Transportation in the Texas coastal zone a summary report

[From the U.S. Government Printing Office, www.gpo.gov]

Coastal Zone
Information COASTAL ZONE
Center INFORMATION CENTER

A summary report

Transportation
in the Texas Coastal Zone

Division of Planning Coordination
Office of the Governor

HE
28
.T4
T48
1973

March 1973

Property of CSC Library

A sumary report

TRANSPORTATION

IN THE

TEXAS COASTAL ZONE

Prepared for

OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR
DIVISION OF PLANNING COORDINATION
COASTAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT PROGRAM
INTERAGENCY COUNCIL ON NATURAL RESOURCES
AND THE ENVIRONMENT
STATE OF TEXAS

TRANSPORTATION PLANNING PROGRAM
TEXAS TRANSPORTATION INSTITUTE
TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY

MARCH 1973

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE NOAA
COASTAL SERVICES CENTER
2234q4 SOUTH HOBSON AVENUE
CHARLESTON, SC 29-2413

This report prepared by

TEXAS TRANSPORTATION INSTITUTE
TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
RonaZd W. HoZder, Project Director

Contributions by

Jack T. Lamkin, Assistant Research Economist
Dennis L. Christiansen, Research Assistant
William R. Lowery, Research Assistant
Vergil G. Stover, Program Manager

Prepared for

THE INTERAGENCY COUNCIL ON NATURAL RESOURCES AND THE ENVIRONMENT

OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION BOARD
DoZph Briscoe, Governor Harvey Davis, Executive Director
AIR CONTROL BOARD WATER DEVELOPMENT BOARD
CharZes Barden, Executive Secretary Harry P. BurZeigh, Executive Director
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE WATER QUALITY BOARD
John C. White, Commissioner Hugh C. Yantis Jr., Executive Director
GENERAL LAND OFFICE TEXAS FORESTSERVICE
Bob Armstrong, Commissioner PauZ R. Krarner., Director
HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT
J.C. DingwaZZ, State Highw@ Engineer EX-OFFICIO MEMBERS
INDUSTRIAL COMMISSION THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN
Jwnes H. HarweZl_, Executive Director Stephen Spurr, President
PARKS & WILDLIFE DEPARTMENT TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
CZayton T. Garrison, Executive Director John C. CaZhoun Jr., Vice President
BUREAU OF ECONOMIC GEOLOGY for Academic Affairs
WiZZiam L. Fisher, Direcvor
RAILROAD COMMISSION
George F. SingZetary, Administrator

Staff Support Provided by the Division of Planning
Coordination, Ed Grisham, Director.

Joe B. Harris - Coordinator of NaturaZ Resources
Joe C. MoseZey II - Project Director, CoastaZ Resources
Management Progrwn
Linda Johnston Reports Editor
CharZes Cooke PZanning AnaZyst

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Section Title Page

Introduction . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Comparison of Northeast Corridor and the
Texas Coastal Zone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Environmental Considerations . . . . . . . . . . 8

Existing Transportation in the Texas
Coastal Zone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Future Alternatives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Guidelines for Future Developments . . . . . . . 15

Recommendations for State Action . . . . . . . . 17

FIGURE 1 THE COASTAL ZONE OF TEXAS

LOCATION MAP

84Y

The Coastal Zone of Texas contains the most diverse grouping of
valuable natural resources in the State. Three and a half million
persons presently live within the Coastal Zone and the population
is expected to double by the year 2000 AD. Transportation is an
essential element of its development and the demand for transporta-
tion is increasing much faster than population. Careful planning
and appropriate action by the State is required if such growth
is to be accomodated with minimum impact upon the environment.

INTRODUCTION

The coastal Zone of Texas covers tercity passenger travel has more than
the 36-county area shown in Figure 1 doubled. Recent studies of urban trav-
and extends 10.35 miles into the Gulf. el characteristics in Texas cities have
This area contains the most diverse revealed that the number of daily auto
grouping of valuable natural resources trips per person has increased about
in the state. Because many of these 50 percent over the past ten years.
resources are irreplaceable assets be- Thus, the demand for transportation in
longing to the people of Texas, they the Coastal Zone could more than triple
should be conserved, developed and pre- in the next 30 years.
served in accordance with the goals of The transportation system serving
the state. Inevitable pressures of ur- the Texas Coastal Zone includes major
ban, commercial, industrial, and agri- elements of every existing mode of
cultural growth are causing a qeneral transportation. Eleven ports serve
degradation of the Coastal Zone envi- ocean-going ships, and the Gulf Intra-
ronment which will worsen unless steps coastal Waterway connects the Texas
are taken by state and local govern- coast to an extensive inland waterway
ments to safeguard this valuable re- system serving the heartland of the
source area. Thus, the 61st Legis- nation. Eight airports in the Coastal
lature of Texas authorized the estab-; Zone are served by scheduled air car-
lishment of the Coastal Resources Man- riers. The area is crisscrossed by
agement Program. This transportation numerous pipelines carrying crude oil
study is one of several studies spon- and petroleum products. An extensive
sored by that program in an effort to network of almost 3000 miles of main-
identify the actions required to safe- line railroads serves the region and
guard the environmental integrity of connects it to the rest of the state
the Coastal Zone for future generations and the nation. About 12,000 miles of
of Texans while fully utilizing coastal highways form the backbone of the total
resources. transportation system serving the coast-
Three and a half million persons, al Zone
about one-third of the state's popu'la- Somi of these transportation facili-
tion,lived in the Coastal Zone in 1970. ties are presently operating near cap-
It is one of the fastest growing areas acity while others are not utilized to
of the state-itS population has more more than a fraction of their ultimate
than doubled in the last 30 years. Re- capacity. Thus, the problem is to iden-
cent population estimates for Texas pro- tify ways to serve the rapidly growing
ject an increase from 3.5 million in demand for transportation with minimum
1970 to 6.0 million in 1990 for the 36 cotts and minimum detrimental effects
counties in the Coastal Zone. If this upon the environment. This implies an
expected growth rate actually occurs effective utilization of the total trans-
and the rate continues through the year. portation system serving the Coastal Zone.
2000 AD, the population of the Coastal This project consitutes an initial
Zone will double a8ain during the next. planning study, at the macroscopic level,
30 years (1970-200 AD). for a total transportation system to
Historically, the demand for trans- serve the Texas Coastal Zone. The pri-
portation services has grown much fast- mary objectives are:
er than the population. During the (1) To identify broad aZternatives
past twenty years, the nation's popula- for future deveZopment and trans-
tion has increased by about 33 percent portation systems;
while intercity freight movement has (2) To evatuate the probabLe conse-
increased more than 50 percent and in- quences of each major aZternative;

FIGURE 2 COMPARISON OF NORTHEAST CORRIDOR AND TEXAS COASTAL ZONE

@Vk
@MASSAG$4USE@T'S

E i@ YORK
.1 -T T

% 11 F-,W
, , Yo
JERSE

HNSYLVAMI

LA@. 4ULF OF MFIXICO

ATLANTIC OCEAN

A. RF
MARY D NORTHEAST CORRIDOR T E X A S COASTAL ZONE

Striking similarities exist between the Coastal Zone of Texas and the Northeast Corridor. The
land areas are about the same; distances between major cities are similar; both regions have
numerous seaports; and both areas are served by major elements of every mode of transportation.
Although the Texas Coastal Zone may never contain 42 million persons, its population is growing
enough to create some of the same transportation problems now evident in the Northeast Corridor.

(3) To identify critical relation- tion system which will have mini-
ships between urban form, Land mum-impact upon the environment.
use., and transportation systems;
(4) To out4ine generaZ guidelines Since this is a transportation planning
that can be used to insure com- study at the macroscopic level, consid-
patibZe deveZopments in the fu- ering broad alternatives for future
ture; and development, it does not replace the
(5) To identify specific actions that numerous detailed planning studies for
the state can take to heZp insure each transportation mode, but rather,
an effective future transporta- it should complement them.

COWARISON OF THE NORTHEAST CORRIDOR
AND THE TEXAS COASTAL ZONE

The Northeast Corridor stretches from this study, includes some 33,000 square
Washington, D.C. to Boston and includes miles. Futhermore, the distance be-
such cities as Baltimore, Philadelphia, tween some major cities are equivalent.
Newark, and New York City. More than 20 Obviously, both regions contain ex-
percent of the nation's population is con- tensive coastlines with bays and harbors
centrated in this region which includes serving numerous major seaports. The
less than 2 percent of the nation's land availability of water transportation has
area.. It is not surprising, then, that had a great effect on the location and
the Northeast Corridor is facing some of growth of cities in both regions. The
the most severe urban and transportation cities are major transportation hubs
problems in the nation. It is surprising, serving a large hinterland. This has
however, to realize that the Texas Coast- resulted in a high level of industrial
al Zone resembles the Northeast Corridor activities in the cities. Thus, the
in many ways now and might possibly look major developmental forces acting on
even more like it in the future. Thus, both regions are similar.
a comparison of these two regions can Contrary to popular belief, the North-
provide information that will be useful eastiCorridor is not just one huge city.
in helping the Texas Coastal Zone to In fact, less than 10 percent of the land
avoid many of the problems now plaguing area is urbanized. About 3 percent of
the Northeast Corridor. the land area of the Texas Coastal Zone
is urbanized. This means that over 90
GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS percent of the land area in both regions
is rural in nature.
Some of the geographic similarities The population of the Texas Coastal
become apparent when maps of the two Zone may double in the next 30 years,
areas are drawn to the same scale and increasing from 3.5 million in 1970 to
placed side-by-side as presented in Fig- 7 million by the year 2000 AD. The North-
ure 2. The two regions are about the east Corridor experienced a similar rate
same size and shape. The Northeast Cor- of growth when it was at the same stage
ridor,.as defined in other studies, en- of development. Its population increased
compasses about 57,000 square miles. from 3.6 million in 1820 to 7..2 million
The Texas Coastal Zone, as defined for in 1850. Indeed, the data presented in

so FIGURE 3 POPULATION GROWTH OF THE TWO REGIONS tivity of both areas is heavily depen-
dent upon transportation services.
Between 1950 and the mid-1960's,
substantial improvements were made in
intercity travel conditions in both the
Northeast Corridor and the Texas Coast-
al Zone. Construction of new highways,
esl.,ecially the Interstate system, and
@00 improvements in automobiles resulted in
a 30 percent to 40 percent reduction in
driving times between major cities. The
introduction of jet aircraft decreased
AR
0
flying time by a similar percentage.
The advent of relatively light-weig,ht
011 diesel-powered passenger trains short-
ly after WW II also resulted in improve-
ments in intercity rail passenger ser-
vice. However, these trends toward re-
duced intercity travel times have al-
YA' A R
The population of the Texas Coastal Zone may double in the next ready reversed in the Northeast Corri-
30 years. The Northeast Corridor experienced a similar growth
when it was at the same stage of development. These two regions dor and they appear to be bottoming out
exhibit similar growth patterns if the Texas Coastal Zone is
assumed to be tagging the Northeast Corridor by Z50 years. in the Texas Coastal Zone.
Intercity highway facilities within
Figure 3 indicates that these two re- these heavily traveled corridors of the
gions have very similar growth patterns Northeast have been appreciably better
except that the Texas Coastal Zone is than in directions perpendicular to the
about 150 years behind the Northeast Cor- corridors. Thus, the transportation
ridor in overall population growth. facilities themselves stimulated growth
The population of Texas Coastal Zone along the corridor--small communities
wi 11 proba bl y never reac h 4.2 mi 11 i on , developed into large communities with
but it will increase enough to create economies largely dependent upon the
the potential for many of the same trans- major urban centers. These new urban
portation problems that are now evident developments generated more traffic
in the Northeast Corridor. A closer look along the corridor requiring more fa-
at some of these transportation problems, cilities which in turn stimulated more
and the types of developments in the growth in a seemingly never ending cycle.
Northeast Corridor, can yield information Considering the long lead times between
that can be used to avoid them in the design and construction of major highway
Texas Coastal Zone. facilities today, it appears that inter-
city travel times in the Northeast Cor-
ridor will continue to increase during
INTERCITY TRANSPORTATION the foreseeable future.
Aircraft and terminal delays at North-
Transportation systems serving both east Corridor airports increased more than
of these coastal regions includemajor 20 percent between 1968 and 1969. These
elements of every mode. Considerable delays declined somewhat during -1970, but
rail, highway, and canal networks con- the long term trend indicates that air-
nect both regions and their extensive craft delays will increase in the future.
ports to large inland areas. Conse- Such delays, combined with increasing con-
quently, transportation is especially gestion on airport-access roads, havedras-
important to both regions in two ways. tically reduced the attractiveness of air
First, the transportation industry it- travel between cities within the Northeast
self is an important sector of the eco- Corridor.
nomy; second, nearly all economic ac- In an effort to counteract the dete-

rioration in intercity travel along the activities. The need for transportation
corridor, a new high-speed rail passen- services will continue even though the
ger service was inaugurated in January facilities may change drastically. lhus,
1969. The Metroliner, using new equip- a major transportation facility should
ment and improved roadbed, achieved a be considered as a permanent commitment
one-hour reduction.in travel time be- to transportation--not just a highway or
tween New York City and Washington D.C. railroad. Wherever possible, sufficient
However, the Metroliner equipment can- right-of-way should be acquired to pro-
not achieve its full potential on ex- vide future flexibility for the corridor.
isting roadbeds due to numerous curves This will enable the Texas Coastal Zone
and grade crossings. Nevertheless, this to better meet the transportation needs
form of intercity travel has diverted of future generations.
many passengers from airplanes and auto-
mobiles. URBAN TRANSPORTATION
The Texas Coastal Zone has not ex-
perienced such severe problems in inter- The population of the Houston area is
city travel ; however, the long term trend now only 1.7 million, but it is expected
toward improvement has bottomed out. to exceed 3 million in the next 30 years.
.Overall intercity travel conditions with- Thus, a comparison between Houston and
in the zone are probably better now than Washington, D.C. (2.5 million) as well as
they will be at any time in the foresee- Boston (2.7 million)should provide useful
able future. As its population increases, information for future plans in Houston.
the Texas Coastal'Zone will begin to ex- As shown in Figure 4, Houston presently
perience many of the same problems as the covers more land area than either Wash-
Northeast Corridor. ington or Boston even though its popula-'
It is interesting to note that the
distance from Houston to Corpus Christi FIGURE 4 COMPARISON OF THREE URBANIZED AREAS
is the same as from New York City to
Washington, D.C. In fact, the distances
from Houston to San Antonio and Houston
to Dallas are also similar. Existing
traffic volumes Along these corr'idors
are not yet sufficiently high to.support
a high speed train service like the Me-
troliner. Eventually, however, these
......... .
cit
y-pairs may need such a service, so
future plans should consider this pos-
. ..... ....
sibility.
. . . . . . . . . . . .
The Texas Coastal Zone is in a far
better position to planfor future prob-
lems than the Northeast Corridor. All . ... . ...
of the Coastal Zone lies within Texas
while the Northeast Corridor stretches
across 10 states and the District of
Columbia. Hence, Texas has an opport-
unity to apply any lessons that can be
_N
learned from the history of the orth-
east Corridor.
Probably the most important lesson
is the need to recognize the permanency
of travel corridors. Both intercity and
urban transportation facilities represet These three cities provide an interesting contrast in urban
forms and urban transportation systems which may prove use-
a permanent commitment to the movement of ful to Houston.
p
,,ersons and goods between areas of major

tion is less. This is indicative of the per person in the Boston area. -This
lower overall population density in Hous- deficit of $75 million must be covered
ton which is largely determined by the by state and local tax funds.
type of housing. More than 70% of the Most experts agree that high-density
residents in Houston live in single-fam- corridors are needed to support a rail-
ily houses compared to 50% of those in rapid-tran�t system. If this were the
Washington, D.C. and 40% of the Boston only consideration, Boston should be an
residents. excellent location for a rail-rapid-tran-
The population densities of both sit system as indicated in Figure 5. Ob-
Boston and Washington, D.C. are about viously, other factors must be considered.
double that of Houston. Perhaps the Boston and Washington, D.C. serve
best way to visualize the differences about the same total number of transit
in these cities is to imagine the changes riders; however, Boston is splitting their
necessary to make Houston look like the ridership between'several modes While Wash-
others. Houston would approach the ur- ington uses only buses. This factor may
ban form of Washington, D.C. if a city explain some of the financial problems of
the size of Dallas,could be stacked on Boston's transit system. Washington, D.C.
top of the existing development. The is current,ly building a 98-mile rail rapid
changes needed to make it approach the transit system at an estimated cost of more
urban form of Boston are even more dras- than $3 billion. It will be interesting to
tic. An additional million persons see if this new system attracts new riders
would have to be added to several cor- or just diverts passengers from existing
ridors extending from downtown outward bus operations.
to Loop IH 610. Houston's privately owned bus com-
The automobile is the backbone of the
urban transportationsystem in all three FIGURE 5 -CORRIDOR DENSITIES
.cities; however, the northeastern@lcities
have a much higher dependence upon tran-
sit modes. Washington, D.C. is served by
three bus companies using a total of al-
most 1,800 buses. Boston, on the other
hand, has a rail rapid transit system,
4
street car and trolley lines, and com-
.30. sosro/y
muter rail lines in addition a fleet of
about 1,200 city buses. Houston's tran- .1
sit company operates a fleet of less than
30,-0 -
350 buses. Even with all of its rail fa-
cilities, Boston has more miles of free-
ways (190 miles) than either Washington
It. '"o - ........
or Houston (160 miles each).
Washington, D.C. seems to be the only
one of these three cities with a thriving
transit operation. It has the highest
UOUSMIY
level of transit ridership of any city
its size in the'nation, and all three
7
privately owned bus companies are in "Mes prorom ary ca"re'T
sound financial condition. The.Massa-
chusetts Bay Transportation Authority, Most experts agree that high density
Boston's publicly owned transit company,
on the other hand, has experienced severe corridors are needed to support a raiZ
problems with decreasing ridership and rapid transit system; yet, Boston's
rapidly increasing operating deficits. transit system is experienceing severe
Its estimated operating deficit for 1971 financiaZ difficuZties.
Was $75 million - more than 30 dollars L- J

pany has managed to maintain a finan- sit company's condition will probably
cial ly sound operation despite a decreas- change for the worse. Factors identi-
ing ridership trend. However, if recent fied in this comparison of cities should
trends in automobile ownership and low be considered in future transit plans
density developments continue, the tran- for Houston.

ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS

Mechanized transportation is more than operating at the same level of activity
just a convenience for man it is essential shows that most of them are about equal
for the survival of his society. Unfor- (See Table 1). Pipeline appears to be
tunately, all modes of transportation must the only mode that has a significantly
have somezimpact upon the environment; lower potential. Corrective actions are
however, the amount of environmental dam already being taken to reduce the severity
age can be minimized. The first step to- of most of these environmental impacts
ward improvement is a definition of the so transportation systems of the future
major areas of environmental concern. will be more compatible with the envi-
Air quality, water quality, noise, waste ronment.,
heat, drainage, and land-use patterns The automobile is the most visible
appear to be justifiable areas of major source of air pollution to the general
concern. Other environmental consider- public; therefore, it has been the ob-
ations such as visual pollution, litter, ject of much criticism. Some people
and junk yards are valid concerns, but have proposed eliminating all automobibs,
they are not a direct result of the con- or at least outlawing the internal com-
struction or operation of transportation bustion engine. However, no propulsion
modes. system available today can achieve bet-
Most environmental studies have point- ter thermal efficiencies over the broad
ed to the highway mode as the most seri- range of operating conditions required
ous polluter of the environment; however, of the automobile. Reciprocating steam
this is partly due to the relative usage engines, steam turbines, gas turbines,
of modes. Highways provide for more than and electrical batteries are all being
90% of all person movement and 50% of all evaluated as.possible prime movers,
goods movement in the nation. A compar- but none of them offer much promise
ison of the relative potential of envi- for the near future.
ronmental impacts of the various modes Meanwhile, em1ssions from internal
combustion engines are being reduced by
TABLE I RELATIVE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF improved designs and pollution control
VARIOUS TRANSPORTATION MODES devices. Indeed, continuing monitoring
Major Areas of Mode of Transportation tests indicate that the total amount of
Environmental Concern Highway. Air Rail Pipeline Water pollution produced by automobiles peaked
Air Quality High Medium Med i um Low Medium in 1967 and has been declining since then.
Water Quality Low Low Low Low High Federal standards for 1975-1976 model
Noise Medium High Med i um Low Low automobiles require a 90% reduction in
Waste Heat High High High Medium High air pollutant emissions from the 1970-
Drainage High Medium High Low Low 1971 levels. Experimental models test-
Land-Use Patterns High Medium High Medium High ed in 1971 show promise of meeting these
All modes of transportation have some impact on the environment; low emission levels. Thus, total emis-
however, corrective actions are being taken to minimize the
severity of these impacts. Future transportation systems will be sions from automobiles should continue
more compatible with the environment. to decline during the next few years as
older cars are replaced by newer models.

Automobile emissions are almost four as shown in Figure 6. If the individual
times greater under stop and go traffic citizen really wants to do something about
operations than at constant speeds of 45 air pollution, he can stop buying such
to 50 miles per hour. Thus cities can over-powered cars.
reduce automobile pollution by improving Thus, it appears that significant prog-
traffic operations on city streets. Also, ress has been made toward reducing auto-
most new cars bought today have much more mobile emissions and that even more prog-
power than needed for normal urban dyi@ing. -ress can be expected in the future. How-
Indeed, some of today's automobiles have ever, actions by government and by indivi-
better performance characteristics than dual car owners can also be effective in
the best fighter planes of World War II, minimizing emissions.

FIGURE 6 PERFORMANCE CHARACTERISTrCS OF VEHICLES

VEHICLE Low PERFORMANCE LEVEL High

AIRCRAFT

AUTOMOBILES

BUSES

TRUCKS

TRAINS

SHIPS
0.001 O.'Ol 0.
Scale horsepower/pound

Some cars on the streets today have better performance characteristics than the
best fighter planes of World War Il. If the individual really wants to do some-
thing about air polZution, he can stop buying such over-powered cars. AZso, he
can keep his car weIZ-tuned and timed for efficiency rather than power.

EXISTING TRANSPORTATION IN THE
TEXAS COASTAL ZONE

Three of the top four economic sectors part of its, and the State's total eco-
in Texas (petroleum refining, petroleum nomic activity. More than three-fourths
production, and agriculture) are entirely of all the goods shipped from Texas are
dependent upon transportation for their shipped from the Coastal Zone. In fact,
value. Obviously then, a healthy trans- the number of tons of goods per person
portation industry is essential to a handled by the Coastal Zone's transpor-
healthy economy. The transportation in- tation industry totaled more than 4 times
dustry in the Coastal Zone is a vital the national average.

WATER TRANSPORTATION outbound; consequently, nearly all of the
ships carrying 7exas goods out must return
Few Texans realize the importance of empty. Hence, the rates charged for trans-
water transportation to the State. Al-, portation must cover the cost of the en-
most 90% of all shipments from the Coast- tire voyage rather than just half of it.
al Zone and almost 75% of all goods shipped Traffic congestion in some of the ship
from the State as a whole travel by channels is so severe on occasions that
water, as shown in Figure 7. Indeed, collisions occur. Indeed, the Houston
Texas rivals New York as the premier Ship Channel is one of 14 in the nation
seafaring state in the nation since being considered by the Coast Guard for
Texas ports handled a total of 185 mil- a traffic control system - after enabling
lion tons of goods in 1968 compared to legislation is passed.
192 million tons in New York. Yet, Almost half of the nation's petro-
Texas has a state agency specifically chemical industry and about one-fourth
concerned with every other mode exc .ept of its refining capacity is concentrated
water transportation. in the Texas Coastal Zone. Hence, the

FIGURE 8 TRENDS IN AVERAGE SIZE OF TANKER SHIPS
FIGURE 7 MODAL DISTRIBUTION OF GOODS SHIPPED
400-
FROM THE TEXAS COASTAL ZONE
300-

zoo-

BY LAAW
/00-

7R
RWL 14-47.
//.7,-. 60- Off

BY MQTER

-S

Ater& RPAW.4 3MPAU,,,3
Nor lweAuerv

1960 /910
YEAR
Few Texans realize the importance of water transportation
to the Coastal Zone and to Texas. Over 120 million tons The size of the average tanker under construction increased
of goods are shipped by water from Texas ports each year. from 41,000 tons in 1960 to 116,000 tons in 1970. Port
This represents almost 75% of all goods shipped from the depths in Texas are barely sufficient to handle the average
State as a whole. size tanker in the world fleet today. Dramatic actions are
Ineeded if Texas ports are to be able to serve future ships.

bulk of the tonnage in ocean traffic is
Ocean Transport carried by petroleum tankers, and the
size of tankers has been increasing at
Ocean-going ships carry about 120 mil- astounding rates in recent years. Fig-
lion tons of goods to or from Texas each ure 8 shows that the average size tanker
year; however, total ocean traffic has under construction increased from 41,000
not increased in the last ten years. The deadweight tons in 1960 in 116,000 tons
reasons for this lack of growth are prob- in 1970. Two tankers exceeding 400,000
ably many and varied, but problems such tons are now,under construction and a
@10,

as imbalance of traffic, congestion in 500,000 ton tanker is on order. Yet,
certain ship channels, and limited chan- Texas ports, with a maximum 42 ft. chan-
nel depths must be contributing factors. nel depth, can only handle ships,up to
More than 85% of the ocean traffic is 45,000 or 50,000 deadweight tons when

they are fully loaded. Obviously, some The Texas portion of the Gulf Intra-
dramatic actions are needed if Texas coastal Waterway is all at sea level so
ports are to be able to serve future that no locks are required. However, in
ships. order to reach the Mississippi River sys-
t.em, Texas goods must pass through several
locks in Louisiana. These locks are se-
Intand Waterway verely restricting the flow of traffic -
sometimes causing delays of 24 to 30 hours
Inland waterway traffic is also a major to barges waiting to pass through them.
portion of the water transportation activi- Total delay times at locks can more than
ties in the Coastal Zone. Barges loaded double the normal travel time between
with almost 70 million tons of goods trav- Texas and the Mississippi River.
eled the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway in Recent industrial expansion in the
Texas during 1970. About half of this Coastal Zone'has been closely related to
traffic (36 million tons) crossed the the waterway. In fact, more than 4 out
Texas-Louisiana border traveling to or of every 5 additional tons of waterborne
from such far-flung locations as Pitts- traffic developed in the past 15 years
burgh, Chicago, and Minneapolis (see Fig- have been on the canal. The volume of
ure 9). All of this traffic must pass inland waterway traffic in Texas increased
through the heavily congested portion of rapidly from 1950 until 1967, but then it
the canal in Louisiana. As peculiar as leveled off. Some of this leveling off
it may seem, conditions in the Louisiana may be due to the delays at the locks.
portion of the canal have a strong impact Thus, the traffic problems on the Louis-
on Texas waterway traffic. iana segment of the waterway can stymie
future industrial growth in the Texas
FIGURE 9 MOVEMENT OF TEXAS GOODS ON INLAND WATERWAYS Coastal Zone.

PIPELINES

The Texas Coastal Zone oresentl has
y
a greater concentration of pipelines than
any similar size area in the world. This
---------- is not too surprising considering the vast
petroleum resources contained within the
Coastal Zone. Numerous natural gas pipe-
lines also crisscross the zone. Most of
------- -- these pipelines range in size from 6"
diameter to 12" diameter; however, some
are as large as 20" diameter and one is
. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . ...... 36" diameter.
IIt These petroleum pipe-lines transport a
tremendous volume of goods every year.
75V
-------------- The capacity of all pipelines within iden-
tifiable corridors is depicted in Figure
10. The total capacity of pipelines en-
D,C.5 r1NA T101Y5 tering or leaving the Coastal Zone is
ORIUNS sufficient to transport more than 150
4- million tons of crude oil and petroleum
products each year.
About 36 million tons of goods crossed the Texas-Louisiana Sizeable increases in pipeline ca-
border on the inland waterway in 1970. Shipments from
Texas went to such far-flung markets as Pittsburgh, Chicago, pacity will probably be needed if petro-
and Minneapolis. All of this traffic must pass through leum resources in the offshore areas of
several locks between the Mississippi River and Texas which Texas are developed in the future. How-
cause severe delays. ever, as the population of the Texas

FIGURE 10 CAPACITIES OF MAJOR PIPELINE CORRIDORS ably help to balance rail traffic
since the railroads play a major role
EAST in supporting the ports.
MOM CENMAL TEXAS
TEXAS
AlR TRANSPORTATION

LOUISIANA Eight airports in the Coastal Zone
are pre
1410-CCNTRAL sently served by scheduled air
TEXAS
passenger.service. Almost 3 million
passengers boarded planes at these air-
ports in 1970, and if recent trends con-
rEXA3 tinue, this total could increase to 30
million by 1990. Such an increase in
traffic will require numerous improve-
ments to existing airports; however,
additional airports probably will not
be necessary.
Ground access time to airports has
become a significant portion of the total
travel time for modern airline trips.
The Texas Coastal Zone has a higher density of pipelines Very few areas of the Coastal Zone are
than any similar size area in the world. The total cap-
acity of pipelines entering and leaving the Texas Coast- now more than 11-, hours driving time from
al Zone is sufficient to transport more than 150 million an air-carrier airport; however, this
tons of crude oil and petroleum products each year. situation will"probably worsen as urban
areas increase in the future.
Coastal Zone increases, locating and Air cargo is the fastest growing
constructing additional pipelines will form of goods movement, and the project-
become increasingly more difficult. Of ed increase in air cargo traffic is suf-
course, additional pipelines can probably ficient to require substantial improve-
be constructed within existing pipeline ments to goods handling facilities at
right-of-ways providing future needs lie Coastal Zone airports.
within the same corridor.
HIGHWAY TRANSPORTATION
RAIL TRANSPORTATION
Highwaysform the backbone of the
An extensive network of railroads, transportation syst'em serving the land
including almost 3,000 miles of main-line areas within the Coastal Zone. Most of
tracks, serves the Coastal Zone and con- the 12,000 miles of highways crisscross-
nects it to the rest of the State and the ing the Coastal Zone are presently operat-
nation. A total of 55 million tons of ing at less than half of their capacity
rail freight is estimated to originate in, in rural areas; however, traffic volumes
terminate in, or pass through the Coastal increase sharply as these highways ap-
Zone each year. proach urban areas. Extensive highway
Presently, none of the major rail cor- improvements will be required to ade,
ridors appear to be operating at more than quately serve the projected growth in
20% of their basic caoacity, and this ba- motor vehicle traffic during the next
sic capacity can be g reatly increased 30 years.
through si'gnalization and centralized
traffic control if future needs require. URBAN TRANSPORTATION
Hence, available capacity is not a prob-
lem for railroads in the Coastal Zone, Motor vehicles operating on streets
but the imbalance of traffic is a chronic and freeways provide almost all of the
problem. If the flow of ocean traffic is urban transportation in Coastal Zone cit-
balanced in the future, it will prob- ies. All of these cities have developed

at average population densities that are total street mileage, but they handle
compatible with an automobile-based trans- more than 80% of the total urban travel.
liurtation system. The demand for urban Presently, there are about 2000 miles of
travel has increased about 50% during the arterial streets a,nd 400 miles of free-
last ten years - much faster than popula- ways in Coastal Zone cities. If their
tion growth. Hence, major improvements in population increases as expected, these
urban transportation facilities will prob- cities will need to build an additional
ably be needed even if the population 3000 miles of major arterials and free-
does not increase substantially during ways as well as 15,000 miles of local
the next 30 years. and collector streets. Even so, the
larger urban areas will probably need
Major arterial streets and freeways some form of mass transportation to sup-
usually constitute less than 20% of the plement their automobile-based system.

FUTURE ALTERNATIVES

Several alternative courses of action quired for the one million ton ships.
are available to Texas in developing the If minimum economical sizes of tankers
Coastal Zone's future transportation sys- and bulk carriers are to be served in
tem. The four topic areas discussed be- the future, much deeper port facilities
low are particularly important because will be required.
decisions concerning each will signifi- Texas can pursue several alternative
cantly influence the character of future courses of action relative to future
development in the Coastal Zone. needs of the ocean-going segment of the
total transportation system. These al-
SUPER-DRAFT PORT ternatives include the following: (1) No
increase in depth; (2) Deeper channels;
Maximum ship sizes, especially tankers (3) Offshore terminals; and (4) Super-
and bulk carriers, have been increasing at port. Each of these alternatives have
an astounding rate during the last 30 ftars some obvious advantages and disadvan-
If these trends continue until 1985, the tages; however, their consequences should
maximum size tanker will exceed 1,000,000 be evaluated further before Texas chooses
deadweight tons, and the maximum size bulk a course of action.
carrier will be at least 300,000 tons.
These rapid increases in ship sizes are INLAND WATERWAY SYSTEM
a result of economic considerations in
ocean transport. The productivity of a The section of the Gulf Intracuastal
ship can be doubled by either doubling Canal in Louisiana is an essential ele-
the size of a ship which requires a 42% ment of the Texas waterway system; how-
increase in horsepower or by doubling the ever, traffic congestion and delays at
ship's speed which requires a 550% in- locks in this segment are deterring'the
crease in horsepower. Thus the trend has growth of waterway traffic in Texas. A
been toward larger ship sizes. total of 65 million tons of cargo trav-
The maximum depth of Texas ports to- eled the Louisiana segment of the canal in
day is only 42 feet; therefore, fully 1970. Some of this traffic was local in
loaded ships exceeding 50,000 deadweight nature, but 36 million tons of it was
tons cannot enter these ports. Depths travelina to or from Texas. Operating
of 75 feet will be required to serve under ideal conditions 24 hours a day,
ships up to 250,000 tons in size, and 365 days a year, the Vermilion lock can
depths of about 115 feet will be re- only pass 70 million tons of goods per

year. Thus, Texas traffic alone consumes freeway facility parallel to the Coast.
at least.half of the ultimate capacity of However, new highways in the vicinity of
this lock. ' the coastline can significantly influence
Transportation services such as those the type and extent of land development
provided by the waterway are essential to along.the beach areas (see Figure 11).
the economic livelihood of the Coastal The nature of future development will
Zone. ' The alternative approaches that differ depending upon the lo.cation and
might be considered with regard to the design of any new highway facilities.
waterway include the following: (1) No Alternative approaches that might be
waterway improvement; (2) Improved locks; considered include the following: (1)
and (3) New constant-level waterway. No new highways; (2) Beach highway;
Here again, obvious advantages and dis- (3)'Coastal highway; (4) Inland highway;
advantages of each can be identified, and (5) Two facilities. Each of these
but further study is needed before Texas alternatives will have different effects
selects a course of action. upon the nature of future development.
These factors should be considered be-
COASTAL HIGHWAYS fore decisions concerning highway facil-
ities are made.
The demand for more recreational
facilities along the Texas coast and im- URBAN GROWTH
proved highway access to them is expect-
ed to increase in the future. Also, in- The Urban population of the Coastal
creased intercity travel demands will Zone has more than doubled in the last
probably necessitate construction of a 30 years, and it may double again in

FIGURE 11 LOCATIONAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR NEW
HIGHWAY FACILITIES PARALLEL TO THE COAST

M GUL
........ ...
....... ... .....

. .........

BEACH HIGHWAY COASTAL HIGHWAY INLAND HIGHWAY
� along beach areas * up to 15 miles inland from- * more than 20 miles inland from
� varying degrees of development beach area beach areas .
along full length of beach area * nodes of development at access * nodes of development at%access
� few, if any, natural, isolated roads highways
beach areas remain o natural, isolated areas remain e natural, isolated areas remain
but might be forfeited for
future beach highway link

New highway facilities in the Coastal Zone can significantly influence
the development of recreational facilities along the beach areas. The
location of a highway is a critical consideration if any areas of sea-
shore are to remain isolated and relatively untouched.

the next 30 years. Future transporta- new urban development will tend to occur
tion problems will largely depend upon around existing cities. If this devel-
how well the cities and the State man- opment is carefully planned and properly
age to locate and shape new urban devel- managed, the net result can be an improve-
opments and transportation systems. ment in existing urban forms. Houston
Two or three new urban centers might will face some unique problems in that
possibly be developed along the Coastal it must try to develop an urban form that
Zone in order to disperse the population can be more effectively served by mass
and minimize the amount of redevelopment transportation. The Beaumont-Port Arthur
required in existing cities. However, area can easily transition into a unified
such a course of action would require urban area with three focal points. Other
aggressive steps on the part of the State cities in the Coastal Zone have a great
to provide transportati *on facilities and deal of flexibility providing that new
entice industry to locate at the new sites. developments are compatible with ' existing
Without stringent external controls, automobile-based transportation systems.

GUIDELINES FOR FUTURE DEVELOPMENT

URBAN TRANSPORTATION cause they are, and must be, one in the
'same.
Total urban population of the Coastal The principal decision concerning
Zone may double before the year 2000 A.D. - future urban development should be the
therefore,.careful planning is essential nature and character of urban environment
in order to accommodate this growth in a desired. Once this is determined, the
manner that yields desirable'urban envi- transportation system must be designed
ronments and effective transportation sys- to be compatible with the desired type.
tems. A recognition of the interrela- of development. All of the cities in
tionships between land uses and compat- the Coastal Zone consist primarily of
ible forms of transportation is the key single-family dwelling units so their
to proper urban planning (see Figure transportation systems should continue
12). Land use plans and transportation to be based primarily upon the automobil'e.
plans cannot be developed separately be- However, this places some corresponding
constraints upon the city size and extent
of development at major focal points (see
FIGURE 12 BALANCED TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS Figure 13). 1
With a properly designed system of
T arterial streets, a city can grow to a
20M PERSONS M Mi. 25.000 PERLONS'SO. Mi, population of about 300,000 persons be-
LINOL S UE
AMILY' FA I NILG O.XSE fore an urban freeway system is needed.
JUN17S t-iUNITS OLK
A
LA101 1ALL I...."21.1T1.1.2t. NTS
LO,5 Lou S@ Once a city is large enough to need a
AUTO ON freeway system, the constraints asso-

THIIS
ciated with transportation systems
-fWAYS -FT.O. serving a single focal point should be
RA I [email protected]:A
TRANS SKYBUS IL'
LOCAL allS Ap:* considered. Automobiles operating on
RANS T
an ideal arterial street and freeway
A balanced transportation system can only be achieved through a system can serve a total population of
recognition of the mutual dependence of urban land use and mode about 2 million persons surrounding a
of transportation. Single family houses cannot be served eco-
nomicaZly by rail rapid transit nor can high-rise apartments be single focal point. Larger urban areas
served adequately by an automobiZe-baaed transportation system.
A city-can choose either the type of development or the type of must either develop multiple focal points
transportation system desired but that decision carries with it
corresponding Limitations concerning the other. or face the necessity of supplementing
I their automobile based commuter system

FIGURE 13 MAXIMUM URBAN POPULATION PER FOCAL POINT SERVED FIGURE 14 ACCESSIBILITY VS DIRECT ACCESS
BY VARIOUS TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS

Y..

... ...........

011, f

.. .... ..........

CITY POPULATION

The central business district (CBD), located at the focal Point
of a city, is usually the largest traffic generator within an
. ... ... .
urban area. Different urban transportation systems can serve
7@
various levels of development within such a focal point, and the
intensity of development within the focal point is related to
the total urban population surrounding it. Thus, the type of
transportation system needed to serve commuter traffic to and
from the focal point varies with population. Primary arteriats provide good accessibiZity over a broad portion
of the urban area. Direct access points along an arterial street
destroy its capability for traffic movement. ComerciaL firms
with some form of mass transportation seek locations with good accessibility to a broad market area.
Thus, it is in their beat interest to take direct access from
and providing a people-mover system to other streets near the arterial rather than to destroy the access-
aid circulation within the focal point. ibility provided by the arterial.
Urban streets serve a variety of func-
tions which are important to the overall to the commercial sites can usually be
operation of the city; however, the major provided from streets with lower levels
functions of movement and access are of classifications so that the good ac-
competitive in nature so a single facility cessibility of the arterial is not de-
cannot be designed to provide a maximum stroyed in the process of development.
of each. A classification of streets Recent trends toward larger scale
according to the relative importance residential developments (50 acres or
of these two functions can be extremely more) have increased the opportunitv
useful in developing plans for urban for implementing the functional clas-
street systems. The following four sification concept in street design.
classifications, listed in order of Modern limited access subdivisions re-
decreasing importance of the movement sult in better traffic operations on
function, are suggested: (1) Primary the arterial streets, and they provide
arterials; (2) Secondary arterials; a more relaxed atmosphere in the res-
(3) Collectors; and (4) Local streets. idential area. Future urban develop-
Access controls are needed along ments in the Coastal Zone will provide
arterial streets in order to protect a better livina environment if the sug-
their primary function of movement. gested guidelines concerning street
Frequent driveways and street inter- system plans are followed.
sections result in numerous turning
movements that areatly hinder the flow TRANSPORTATION CORRIDORS
of traffic. Public opposition to such
controls often subsides once the land Major transportation corridors are
owners recognize the difference in ac- a permanent commitment to the movement
cess and accessibility (see Figure 14). of persons and goods between areas of
Commercial firms seek locations along concentrated activities. The types of
primary arterials because of the high facilities within the corridors might
level of accessibility that they pro- change drastically over the years, but
vide over a broad market area. Access the need for transportation remains as

long as the activity centers exist. in the future. A major intercity tran-
The first major transportation facility sportation corridor today might contain
installed to connect two activity areas a six-lane freeway, two freight rail lines,
is usually located on the most desirable a high-speed rail facility, and several
alignment. Thus, subsequent changes in pipelines. Thus, right-of-way widths of
capacity or level of service can best be -I, mile or more would be appropriate.
accomplished along the same route if ad- Major urban corridors might contain a
equate flexibility is available. ten-lane freeway, a fixed-way transit
Future transportation needs in the. line, and some goods movement facilities.
Coastal Zone can be met more effectively Right-of-way widths of 1,000 feet might
if the cities, counties, and the State be considered for such urban corridors.
embrace and apply the concept of perma-
nent transportation corridors. Of course, TRANSPORTATION TERMINALS
numerous problems must be addressed be-
fore the corridor concept can be applied. A transportation terminal is not nec-
These problems include the following: essarily the end of a line but merely a
(1) private vs. public ownership of trans- location where two or more modes of trans-
portation facilities; (2) limited juris- portation can interchange traffic. Ter-
diction of state transportation agencies; minal facilites are normally oriented
and (3) current constraints on purchase primarily toward serving one mode, as
of right-of-way. the name airport or seaport implies, but
A major transportation corridor might the basic function of the terminal is to
serve several different modes, and the provide for modal interchanges. Hence,
facilities might change with time. How- future plans for transportation terminals
ever, if sufficient right-of-way is ac- in the Coastal Zone should give due con-
quired and protected, the corridor will sideration to all modal interchanges that
have flexibility to meet changing needs might need to occur there.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR STATE ACTION

Specific recommendations for State yet the State has an agency specifically
action relative to Coastal Zone trans- concerned with every mode except water
portation are summarized below. transportation. The scope of problems
1. New Transportation FaciZities. facing this sector are too broad to be
The location of transportation facili- solved by individual ports; therefore,
ties in the Coastal Zone can signifi- it is recommended that the State desig-
cantly influence the type of devel'op- nate an agency to address the problems
ment that occurs along the beach areas. of water transportation. The role of
Therefore, it is recommended that the such an agency should not be to regulate,
State require full consideration of but rather to serve the needs of State
these land-use/transportation relation- in matters concerning water transporta-
ships in the design and location of all tion.
new transportation facilities. Actions 3. Super-Port. Texas ports are
to achieve this goal should be under- barely deep enough to serve the average
taken by the Interagency Transportation size tanker today, and ship sizes are
Council in cooperation with the Inter- increasing rapidly. The Corps of Engi-
agency Council on Natural Resources and neers is presently studying the feasi-
the Environment. bility of locating a "Superport" in
2. Water Transportation Agency. Wa- the Gulf of Mexico, but this study
ter transportation is important to Texas, will not necessarily address the prob-

blems faced by Texas ports. Hence, it agency to address other problems of wa-
is recommended that the State conduct ter transportation.)
a-study of water depth needs for Texas '4. .Intracoastal Waterway. Traffic
and further evaluate alternative meth- congest-ion and delays at locks on the
ods of obtaining such depths in order Louisiana segment of the Gulf Intracoast-
to. formulate a plan of action forTexas. al Canal are deterring growth of Texas
. The first offshore deep-water ter- waterway commerce. Steps must be taken
mi'nal to be built in the Gulf will prob- to alleviate this problem. Texas should
ably be single b'u'oy mooring system to urge the U.S. Congress, the Corps of En-
handle crude oil. This facility should gineers, and the State of Louisiana to
probably be constructed and operated by take all possible steps to upgrade this
private enterprise; nevertheless, the portion of the waterway.
State has a valid involvement. Texas .5. Environmental Effects. Very lit-
should take steps necessary to insure tle definitive information is available
that: (a) deep-water facilities are on the environmental effects of various
constructed along the Texas coastas transportation modes operating in the
soon as poss,ible, and (b) all possible Coastal Zone. It is recommended that
steps are taken to protect the environ- the State conduct a study of these ef-
ment in the design, constructfon, and fects and evaluate alternative remedial
operation of these facilities. actions so that effective pollution con-
(Note: Since this report was writ- trol policies can be established and im-
ten., the Texas Legislature., meeting in plemented. The State should also en-
special session, has passed legislation courage the development of regional con-
creating a special offshore terminal tingency plans to assure quick and ap-
commission which is capable of accom- propriate reaction in the event of major
pZishing the tasks listed above. How- transportation mishaps which could create
ever, the creation of this commission a threat to the sensitive envi.ronment of
does not alleviate the need for a state the Coastal Zone.

TRANSPORTATION PLANNING FOR THE COASTAL ZONE OF TEXAS

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... TEXAS TRANSPORTATION INSTITUTE

The Coastal Zone of Texas is served by major elements of every mode of
transportation. The population of the Coastal Zone may double in the
next 30 years, and the demand for transportation has been growing much
faster than population. T(@xas must meet the challenge of providing
for the rapidly growing demand for transportation with reasonable costs
and minimum impact upon the sensitive environment of the Coastal Zone.

COASTAL mm -
iuA Ckwfai

liffiIIIIIIIIIIII
3 6668 00001 5034