greg and one thing I'd point out here is that blue areas are where both relatively affordable housing exists, based on the level of rent and units being available, and where transportation is relatively good. You know, I mean walking biking and trans affordable transportation, and then orange areas are where housing is in low supply or it's too expensive, but transportation is good. So if there was a way to get housing into the orange areas that there's there is transportation there. And then green areas are where perhaps transportation is in low supply. And there are some pockets of green in the more core of Houston that perhaps transportation should be improved and that's where we see a lot of our focus is advocating for green areas inside the 610 loop and in Northeast Houston and Southwest and Northwest. So again, I'm sure I just a leading question it'd be interesting to lay over this maps showing either other sorts of demographics whether it's race or its income as well to see how those coincide. I have my guesses as well just looking at this map just looking at the map and and has it stand so let me go on to the next slide then. No, it's an astute point and this next big issue is really transit, you know, in terms of affordable transportation local transit, especially bus is where you have your most access like the most extensive. And it's what connects most riders to opportunity. And it's actually pretty cost effective to improve to you know constructing light rail and bus rapid transit and new park and rides. That's pretty expensive stuff, but you can do a lot with fewer dollars and create really better local bus and there's some work going on here, and we do some analysis this map here is about. So no, this map has 15 variables and the index, none of which are about transit. Specifically they're all kinds of other characteristics about households and individuals and the built environment of where should transportation exist that's good and affordable. And the next slide if you will sure continues this conversation and this is where Metro next the current long range plan that voters supported in November 2019 really would start stupid projects. And one thing we do is we work with community members and organizations to help them advocate to Metro to say we want our projects to be priority, because they're actually give you the most bang for your buck, and they improve equity. Next slide. And then, finally, but certainly not last but not least is because we have as region focused on car infrastructure. We have at the same time unfortunately not invested in other modes on on any level of parity. And so there's a lot of work to do to address the past but also highways historically is probably not news to many of you are just one of the many ways that decision making was used to further disadvantage communities of color and lower income communities. And this map here illustrates. There's more recent data but this story would be similar about that Houston is very diverse we're proud of that, and there's a lot of opportunity there. But it's not that we're this equal fabric of diversity everywhere. And I'm not even saying that's a desirable outcome but there's a reason people live where they do, and they have their community. And here though is that look at where the highways are, and where there are current highway projects that if left unchanged, don't necessarily change that trajectory. And we take issue with as an organization and with community members expressing their. They don't want to see projects that take more of their community, but let's find ways to make highways more multimodal and safe for the local community as well as people traveling through. There's a lot of opportunity there. One quick visual example, and then we'll, we can move on from big issues here is part of fifth Ward northeast Houston just where 610. Sorry, I 10 comes across kind of where south of where nets is and then I 59 comes in, you know, towards downtown. And this prior to those highways being constructed, but the communities looked like there's a grid network. There's the by you in the southwest corner there. Next slide. The first generation of highways wipes out significant sector, you know parts of this community these communities and creates these huge barriers. Right. If you go next slide. This is what textile presently proposes. Wow. This is this is funded. It's not yet starting construction and there's a question for the public right now by the state, should they do this. And the city and the county have developed alternative visions for this that don't require nearly as much land, although even those alternative visions don't change much of this right here they change it going north. And then you're north side and independence heights, etc. You know, is this what we want, you know, is this all the things we want. And I'm not trying to put words anybody's mouth just that we should really debate this because we're spending. We're going to spend $10 billion and set another trend for the future and is that to everyone's advantage doesn't really maximize the there's a whole host of concerns about this that we could talk about but it's just big issue is Houston figuring out what we want our future to look like as we spend billions of dollars. And I mean, let's just point to them. You have a you have an elementary school right there south of itan along Jensen Drive Bruce elementary there, a green space with swiney Park. If you go directly across itan just north there along Jensen Drive, you're heading actually to an affordable housing community the Kelly village community that's sitting there. Young people who live in that area, have to actually go across the highway to get to Bruce elementary school to where they're zoned. There are places of worship that are along that area here. And this is the systemic effect that happens when you take these capital infrastructure products of highways, and you put them along communities and places where people of color are, they're the ones that share the disparate impact. The ones that have to bear the brunt and the burden. And this is some of the things organizationally that we really try to combat, because I think the point you're making is 50, I don't know how long ago but prior to I 10 this was a connected community before before I 10 kind of cut it in half north north and south. So, absolutely, you know and there's opportunities with all of these major projects to like, I think we have a. We always have a right to make sure that they're they get benefits in these projects, and a minimum that they don't do any more harm. You know that that's like pretty bare bones minimum though, and that would still be a change for Houston. So what we work with community members organizations and all manner of stakeholders to advocate and to empower them to really have influence and transportation is one of these industries, you know sectors where it's, it builds a lot on its last 20 years. And this is where we're going so we have to do this, and it presumes the past kind of ignores past harms and says well it's already happened. It's more important that we build the facility to our current design standards, and let's take 300 footer right away because why not that's what we've done in the past. And the last little part of the answer there, Greg is that, and we hope everyone takes this away is that when Mayor Turner did an extensive more than year long engagement with the communities affected by this I 45 project. Very few of the responses were don't do anything at all. The local communities recognize they want a project, they just want a much different project. And the city developed an alternative vision for the parts going from downtown north that actually in their view based on consultants work actually satisfies text dots own what they call purpose and need their goals for the project. It just does so in a way that text doesn't usually look at projects through more transit. We're walking and biking and actually not expanding lanes in any way. And so it's, there's a lot of conversation going on. And we're just one, one organization working on this but we really care deeply that displacement of people and businesses. It's just unwise for the city of Houston, but it's not good for communities. It's a hard sell in all ways. And it really only ostensibly, these current designs really only benefit people passing through Houston I really going to downtown there are other ways that wouldn't benefit downtown so On an even bigger point, there's an environmental consciousness the city needs to kind of getting a self to with respect to transportation. We're talking about things like production of greenhouse gases less vehicle miles travel just, you know, just moving towards a transportation future that is more indicative of the city that we say we are needs to be true to itself and that it is a city that not only as a leader, but as an innovator. And that means making our transportation network and infrastructure, just more conscious of the environment that we're living in. Yeah, yeah. Let me ask a quick follow a question on when somebody like tech start asks for comment. You know, I drive around and I see these notice of variance requests and there's going to be a hearing down at a community center I'm like well, I mean what why are they going to listen to me. I guess my two, the questions in two parts number one. Well, and so when it comes to these comments that text is listening to then it's a bit about voice and who's got voice and I'm so I'm curious about number one do they really listen and number two how are you working in communities so that communities have voice when text dot or other entities are asking for comment. We both have an answer to that. Yeah, when I jump in first and talk a little bit about the, they are probably kind of a, I mean that's some history I think it what's the inside view like it's excellent question Greg kind of isn't worth being involved, you know and some of these big processes that are and we work on this in several ways and this is what part of maybe an answer for everyone listening to is that in the past, all too often public engagement was really public validation or application what we already plan to do. Yes, that's what I was curious about really change much and the engagement that happened early in a process happened maybe eight 10 years before literally for these big projects and the people that were in the communications were in the room, including community but just a few out of, say 40 votes if you will, about what alternatives to really look into deeply. And so, I would say I don't get to and just discourage people from being involved but rather to explain that we try to train people and help people understand and work on it, a long game and in the short term responding to communities. And so one quick example that Greg is that the city in the county have nominated us and some other kind of citizens interest groups to help participate in some steering committees and other committees. And one quick example would be the Houston Galveston Area Council, they have an advisory committee, which we serve on. And we just this morning had me, and that meets monthly. One thing we volunteer to do is organization is to serve on the bylaws committee and the nominating committee and so we, we that we and we nominate more than 20 people, mostly women mostly people of color that have excellent skills. And last, never might have been nominated to serve on some of these topical subcommittees. That's part of we see that as a long term change of trying to make those processes more representative. And that's going to be it's a long, it's a long game but you get familiar with the process. And then last part of the answer I might make about textile and city county, the people building the infrastructure. Calling on elected officials to change how they do engagement and when, and then really making that deep can go a long ways. The city's engagement around I 45 came it was kind of odd. It wasn't in a formal engagement textile listened and was present but it was by the city on a textile project and that's because Mayor Turner got enough feedback from the public that there's concern that they came up with the process but that's a lot to ask the public and everyone on this call to engage like that on every single project. We really need to help elected officials understand what we as a public what our vision is, and then create an expectation that they'll see to change our systems textile is real formal organization. And they're going to follow their policy and what the feds require them to do. But they definitely have to count tabulate everybody's comment and record that whatever they're going to choose to do. And so one thing public and do is get your voice heard recorded. But then we speak together and point out, well, you didn't seem to really make a decision based on that. And then really just expected something different and it's going to take time but you might find surprising allies and your neighbors other organizations that share some similarity as well as different views. And we can change the trajectory of some of this, as we work together, and that's what's playing out with I 45. We can talk more about that if, if anyone's interested but actually how would you add though about community. Sure. Um, from a community standpoint, some things I'm going to say here are a little more heartfelt, but they're very resident. I wasn't, I wasn't heartfelt. What I'm saying is I'm going to wear my heart on my sleeve a little bit. This, the system in the old way of doing business on this to a lot of the things that Jonathan just mentioned, they've gone in a certain way, and that system has always been stacked against the people who need these resources the most. And we have the Houston Galveston area council and the injection or the infusion of other new voices and faces within these conversations, nothing against anyone's ethnographic but these, but these systems and these people who have been leading these groups have been very, I think male dominant, and frankly they've been very Caucasian for a long time, and they need to have faces in there that are reflective and indicative of the communities that this organization this body as the Metropolitan planning organization or MPO is supposed to represent. That's why we do what we do there with respect to the I-45 project and other projects that textile is going to do in the future. The system in which they're engaging community, I believe is wholly flawed, going into a community and having a meeting at six o'clock at night, where you have 15 people show up is not representative of the community that has 15,000 people in it. And using that as a system and ticking that on your chalkboard and saying that we've gone and engaged with community. Other than our due diligence. It's wrong and it's completely inadequate. And this is a system I think that's happened for a while. They will total and save the hundreds of meetings that you've had, who many and how many of those people have met with. These are in a lot of instances homes where homes and households where the people have to be home with their children and have to be with their families you have to meet people where they are to really say that you're making a full whole effort in meeting with these communities. It's also awareness for communities that may not be data savvy or have the resources to get an email or something. It's also particularly educating people about the topic so that they don't feel overwhelmed and feeling that they can't participate in that. Our organization link Houston and other ones that are part of coalitions like make I 45 and other ones are all, I believe, and in a lot of ways and solidarity that that message and that way of engagement is what's really necessary to get people involved in this conversation. And once you do that, and once they realize the importance and how it affects their everyday life. They will raise their voice and they will be part of our part of these dialogues. And once they learn that it can, it can work in an on a subject matter like this. They may use it for other other things that are important to them. Safety, such as such as access to education and the types of schools that they want to these things. This is teaching people to fish, not to use. These are transferable skills. Right, exactly they're transferable to other other aspects of their everyday lives and it empowers those communities and that is what we seek to do in our work. I have one more quick thought Ashley Spurs. Thank you for that wasn't passion. I felt that more. Too often you as a public are asked well what do you want us to do. Like you like you know what all the options could be. We coach people do what we encourage you to do. What you want to do is tell the officials tell the professionals, what your vision is what the interest you like, I want to be feel free to be a little general, but then follow up to see how they try to address that specifically because they have the capacity to do that. And it's been unfair at times as above will just tell us what you want us to do and we'll do that and then you'll be quiet, and we'll move on. If that works sometimes the community knows exactly, you know, and it maybe is the best solution but sometimes they don't. And it'd be better if they just share their interest and really iterated that and let the public sector, and figure it out. Okay, thank you. I see some questions in the chat box so that's helpful to know just watching our time. I wanted to ask a question perhaps we hadn't talked about previously but maybe to maybe kind of make link Houston a little more concrete and what you've done. I want to make this the language of winners and losers because I think throughout our vital conversations. One of the efforts has been to demonstrate work that we're in this together as a city can but can you maybe share a story of a change that with that link Houston has achieved where what you have done has led to a change that you were that you were seeking just so that listeners can get a sense of your process and your outcome. Okay, so those of you who are familiar with the Gulf and super neighborhood selfless Houston. Generally most years measured as Houston's most diverse neighborhood amongst many diverse neighborhoods. It's also a community of really high population density, you know just kind of raw density. It's actually most dense neighborhood. And so, in 2015. I don't mean to denigrate Metro bring this up but in 2015 Metro revision their whole bus network, quite famously is one of the first big agencies in anywhere in the world to really revise all bus routes at once to improve the network. Excellent effort I mean it's something that needs to be lauded. However, it sounds like you said something. And there are issues in Northeast Houston, where low density because of historical racism and the way things were developed and for infrastructure a lot of forces got lower transit service the Gulf and being the most it still didn't get the most that the highest bus service, which was supposed to have that algorithm is created. And so one of the ways we over the years have got to know many individuals and organizations in Gulfton and and tried to help them amplify what they want to pursue and so with. And there's been an ongoing conversation with Metro Metro is quite receptive to listening and trying to find things they can, they can support working on and next month we're happy to say that. One of the things that the Gulfton wanted was some kind of service to help them circulate within their neighborhood better they have good East West bus service, which is pretty common in some other neighborhoods to you have service one kind of one direction but not always easy to get around internally and a lot of families, moms or dad is at home with multiple kids access to school is important access to shopping, etc. And so in the last story short they asked Metro low, this is our interest. We don't think we want just an on demand, have to book a trip service, but we want some kind of circulator and we think could be a fixed normal local bus route. Next month, that bus routes going to enter service. It's a new bus route. It's going to be 15 minute frequency both directions, and it basically connects Gulfton to surrounding transit centers and, and some new destinations, and Metro has been a proactive they budgeted money for that. But this took several years of advocacy, maybe three years of working towards that COVID delayed in a year really. But that's an example of, you know, it wasn't just us but we did try to play a central role at keeping the conversation running, and to make sure that Metro was genuinely responding to the community was actually asking. Not, not just saying, Well, we can do this easily. Will that will that satisfy them. Yeah, and they really have come through and we look forward to seeing that on the ground and hope that we know that Metro survey more than 400 writers in Gulfton about this new bus route and they got really strong support and interest and so they're also excited. And it not only benefited the transit authority itself in Metro, but these people within community, you know, partnering and you know participating and providing their voice within the project also learned about each other as well. It really helps in organizing the community in a long term sense on, you know, not only, you know, this one thing that I think it provide benefit to their infrastructure. Super. Thank you for that detail. Let me turn to a couple of questions in the chat box there's one question about any plans to offer mass transit outside of the Beltway. We need local community mass transit in the clear Lake Bay area. So I think that's reflecting and that I think a lot of the schematics really focused on this inside 610 and for certainly inside Beltway eight. How about into the into some of the other areas outside of Beltway eight. I have a question. When we first say that as a matter of strategy and do our kind of starting as organization I can I starting mandate we did focus. We have to continue to focus pretty heavily on certain communities, generally within the Houston kind of large area but we are we share your concern and interest that really there's a case, a strong case for affordable practical local transit, especially fixed route bus. In many communities, Pasadena and included, you know, and down the clear Lake area. And so we'd be happy to have a conversation to talk about what that can look like the metro service area in terms of their services sticks to 15. Yeah, for like Houston and 14 smaller city limits where population voted, and then it's a little unclear to me exactly why but also some parts of unincorporated Harris County. Sure. And, but there are some other there actually are seven other transit districts in our region, including Harris County transit, which has started some services during COVID and post Harvey connecting Baytown and some other communities in the southeast part of part of the county. Certainly a lot more than can be done. Yeah, happy to be a resource and think through that in part because we do. We want to well represent and empower people and as representatives into some of these regional decision making. We don't actually make the final decision but we do. We're part of the conversation about what might the region try to do and should they be doing so that's maybe the best answer I can provide now. And, you know, in some of those areas that that Jonathan is talking about on those outskirts while there's some resource that may be there or there may be somebody managing that service. Right now, it is probably so sparse or it's so, you know, much in its beginnings, really not satisfying the demand that exists there, but this is just as good a time as any to be involved in that because we now actually at least at a federal level, we're looking at administrations in Washington that are looking at trying to, you know, really address this issue. And if, you know, optimistically things move forward in a certain way, funding and resources will be able to come to address to address better outfitting these parts of the city. And, and really, you know, providing resource for communities that for a long time have been underserved and under resourced. Yeah, so like last second answer there that build on that is, if the Senate and House, the federal level versions of those bills, especially the House version the invest in America Act if something similar resembling that we don't lobby for that we just we're just just watched the news to but if those continue how they are. They will significantly increase transit funding. In fact, some early research from a group out of New York but looking at Houston asked us what we would, if we could use any help we gave them a few questions to answer. It would be about a 49% increase in operating funds for Metro for a period of years, and also would improve funding for all this rounding agencies. Now outside beltway eight there is there certainly their significant pockets are real demand. For example, Aldean Aldean greater greens point that whole area around the beltway has some of the highest percent of households without vehicles. Yeah, an area is that you're traveling significant distances to most opportunities and jobs so it's a real issue and something we would love to whoever asked that question feel free to reach out to us we'd love to talk more. Just another, another question on, are there some city just other cities that are doing things that you think Houston can learn from or just get other cities with some transportation models or some some reforms that you think look pretty good and maybe could be applicable to our region. Another question. Certainly there, Houston Metro Houston is certainly not perfect, it comes to transit and we're talking about transit, specifically, there's some lessons to be learned about really, but the metro is making some changes and Metro next has changed due to our advocacy but also many others and really put more resources resources in a local bus. Let me let me maybe maybe just try to clarify the question are there other maybe and maybe I maybe I did are there other cities that you are look at around around the country that are doing some interesting things that you think could be here that could apply here in Houston. Yeah, there are several cities that are working a little more collaboratively amongst all stakeholders like for example, there are regions like Seattle want some parts of California I don't I mean to say that it's you know there's sometimes issues in Texas and talking about that but when it comes to public transit, there's some parts of northeast, but that could be good peers but especially like Seattle. A little bit smaller than Houston region but they've, they're putting a lot more money into really reorienting their services to improve equity. Yeah, and really in a meaningful way, but not just for the transit but walking and biking, and there are definitely some regional peer, you know, other regions, doing far more that we're starting to model after some at the city and county, the city and the county are a few years and they're really thinking about how to, what they might should be doing with infrastructure for people walking and biking and accessibility. But there's not, not a lot of especially clear. I think there's not any particular that is a whole exam, there may be a piece that you can see from a Seattle, the Chicago or something, but then also the environment that we have from a historical standpoint is maybe younger than you would see maybe with like a MTA or something like that in New York, or you see in Boston. I would, I would think that one of the challenges is that transportation issues are really really unique and solutions are but for example we cannot build a subway, or as an example I would imagine our water table is too high. So that sort of option is that before us and, and I would think that transportation issues there are some perhaps universals but it's also I would imagine has some real particularities as well that makes that sort of trying to draw best practices a little more complicated, would that be the case as well. And they're like a, another place comes to mind as Minneapolis, you know there's some other parts of the Midwest up there, upper Midwest that what they do well as they make sure that plans really inform each other. Yeah. So the state DOT's plans and chances authorities plans and the city county plans really are a lot more pursuing the same aims and focusing on improving services for people who already live. I say one thing that we do have in Texas is peers for we think of ourselves we are some belt city we have a lot of flat land around us that to some degree is developable, you know. And so we've assumed that all growth is good growth. And so the affordable housing continues to kind of tend to move out. People spend more on transportation there's a lot of nuances we haven't quite thought thought through the whole picture. There's some regions that are doing a little more on that like Minneapolis, St. Paul, that kind of whole area has a lot more planning wise. Yeah. But again, it's where when the early stages here the main thing people can do is really start to think about this. Let your city council county commissioner have an idea that you support creative thinking or whatever your other ideas are I want to see. I want to see better walking at the same time that I want I don't want one or the other. And that too often the past it's been one of the other and there are as a country we're starting to learn that and at least for this current administration. They're changing the dialogue for the through the US Department of Transportation. Yeah. And so there might with some changes in law there and more funding there might be some case that everyone in Houston and Texas is wanting to do more of this. Right kind of thinking but we need to as a public make sure that when those official funding, if that comes, and maybe that's this is a good. Yeah, this is a good segue just to it kind of on our last couple of minutes again people tune into these vital conversations to not learn not just learn about vital issues, but learn what they can do so what are your takeaways for the people that are on the call right now but also the people watch or watch the recording. What do people what what what can people do. So I'll give one really specific example about the TV, and then you can maybe fill in the short. So one quick starting very specific thing you can do if you wanted to do something this month is with transportation like any kind of sector there's almost always some level of government for some project right now though there's a really, there's a big question put out the I 45 project which we illustrated with some images before has controversial and there's been a lot of public engagement around it. Mayor Turner and this Harris County support and alternative vision for the project. Right now in the state of Texas so text dot has an executive board. It's called the Texas Transition Commission, and every year they work on the next 10 year plan of kind of a budget or projects. And right now is the 30 day public comment period for next year's iteration of that 10 year document. So in normal practice they put in a specific question in the public comment form, usually it's just like writing your written comment, share any ideas you have and we'll record that and respond to it. And then basically they approve the document. This year they have a specific question which is both bad and good bad because the question only has two options instead of three that it needs. But it's about it's about the north Houston highway improvement project specifically, and they ask, do you want to continue as proposed, or do you want us to take it out entirely and take the funding away. But they should have had as a third option that says, this is our view, but we firmly believe this. We want a project, we want the funding to continue but with the redesign that better realizes is better informed by communities, in some words of like that. So now that comment period is active. And if you want information on that we're going to send out a newsletter about that, just how to comment. In the next couple days, but that's open through early August so that's a specific example of how you can log a specific opinion. Whatever opinion you have we support you offering that opinion, but you can also tell the state hey maybe you should have asked somebody else or I have this is why I feel that way. They are anti the project they're anti the project as it is. It doesn't do enough for Houston for communities, and there are alternative so that's one specific example, and maybe Greg and a post email or something we could post some links to how to find out more about that. That would be great. A specific actually maybe some general. Sure. So, first of all, this is advocacy work is long game work. Also, it's everyday work that you can do and just seeing an example like we talked about with the Gulfton circulator. If you do it sustainably over a long period of time you can reach a positive outcome. Moving on to a city council session on a Tuesday for public comment, or speaking at a monthly board meeting that Metro has, or something like that. These are opportunities where you can directly engage the people who are actually making these decisions. Whether they be elected officials and decision makers, you can write an op-ed into into the into the Houston Chronicle or paper or something like that, put something through social media through Facebook and Twitter. It's all resources which everybody has access to, or at least most people do to actually, you know, raise their opinions on certain things. And if you do them in concert with other people in your community, it has power. You don't necessarily have to have money in order to make these, you just need to have like said, voices that are all on the same message for a person who owns their own business or something and maybe as a transportation barrier getting to their place of business. So realize the way that people can get to the place where it is that you conduct business, or a place that where you're going, offer opportunities like you might see it a law firm offers transit opportunities for their workers to commute to get to their space. That's an example of this. But for decision makers and speaking of them, you need to, you need to effectively be able to tell them that look systemic change is possible that access that access to opportunity is possible, and ask for that when the budget time comes around. The city of Houston's budget they start talking about it in March they usually try to finish having the draft and the plan around like late May or early June. But during that time when the capital improvement of the CIP is going on. That's the time to tell your elected officials. This is the thing that we need in our community tell your district council member that these are the changes that we need and be prepared to have that conversation in order so that those resources can be moved around to benefit the place where you're at resources of course like 311 and other ones are good also because they are data captures, they capture they capture then what the needs are and the concerns are that you have in there, and then that is a resource that they use it. And because it's the one that you prefer resource, it is measurable, but finding a place where you can get your message out a place where it can be captured and kept somewhere that also helps in holding the elected officials and decision makers account. So that is very important as well. Jonathan Brooks Ashley Johnson with link Houston thanks so much for a very quick hour a lot of information and and again it demonstrates why we wanted to start by with our 2021 season, looking at transportation because it is something that affects everyone. It is something that everyone should be aware of and knowledgeable of. And it's something that can be a win-win, I think as well for us as a community. So thank you for for for being with us. I just have a couple of closing announcements. So if you'll just allow me a moment to to share my screen and to begin the slide I've just got two quick slides ladies and gentlemen. We hope to see you again at our vital August vital conversation with ensemble theater and then our September conversation with project curate but before then we hope you can join us for a set of special workshops, called the dialogue workshops that we're hosting and partnership with an organization called braver angels today in communities across the United States we find ourselves in a time in which we have an inability to talk about important and divisive issues. We partnered with a nonpartisan national organization called braver angels. The dialogue workshops are our effort to provide thoughtful and timely resources, their purposes to skillfully foster understanding of other perspectives not by changing anyone's mind but rather by advancing skills for listening and discourse. The braver angels workshops have become a great resource. So please visit us at imgh.org slash event slash dialogue, hyphen workshops to learn more and to register. And then finally again, thank you all for joining us today you can learn more about link houston at link houston.org. And we'll of course learn more about us at imgh.org to learn about our work and how to support us thank you again to sit go petroleum corporation for sponsoring this episode, and the series. Again Jonathan Ashley thank you so much for being on with link houston and we wish you the best with their continued work and with transportation issues and transportation equity. It was our sincere pleasure. Thank you everyone for listening and really have enjoyed it. Thanks for the great and the platform. God bless. Same to you as well thank you everyone for being with us have a wonderful rest of your day.