TX: TxDOT kicks off public meetings in McAllen for state transit plan

The Public Transportation Division of the Texas Department of Transportation is conducting a fall outreach campaign for the draft Statewide Multimodal Transit Plan (SMTP) 2050.

McAllen is the site of the campaign's first public meeting, scheduled for 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday at Palm View Community Center, 3401 Jordan Rd. It's the first of seven meetings TxDOT is holding around the state to gather feedback on the draft plan.

TxDOT is inviting "transit riders, agencies, advocates and other stakeholders" in the region to attend.

"Through stakeholder and public outreach efforts, Texas SMTP 2050 identifies needs, gaps, challenges, strategies and initial steps for implementation that increase mobility and connectivity options for all Texans, support economic development and address congestion in regional and intercity corridors through 2050," according to the agency.

City of McAllen Transit Director Mario Delgado is a member of the SMTP 2050 steering committee. The draft plan was based on public outreach TxDOT conducted in 2023 and 2024 across the state, including Pharr. TxDOT's Pharr District contains Brooks, Hidalgo, Jim Hogg, Kenedy, Starr, Willacy and Zapata counties.

The Rio Grande Valley contains two of the state's nine Large Urban Transit Districts, in Brownsville and McAllen, according to TxDOT.

Public engagement to date as been crucial to the plan's development so far, according to the agency.

"Through a series of robust outreach campaigns, TxDOT engaged Texans across the state to help shape Texas SMTP 2050 through a data-driven, collaborative and stakeholder-informed process, combining a rigorous analysis of transit usage, costs, and trends with qualitative research into the attitudes, desires and needs of Texas residents," TxDOT said.

The first phase of outreach efforts involved getting an understanding of the public's transit priorities/needs, followed by gathering input about the plans "needs, gaps, challenges and potential strategies. The effort engaged 90,000 Texans, transit users and non-users alike, transit industry professionals, economic development officials, business leaders and other stakeholders, according to TxDOT.

Among the most mentioned challenges regarding the future of transit were "population growth, urbanization and congestion," according to the agency, which noted that one in three Texans surveyed cited "a need to expand rural and urban transit service areas and hours of operation across the state."

One out of three ranked the expansion of existing urban transit and connectivity a top-five priority for SMTP 2050, TxDOT said. The same number of respondents identified shortage of funding as a "critical challenge to improving public transit," according to the agency.

The draft plan can be found here: ftp.txdot.gov/pub/txdot/get-involved/ptn/SMTP/102025-draft-plan.pdf.

In addition to the in-person public meetings, a public survey can be found here: surveymonkey.com/r/F6RQFQN.

Comments can also be emailed to [email protected], or mailed to TxDOT Public Transportation Division Attn. SMTP, 1949 S I-35 Frontage Rd. Ste. 105, Austin, TX 78741.

All comments must be received on or before Nov. 20 to be included in the official meeting record, according to TxDOT.

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