Texas GOP platform complicates path for Broadway

Proponents of San Antonio’s Broadway renovation hope Gov. Greg Abbott will back down on his opposition to lane reductions — a key feature of the project’s multimodal corridor — after the November election. But transportation activists who’ve supported the governor are seeking to tie his hands on the issue as Abbott heads into a tightening reelection race this fall. Plank 63 in the 2022 Texas GOP platform, released Wednesday, calls for the party to oppose “anti-car measures,” including ‘road diet’ mandates designed to shrink auto capacity and/or intentionally clog vehicle lanes to force deference to pedestrian, bike, and mass transit options.” Kerrville conservative activist Terri Hall, whose group Texans Uniting for Reform & Freedom (TURF) fights toll roads and lane reduction projects across the state, pushed for the plank’s inclusion.

“Abbott campaigned on, ‘We’re going to fix our roads without tolls, taxes and increasing fees, so that started us down a great path with him,” Hall said. TURF endorsed Abbott for governor in 2014 because of his opposition to toll roads, which his Republican predecessor Rick Perry championed. “It may be true [that the lane reductions on Broadway are allowed after the election] because Abbott’s pretty weak,” said Hall. “But I can tell you, we did get a plank in the [GOP] platform that will make it very hard for the governor to back away from his stance on this.” Abbott’s office did not respond to an email requesting a comment on the Broadway project Thursday. Across the state, Hall said her group of activists have leaned on a good relationship with the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) and J. Bruce Bugg Jr., chairman of the Texas Transportation Commission that oversees TxDOT, to stop cities from pursuing thoroughfare makeover projects like Broadway, even if political donors might favor them.