McALLEN, January 28 - State Rep. Armando “Mando” Martinez says McAllen Mayor Richard Cortez showed “great vision” for pushing the concept of light rail during his State of the City 2008 Address.

The Weslaco Democrat said he and other Rio Grande Valley legislators stand ready to carry out Cortez’s wish that legislative help be provided to kick start feasibility studies. Last session, Martinez successfully passed legislation that allows border counties to set up light rail districts.

“I feel so good that we legislators have the vision and Mayor Cortez has the vision as well. We successfully passed the bill to create the rail district and everything is in place,” Martinez said.

“Richard Cortez is a wonderful mayor and he’s a great man and a good friend. I think he has the vision, the dedication, and the support to get it done. And, as we all know, McAllen has truly shown the lead in so many different areas. I’m hoping the city continues to lead the way to achieve this goal.”

Martinez said two things would drive the push for light rail in the Valley, population growth and rising gas prices. “Oil prices are not going to go down. We need alternative forms of transportation. Even though we have widened our expressways, they are becoming more and more congested on a daily basis,” Martinez said.

Last week, Michael E. Cline, research associate at the Institute for Demographic and Socioeconomic Research at the University of Texas at San Antonio, gave projections on population growth at a meeting of the U.S. 281 Coalition.

Cline said that the four-county U.S. 281 region in South Texas could rise to 1.2 million people by 2020 and 1.9 million people by 2040. Most of the growth would be due to a surge in the population of Hidalgo County, Cline said.

If the population of Reynosa was added to the population of the U.S. 281 corridor, Cline said, it would be 1.3 million. Andrew Canon, director of Hidalgo County MPO, said that was a very conservative figure.

Martinez said there was interest in developing light rail in both Hidalgo and Cameron counties. He said when he first considered legislation to set up a rail district, he thought of the old rail tracks alongside Business 83 being developed for light rail.

“Once those members are appointed we can move forward and do whatever we have to do. Of course, there are always questions on funding but we want to do it the right way so people can vote on something that is going to be good for them, mass transit,” Martinez said.

“So, we are trying to look at different funding mechanisms. We need to keep this moving forward. We can make this dream a reality.”

In his State of the City address, Cortez spoke of the potential of light rail or street rail.

“We Texans are in love with our cars and trucks. But as gas prices continue to rise, traffic continues to increase, and visitors continue to come into our city, we must face this new challenge. We must begin to identify new ways to conveniently “move around” our community,” Cortez said.

“We would like to explore options that would position us as a community of the future. Options for economical transportation and that create an exciting “image” as a city. A city that is environmentally and economically leading this region and the nation.”

Cortez said a light rail or street rail system could become a symbol of McAllen. On the other hand, it could be a mono-rail system, he said. “Who knows? But if we don’t start now, we’ll be caught by rising oil prices, increased traffic, and no answers for our community.”

Cortez said city commissioners would ask its partners in the state and federal government to assist McAllen with the resources it needs for this “exciting” project. “One of McAllen’s greatest strengths has always been the ability and willingness to take risk as we plan for the future,” he said.

In the past, McAllen Chamber of Commerce President Steve Ahlenius and Rio Grande Valley President Bill Summers have both given their backing to light rail in the Valley.

“It only makes sense for us to look at alternative forms of transportation, including commuter rail,” Summers told the Guardian in 2006. “Perhaps it would be more cost effective for a commuter to travel from Brownsville to McAllen for work? Or vice versa. As the Valley grows we need to start thinking of an integrated mobility system.”

At a Rio Grande Valley Regional Mobility Task Force luncheon in Weslaco in November 2005, Ahlenius spoke about the advantages of light rail

“If you look at the Rio Grande Valley, communities were created around the railroad. We have in place right now enough rail lines and right-of-ways,” Ahlenius said.

“If you are talking about moving people from one end of the Valley to the next, a light rail system, to me, is the next thing on the horizon. It’s not going to be more roads.”

Ahlenius said he started thinking seriously about light rail when gasoline prices skyrocketed. He said socio-economics and geography made the Valley an ideal location for light rail.

“If you look at the poverty level, in Hidalgo County you are talking about 280,000 people at or below poverty level. They can’t afford cars. And if gasoline goes to $3 a gallon they are not going to be able to afford gas even if they have cars,” Ahlenius said.

“We can continue building all the roads we want in this area and we are never going to be able to address the issue of mobility of people. I think the future for our region is going to be on light rail system that connects from Brownsville all the way to Rio Grande City.”