The Final Environmental Impact Statement (FIES) for Segment E of the Grand Parkway (GP) toll road is out for public comment. Segment E is the part of the GP toll road that would slash 14 miles through the Katy Prairie. The result of this proposed toll road is the direct destruction of 500-700 acres of the Katy Prairie and the indirect destruction of thousands of acres more of the Katy Prairie due to secondary development fueled by construction of this unneeded "Road to Nowhere".

The GP toll road would be a 170 mile loop around Houston that cuts through mostly undeveloped land and would have a variety of negative impacts. The GP toll road would eliminate much of our region’s remaining open space including the Katy Prairie, San Jacinto River and Spring Creek bottomland hardwoods, and Brazos River floodplain (Columbia Bottomlands). In addition, the GP toll road would have a detrimental impact on nearby agricultural land, further diminishing the region’s dwindling agricultural economy and reducing critical local food sources.

Another serious economic effect of the GP toll road is that each additional beltway surrounding our City (we already have Loop 610, Beltway 8, and State Highway 6) can be expected to lower retail and service trade by as much as 2-5%. Constructing the GP toll road would continue to spread out customers and convenience and would encourage online sales (fact about beltways, Nelson & Moody, Journal of Urban Planning and Development, 2000).

The proposed GP toll road privatizes our "commons" (our public infrastructure) by requiring citizens pay for the very roads they already support with their taxes. The GP toll road discriminates against those citizens who cannot pay tolls and makes the toll road a privilege for those who can afford to pay. The GP toll road will use $5.4 billion ($462 million for Segment E alone) of our scarce transportation dollars to construct a "Road to Nowhere" while people who need more mobility choices right now live elsewhere and are starved for public transit dollars.

Contact the individuals below by January 31, 2008 and tell them that you:

1) Support protection of the Katy Prairie and our precious natural resources.

2) Support our local agriculture and retail economies.

3) Support the wise use of our local transportation funds for greater citizen access and mobility where they live.

4) Support the fair and equitable use of our public roads and infrastructure by all local citizens.

5) Oppose the Grand Parkway, Segment E, toll road because it does not solve existing mobility problems for people living in the area now; will destroy the Katy Prairie; and will increase air pollution in a mostly rural area.

6) You want a public hearing for the FEIS for Segment E of the Grand Parkway.

Please contact:

1) Ms. Janice W. Brown, Division Administrator, Federal Highway Administration, Federal Building, Room 826, 300 8th Street, Austin, Texas 78701-2483

2) Mr. Pat Henry, Director of Project Development, Texas Department of Transportation, P.O. Box 1386, Houston, Texas 77251-1386

3) Mr. David Gornet, Executive Director, Grand Parkway Association, 4544 Post Oak Place, Suite 222, Houston, Texas 77027, or by email: segmentecomments@grandpky.com.

For more information contact: Brandt Mannchen at 713-664-5962 or brandtshnfbt@juno.com.

January 2008

Last updated:  01/19/2008.   Content © 1999-2008 by the Sierra Club.