“It was all part of their effort to manufacture community support.”

Texas Observer: TEXAS TRANSPORTATION ADVOCACY REVS UP AT THE LEGE

[Cook] felt that something was off about Gaston’s testimony. “After talking to her, she explained that the relocation agency had come to her and said, ‘This is what we want you to say. We’re going to pay you to get down there, and we’ll bus you to get down there,” she said. “It was all part of their effort to manufacture community support.”

— Molly Cook, a co-organizer with Houston-based and Texas Streets Coalition-associated Stop TxDOT I-45

“It shouldn’t be just rich, able-bodied folks who can get down here and participate in these giant projects that affect every one of us.”

Houston Chronicle: Opponents deluge TxDOT officials with calls to rethink highway projects across state, including I-45

“It shouldn’t be just rich, able-bodied folks who can get down here and participate in these giant projects that affect every one of us.”

— Molly Cook, a nurse and leading organizer of Stop TxDOT I-45

"We have got to have buses and we have to take people out of their cars”

Houston Chronicle: I-45 project to resume after 2-year pause, as TxDOT, federal officials agree on $9.7B rebuild

"We have got to have buses and we have to take people out of their cars.”

— Molly Cook, an organizer with Stop TxDOT I-45

Politics Done Right Podcast

Molly Cook discusses the need to completely rethink a Houston freeway based on justice & equity.

“People cannot live in cars."

Associated Press: Houston highway project sparks debate over racial equity

“People cannot live in cars.”

“We have to move people and not cars and we have to clean up the air quality.”

“Would these elected officials be so eager to move the project forward if it were their districts being torn apart?”

Houston Chronicle: Letters to the Editor

"Regarding “Houston Republicans urge Buttigieg to lift pause on I-45 expansion project,” (Nov. 9): It is unethical and outside their scope for these U.S. congressmen to hurry along a federal investigation of civil rights violations. There is no national presence working in Houston to fight the I-45 expansion. The Federal Highway Administration pause is in direct response to the Title VI concerns filed by real people in affected communities and local advocacy groups. The seven signatory elected officials on this letter do not really represent communities directly impacted by the project. They are ignorant to what is going on locally.

The people of Houston and Harris County deserve a functional I-45 project that centers those most impacted, reduces environmental impact and actually improves congestion and safety. The current design exacerbates all the problems TxDOT seeks to solve. A wider I-45 would not help in a hurricane evacuation; the key to successful evacuation is coordinated emergency response and messaging. No road in the world is wide enough for single-occupancy vehicle evacuation en masse.

Would these elected officials be so eager to move the project forward if it were their districts being torn apart? Or are they pushing profits for an elite few at the expense of our city? Maybe if they actually showed up to some of the advocacy meetings they love to talk about, we’d know."

“Resistance is only going to build.”

Community Impact Houston: I-45 expansion on hold as federal investigation plays out

“Resistance is only going to build.”

“There’s an influx of new faces because of all the news ... but also because they see we are fighting for the right thing.”

“The design as it stands currently is so harmful and so devastating.”

“There’s only so much we can accomplish in our own home without advocating at a state level.”

Streetsblog USA: How Highways Wrecked America’s Cities

“Stop TxDOT I-45 set a goal as an organization early on to try and take this to the State level, because our mission is to create a more equitable transportation in the state, and also because we are so limited.”

“Houston and Harris County will try to do all sorts of things, like hold people accountable to air quality standards, and the State will block it at every turn. The County may want to make a place walkable and the State will block that. There’s only so much we can accomplish in our own home without advocating at a state level.”

“It’s very racially unjust."

Houston Chronicle: Fate of controversial I-45 project to be decided Tuesday, with yes-or-no vote after 15 years of work

“It’s very racially unjust.”

“We’re going to spend all this money to make the traffic worse and hurt a lot of people.”

“I want to die in Houston. I don't want to be a climate refugee.”

Houston Public Media: Houston Activists Continue Push Against I-45 Expansion As Public Comment Period Closes

"It is very clear that there are two sides to this issue.”

“One side stands to benefit financially, and one side stands to lose their homes, or stands to lose major parts of their city that they know and love.”

“I want to reject a yes-no vote on something that is this important, that is this expensive, that is this monumental for generations to come.”

“I want to die in Houston. I don't want to be a climate refugee. I don't want to have to work on my car, own a car, drive a car every single place that I go for the rest of my entire life. I want to live here happily with walkability, with a concern for the climate, with a concern for those who cannot afford to own cars.”

“I want to reject a yes-no vote.”

Houston Chronicle: Editorial: TxDOT's way or no highway? SurveyMonkey poll no way to decide future of I-45

“I want to reject a yes-no vote on something that is this important, this expensive, that is this monumental for generations to come.”

“TxDOT is…trying to pit the Texas cities against each other,

Houston Public Media: Business Groups Stand To Profit From Controversial I-45 Expansion, Critics Say

“It’s very clear that TxDOT is, A, giving us a false binary, and B, trying to pit the Texas cities against each other, and it’s not going to work.”

"We want economic development, we want to reduce flooding, we want safety, people to be able to move through the region freely.”

Houston Chronicle: I-45 supporters urge TxDOT leaders to keep money for rebuild

“Honestly, we are on the same team and we want the same things for all of the communities.”

“We want economic development, we want to reduce flooding, we want safety, people to be able to move through the region freely. This is not the answer.”

“No matter which way you look at it, this project won’t relieve congestion.”

CityLab: What It Looks Like to Reconnect Black Communities Torn Apart by Highways

“It’s crappy - there’s no third option to say, ‘work with localities and find an option that everyone supports.’”

“No matter which way you look at it, this project won’t relieve congestion, it will cost a fortune, it will destroy the city, and it will deepen the grooves of hate and racism that already harmed so many and left a lasting impact on their communities.”

“For them to threaten to take away funding...”

Houston Chronicle: Houston’s $9B I-45 rebuild could come down to online poll, after 15 years and $503 million

“For them to threaten to take away funding... It just blows my mind and is completely unconscionable."

“We’re frustrated that it's taken the federal government stepping in to get TxDOT to do the right thing."

Houston Chronicle: Massive I-45 Houston project heads back to public comment phase during pause

“We’re frustrated that it's taken the federal government stepping in to get TxDOT to do the right thing.”

“We have been hearing from residents daily that they are still being asked to move out of their homes.”

Houston Chronicle: Federal officials halt development on TxDOT’s $7 billion rebuild of I-45

“We have been hearing from residents daily that they are still being asked to move out of their homes.”

“There has been a real sense of urgency around gaining clarification, and we could not be more excited that (the U.S. Department of Transportation) is taking measures to protect Houstonians from displacement when the project may still be dramatically changed.”

“Urban freeways across America are monuments to environmental racism.”

Inside Climate News: Expansion of I-45 in Downtown Houston Is on Hold, for Now, in a Traffic-Choked, Divided Region

“Urban freeways across America are monuments to environmental racism, and the Expansion of I-45 would be iconic.”

“By TxDOT’s own measures and admission, the project will encroach upon or displace people’s homes, green spaces, places of worship, businesses, and schools in the same Black and brown neighborhoods that were torn apart by its original building.”

“People living along the freeway are forced to move or endure intensified exposures to environmental hazards.”

“We are not sure how many may already have moved, but we are in contact with residents every day who do not want to leave their neighborhoods or their homes.”

“We are counting on federal government to put action behind their words.”

Streetsblog USA: ZOOM CALL: Experts See Opportunities in Biden Highway Plan

“People who paid their home off and want to pass generational wealth to their daughter won’t be able to do that.” “State DOTs are set up so powerfully are almost extra political so we are counting on federal government to put action behind their words.”

“I don't want it to be a city of freeways and I don't want it to be underwater.”

Houston Chronicle: TxDOT extends public comment deadline for $7B planned rebuild of I-45

“I don't want it to be a city of freeways and I don't want it to be underwater.”