High-Speed Rail Route May Adversely Impact Low-Income and Minority Property Owners, Critics Say

The Texan 
JULY 26, 2021 (US)

As the federal government pursues equity in formulating policies, affected landowners raise concerns that the Texas Central High-Speed Rail project will have negative impacts on minority communities.

Not long after taking office, President Joe Biden issued an executive order: “Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government.” Based on that order, the federal Department of Transportation (DOT) will “assess whether, and to what extent, its programs and policies perpetuate systemic barriers to opportunities and benefits for people of color and other underserved groups.”

The DOT sought comments from the public on how to implement these equity goals in its policies and programs and received over 300 comments, many of which were related to the high-speed rail project planned by Texas Central between Dallas and Houston.

Delta Troy Interests, LTD, a real estate development firm active in the greater Houston area, believes that the project will have a disproportionately negative impact on residents of Waller County, a majority minority county northwest of Houston whose population consists of 54 percent minority residents.

“By dividing and isolating some areas and neighborhoods from others, the proposed high-speed rail project will reinforce and in many cases exacerbate geographic, racial, and income disparities along its path,” Delta Troy wrote to DOT. 

“At its very essence, the proposed project serves affluent travelers and business executives at the expense of the rural residents in areas in between who must bear the brunt of the environmental, economic and social degradation and segregation wrought by the project.”

Source

https://thetexan.news/high-speed-rail-route-may-adversely-impact-low-income-and-minority-property-owners-critics-say/