Texas Central visits Richards Civic Club
RICHARDS- Representatives from Texas Central visited the Richard’s Civic Club meeting Tuesday, Oct. 8, to present the proposed plan for building a bullet train in Texas.
Holly Reed of Texas Central stated that they are planning to bring an electric bullet train to Texas that will connect Houston to Dallas with a proposed train station in Roans Prairie. The projected time to travel from the starting point to the ending point is 90 minutes and will travel at speeds of 200 mph.
According to Reed the train is a prototype purchased from Japan since there isn’t a train like this in the U.S. Reed said when designing a project like this you want to make sure that you do it right. In its 55-year existence the train has never had a crash or fatalities as a result of operations.
“The railway will be a dedicated line that doesn’t have any at grade crossings so the road will either go over or under the train. There is a dedicated northbound and a dedicated southbound track,” explained Reed.
Reed also stated the reason for the proposed route is that it has the least amount of environmental impact. The Texas Central team remained after the meeting to visit with the community and answer any questions they had.
During the regular business meeting, president Greg Riley announced that they will be having a membership drive. He stated anyone of voting age living in Richards or the surrounding area that has a vested interest may join by paying membership dues. Dues are pro-rated at $10 for the remainder of 2019. Normal dues are $20 per year per person.
To bring Richards back to the pleasant look it once had, a workday has been scheduled for Nov. 9, beginning at 9 a.m. The goal is to begin cleaning along the main stretch through Richards on FM 149. “I’m hoping we can start there and move to other areas and make Richards look like it used to. Margaret Baily showed me some pictures of how it once looked, and it was a very different place. I believe it can look at least that good and possibly much better,” said Riley.
Riley also stated he has been in contact with TxDot and they have mowed some of the areas alongside the highway. He also voiced his concerns on the sharp curve on FM 149 that has had its share of accidents. They originally told me that according to their records their signage was adequate, but I told them that’s obviously not the case or we wouldn’t have people run into the ditch and into the railroad right-a-way. Riley said they are going to continue to review that stretch.
Cat tails growing alongside and onto the roadways are property that is maintained by the railroad. Riley said he learned of that after visiting with TxDot and he will contact the railroad to try and have those areas mowed.
Riley said Richards Civic Club wants to be transparent to the public and will adhere to Texas Open Meetings Act meaning there won’t be any private meetings.
Added to the bylaws in Article Nine will read “a member must be a member in good standing and present at Civic Club meetings to vote on agenda items.” The motion to add this amendment was passed unanimously.
Riley also reported that Lynn Road is not a Grimes County maintained road and belongs to the community of Richards. He said that he was told that it was paved by a private entity during a bike run years ago. Riley said that there is concern because of the rate of speed that vehicles travel on that road. Methods to help alleviate the speeding concerns including possible speed limit signs will be explored.