EDITORIAL NOTE AND UPDATE
I was about to “pull” this out-of-date entry but then decided to leave it and say something. TxDOT has pulled the rug from under hundreds of locally conceived projects to boost tourism and preservation of hisotric and scenic sites. The funds destined for Texas communities under the transportation enhacement section of the National Transportation Act have evaporated, some say because the federal government cut Texas short, others say that Texas, when faced with the need for a cut-back on transportation chose the enhancement program over others that have a “higher priority” (stronger lobby?).
At any rate, the exciting initiative described in this 2005 post is dead, or at least dormant and that is truly sad. Equally depressing to me is the fact that there were virtually no howls of protest from elected officials from across the state. I don’t know about the rest of the state but in Far West Texas people seem to treat news like this like they do a dry-spell, it is something that just happens.
Ty Fain on February 24, 2008
By Tyrus G. Fain, Rio Grande Institute
Here is a “clean growth” economic opportunity that shouldn’t be allowed to slip away. It concerns the scenic sites and byways along highways in the Trans-Pecos and Big Bend region, especially those included in the itineraries, loops and trails that have been recommended for enhancement and promotion by the Rio Grande Institute’s tourism assets initiative.
There are more than 100 such identified locations, and they range across the spectrum of resource-based tourism – from scenic mountain vistas to old mercury mines on the river, from abandoned military posts to birding sites and riparian trails.
These are priceless assets for the future of the region’s tourism economy and can become the backbone of the Texas Mountain Trail. Most sites are alongside roadways, so sound proposals for signage or site improvements should be able to compete for access to transportation enhancement funds from the new federal Transportation Equity Act (last known as TEA-21).
Based on past years’ allocations, Texas will have access to well over $50 million yearly in enhancement funds over the coming six years. Hopefully, the region’s communities and “gateway” neighbors will unite behind having a fair share of that money invested in regional sites, byways and gateway facilities that can fuel further growth of a sustainable tourism economy.
Visitors and residents drive thousands of miles along roadways through the Big Bend and across the Trans-Pecos and remain largely unaware of what lies around them – wildlife, historic sites, wonderful and unusual natural features.
We need to provide people with more opportunities to slow down, stop for a while, perhaps stay another day and enjoy the unusual travel experiences offered by this area’s unique mix of desert, mountains and frontier history. This “slow down, stay awhile” approach is a common but somewhat elusive objective shared in tourism circles.
One concrete and proven way to capture travelers’ time and attention is roadway enhancement through construction of turnouts, roadside parks, visitors centers, interpretive signs and exhibits and historical markers. Thanks to years of research and collaborative planning work sponsored by the Rio Grande Institute, Sul Ross State University and others, a foundation has been laid to develop an informed and cohesive roadway enhancement plan to support a regional tourism development strategy. Enlightened leadership from local officials and regional bodies working with the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) can make this happen.
Here is how it can work. The new six-year transportation reauthorization bill is expected to clear Congress by summer and be signed into law by President Bush. Each state is to have a defined share of more than $284 billion, but whether a community or region gets a nice slice or just a few crumbs from their state allocation will be influenced by the initiatives taken by local officials and groups.
The money will come to TxDOT under a formula that brings back to the states what was paid into the federal government, setting aside a portion (roughly 10 percent) for “enhancement projects.” According to TxDOT’s Web site, those are transportation-related projects that “contribute to the livelihood of communities, promote the quality of our environment and enhance the aesthetics of our roadways.”
As this new round of enhancement funding becomes available, local communities and TxDOT will be challenged to come up with projects that fit the program’s funding guidelines while providing long-term benefits for quality of life and economic well being. The idea is for benefits to reach those who live along our roadways, as well as to those who drive over them. For the Trans-Pecos/Big Bend region, this timely challenge is loaded with opportunities on a far larger scale than we have seen in years past.
Most of us have seen the fine work TxDOT can do to enhance our roadways – roadside parks, pull-overs, visitor centers like the one at Langtry, special sites like the Marfa Lights facility, numerous roadside parks and, of course, the hundreds of historical markers along our highways.
This has been encouraged and facilitated by legislators such as State Rep. Pete Gallego and State Sen. Frank Madla, state agencies, county governments and regional councils of government, not to mention chambers of commerce and tourism councils. Without seeming presumptuous or greedy, our region can ask for more from the coming funding cycle.
The enhancement activities that may be eligible for funding over the next six years are extensive. Besides scenic or historic site highway facilities, they include welcome and tourist centers, roadside landscaping, historic preservation, facilities and safety programs for pedestrians and bicyclists, rehabilitation and operation of historic transportation buildings, archeological planning and research and establishment of transportation museums. Funds can even be used for projects that reduce water pollution from highway runoff or lessen road kills by opening crossing corridors for wildlife.
With such an extensive menu of possible projects, communities may be tempted to compile their own wish lists and compete with one another for TxDOT’s attention. Some good could come from that approach, but a better way will be for the communities to work together with TxDOT and other interested agencies to knit enhancement projects together into a coherent program that supports a regional strategy for travel and tourism development. That is where the groundwork laid by the RGI/SRSU research and planning comes into play, and stakeholders, such as the Texas Historical Commission and Texas Parks and Wildlife, can play a vital role.
In 2002, the Texas Legislature appropriated funds to Sul Ross State University to develop a strategic plan for development of a tourism-based economy in the 15 counties contiguous to the Texas-Mexico border. SRSU asked the Rio Grande Institute to secure professional assessments of sites with potential for becoming tourist destinations and make recommendations for action. One of those recommendations involved creation of a series of itineraries – “loops” that visitors to the Big Bend and Trans-Pecos can reach through the state’s highway network.
Last year, with support from the Rio Grande Council of Governments, the institute was awarded a grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration for a Tourism Asset Development project that would make the suggested loops part of a tourism development strategy for the six-county area encompassed by Brewster, Culberson, El Paso, Hudspeth, Jeff Davis and Presidio counties. Other Trans-Pecos and “gateway” counties can and should be added to make this a coherent regional strategy for an enhancement program.
Working with local stakeholders and an inter-disciplinary team of experts, the institute has compiled the basic interpretive material needed for signs, exhibits, brochures and promotional pieces pertaining to waypoints on five itineraries in the region. Their provisional names are: Big Bend/Chisos Loop, Presidio-Pinto Canyon Loop, Guadalupe Mountains Loop, El Paso Desert-Mountain Loop and Davis Mountains Loop. Descriptions of each loop are on the Internet at www.bordermountaintrails.com.
The itineraries contain more than 100 individual sites pertaining to geology, history, archeology, birds and wildlife and also offer several suggested stops with extraordinary scenic vistas; most are situated on or near state or federal roadways and currently provide no stopping place, exhibits, signs or information for the traveler.
This extensive body of interpretive material is now becoming a key element of tourism development plans by organizations such as the Big Bend & Texas Mountains Tourism Association, Brewster County Tourism Council and chambers of commerce in many Big Bend cities and towns. It is also providing an early interpretive resource on the area for the Texas Mountain Trail initiative recently incorporated into the heritage program of the Texas Historical Commission.
The new incarnation of TEA-21, soon to be set up by Congress, will give local and regional groups an unprecedented opportunity to come together, to focus on local assets and use information on hand to craft a comprehensive regional roadway enhancement strategy. This effort should go beyond enhancing key sites on the five proposed loops and include a number of other transportation infrastructure enhancements important for a regional strategy that stretches over the six years that funding will be accessible. Among them are: Gateway centers and signage that lead travelers to the network of the loops’ digital information kiosks and “Wi-Fi hotspots,” offering maps and information; roadside parks and wayside pull-offs with interpretive exhibits and signage pertaining to nature, history and culture; and maps, guidebooks and interpretive materials (print, digital and Web-based).
It’s easy to envisage a network of signs, pull-offs, parks and exhibits and to appreciate how they could enhance the experience of travelers, but without the kind of funding promised by the new transportation act, that is a pipe dream.
But the mere prospect of money is not enough to create a plan. Regional planning bodies such as the Big Bend & Texas Mountains Tourism Association and the several councils of government need to meet and carefully examine what can be funded under transportation enhancement programs and adapt their planning accordingly. They and local governments should be ready to extend a hand when TxDOT begins seeking local input on enhancement priorities.
Building and sustaining the community consensus and partnerships needed to create a regional enhancement program will require more than meetings.
La Entrada al Pacifico gained traction when some business and political leaders were ready to cross boundaries and go beyond business as usual. A successful enhancement program for a regional tourism initiative will require similar engagement by our region’s leaders and TxDOT planners.
As Brewster County’s tourism guru Mike Davidson says, it requires a look at “the bigger picture and the bigger opportunity for the greater good.”
Ty Fain is the founder of The Rio Grande Institute in Marathon. He was instrumental in the creation of a recent book, The Rio Grande, edited by author Jan Reid and published by The University of Texas Press. He can be reached at TFain13345@aol.com
