From: "Tom Bazan" <tbazan@houston.rr.com>
To: <viewpoints@chron.com>
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Subject: Was the METRORail Opertator "Speeding" in this pedestrian dense stretch of Main Street?
Date: Fri, 9 Jul 2004 19:57:00 -0500

A while back, I recall that when the City of Houston had voted to allow METRO to use taxpayer-owned (NOT Government Owned) streets, there was some comment that the METRO tram would be required to obey the traffic laws since the demented "Demolition Derby" tram would be operating around pedestrians as well as passenger car traffic.

Little did we imagine METRO would go on to effectively seize the entire Main Street corridor, and try to discourage "evil" cars from traveling downtown so as to promote special interest's "smart growth" schemes.

If METRO is required to obey the traffic laws, the posted speed limit in that area is either 30 or 35 MPH.

During the TV Channel 2, 6 PM newscast, they read a statement from METRO that the operator of the tram stated that she had reached a speed of 40 MPH, and had braked to 18 MPH before "Keelhauling" the poor pedestrian.

Was the operator traveling at an unsafe speed in light of the posted speed limits as well as the dense pedestrian conditions during the commuter "rush hour?"

Since METRO now is the LAW, any accidents are automatically the taxpayer's fault; never the bureaucracy!

Who's watching out for whom?

Tom Bazan
P.O. Box 2786
Houston, TX 77252

832.673.0018

BAZAN, a long-time real estate broker, appraiser and environmental consultant, is the Independent Candidate for the 18th Congressional District of Texas, running to replace Sheila Jackson-Lee

www.BazanForCongress.com