State poised to lower Houston's speed limit to clean up air

Houston Chronicle ^ | Dec. 12, 2001 | By RAD SALLEE

[weegee]

Houston is dead set on:
1. Making my commute longer.
2. Forcing lawn crews out of business
3. Writing more traffic tickets

Yep, there have been proposals to block lawn mowing (even among residential citizens) between the hours of 8-noon.

There have been proposals to force companies to limit the number of employees driving in to the office.

There have been proposals to kick drivers out of their cars on alternating days (based on their plates).

There IS funding for downtown construction that comes from rental cars; as this $$$ will be needed for years to come. Don't expect to see ANY public transportation plans designed to keep out-of-towners off the road.

There have not been proposals to synchronize the traffic lights.

There have not been proposals to limit the time that large vehicles can idle their engines (I noticed this strategy in NYC).

Lowering the highway speeds will just add $$$ to the city coffers (which are running dry) and increase the traffic burden.

Jon Matthews suggested going for a jury trial for any future speeding tickets and recommended that jurors consider their ability to refuse to convict.