RES 1346 02/27/2007 RESOLUTION NO. 13116
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CIBOLO, TEXAS,
EXPRESSING SUPPORT FOR STATE LEGISLATIVE APPROPRIATION OF
$200 MILLION ANNUALLY TO THE TEXAS RAIL RELOCATION AND
IMPROVEMENT FUND.
WHEREAS, freight and passenger mobility is critical to the economic prosperity and quality of
life in the state of Texas and the Austin-San Antonio Corridor; and
WHEREAS, population growth and increased international trade have combined to create
both freight movement and passenger vehicle congestion throughout the state of
Texas and the Austin-San Antonio Corridor; and
WHEREAS, the state's population has grown by 57% and the total passenger miles driven
rose by 95% over the past 25 years, but highway lane miles increased by just 8%
over the same period; and
WHEREAS, the Austin-San Antonio corridor's population has doubled over the last 20 years
and is expected to double again over the next 20 years; and
WHEREAS, NAFTA trade between the US and Mexico has grown to approximately $800
billion annually and represents thousands of jobs in Texas and the Austin-San
Antonio Corridor, and
WHEREAS, Interstate 35 has become the de facto NAFTA highway between the US, Mexico,
and Canada, used by over one million trucks per year involved in international
trade; and
WHEREAS, a study by the Federal Highway Administration in 1999 found that over the entire
1700-mile length of Interstate 35 from Mexico to Canada, the highest vehicle
counts, the most traffic fatalities, the worst congestion, the lowest levels of
service, and the lowest average speed per-mile were to be found in the Austin-
San Antonio Corridor; and
WHEREAS, a freight rail line owned by Union Pacific directly parallels Interstate 35 through
the most congested portion of the Austin-San Antonio Corridor and was
constructed over 120 years ago and currently has nearly 200 at-grade crossings
through the Corridor that represent congestion, public safety, and hazardous
materials risks within heavily populated areas of the Corridor; and
WHEREAS, freight rail car traffic through the Corridor has doubled since the passage of
NAFTA; and
WHEREAS, the Texas Department of Transportation estimates that freight-movement
trucking is increasing nationwide by 2% per year, increasing by 6% per year
statewide, but increasing by 15% per year in the Austin-San Antonio Corridor;
and
WHEREAS, the Legislature of the State of Texas has passed and the public has approved by
election the constitutional amendment creating the Texas Rail Relocation and
Improvement Fund; and
WHEREAS, $200 million appropriated annually to the Texas Rail Relocation and
Improvement Fund could be used to create a total bonded funding capacity for
the Fund of at least $2 billion over the next decade; and
WHEREAS, the Texas Rail Relocation and Improvement Fund could be used throughout the
State to relieve traffic congestion, improve freight movement mobility, remove
hazardous materials from the heavily-populated areas of urban Texas, and thus
improve the economy and quality of life in Texas.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the City of Cibolo respectfully requests that the
State Legislature and the Governor of Texas appropriate $200 million annually to the Texas Rail
Relocation and Improvement Fund during the next Regular Session of the Texas Legislature.
The appropriation should come from General Revenues, and not from existing transportation
dollars.
PASSED AND APPROVED this 27`h day of February, 2007.
i
Johnny Sutton, Mayor
ATTEST:
Peggy Cimics, City Secretary
GEOR-GETOVa/I
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