Why can't we speed through Texas?

I'm going to have to partially agree with Lauren H's post in Taking Notice. I agree that having to pay a toll to be able to get from point A to point B faster is ridiculous, and spending state funds to build such roads is ridiculous. I disagree with her statement that people should just wake-up earlier and drive slower. Sometimes people sleep through alarms. Sometimes there are accidents that cause traffic delays. Sometimes people get off from work late. Whatever there reason is for driving fast, they are, and they should be legally able to. 

I do not think that raising the speed limit to 85 MPH in Texas will really change anything. In the more rural parts of Texas, the speed limit is already posted at 75 or 80 MPH, specifically on Interstate 10. What will 5 MPH really change? In the small cities in Texas that currently have speed limits of 35 MPH, this change in speed limits will not really effect them since drivers will still need to stop for the obnoxious stop lights in their towns. If anything people will probably voluntarily go slower as to avoid using so much gas to accelerate between stop signs.

Some argue that 85 MPH is too fast, and that it will cause more accidents. Others argue that the speed limit is already at 80 MPH on over 520 miles of road in Texas, and if you want to go faster than that, you're in too big of a hurry. Yet others argue that many cars cannot safely drive that fast.

My view:
- I think more accidents are caused from people talking and texting on their cellphones, drinking while intoxicated, and driving while exhausted than from driving too fast.
- Some people actually are in a hurry. Not everyone lives in the slow paced farm mentality that many Texans have adopted.
- People know what speeds their cars can handle. If they can't go above 60 MPH, they are not going to force it and risk breaking down in the middle of West Texas. Please give humanity more credit for having some common sense.

This quote sums up my views almost perfectly: "As always, people who don't want to driver faster - or buy alcohol or play the lottery or whatever - can simply decline to participate. No one is forcing them to do anything. In turn, they should not be allowed to dictate the behavior of others."

I'd say the MetroRail is inching along...

I currently work at the Hilton Austin which is right across the street from the MetroRail Downtown Station. Some of my coworkers are able to use the MetroRail to get to and from work, however it is a *very* small amount. I think that until the MetroRail expands to include more than just the Northwest Austin area, it will not be viewed as successful in the eyes of Austinites. I think that the MetroRail is a great idea, but it is not even close to "picking up steam" as Surid Kaphle mentions in his blog "A Great Citizen."

Although the amount of passengers increased during SXSW, it still was not that useful. The last train left downtown at 11:30pm.

I don't know about you, but most people don't even get to downtown until after 10, and they definitely would not be ready to leave downtown before midnight. My family was going to attempt to use the MetroRail to avoid having to drive and find parking downtown, but with the cost per person so high, and the inconvenient schedule, they were not able to. The band they wanted to see didn't go on stage until 11pm, so it was not feasible for them to catch the 11:30pm train.

I think that the MetroRail has great potential, and will be successful, eventually. Austin needs to dedicate more time and money to make it useful to a larger percentage of the population.