HOUSTON --- The lessons of Metro’s lone light rail line in downtown Houston are echoing through the City Council chamber Monday.

In a hearing about the so-called “consent agreement” between the city and Metro, engineers said tough lessons learned in the construction and operation of the downtown Red Line will be incorporated into construction of five proposed light rail routes.

First, city council member Anne Clutterbuck said the number one complaint from business owners along Main Street downtown was that construction work “tore up the entire street, and shut it all down” when the first line was being built. This led to significant hardship for businesses and commuters, she said.

Now, Metro has agreed to build the new lines in “bites,” said Metro board president Frank Wilson. This means that on Richmond, for example, streets along the new line would be closed for a few blocks at a time, rather than shutting down the entire street all at once.

Second, the city of Houston and Metro have agreed to let the city control the timing of traffic lights along the new rail lines.

Currently, Metro controls and maintains the lights along the Main Street line, but drivers have complained that green lights suddenly turn red when a train comes through.

Tuesday's decision means that trains will have to wait for the cars, not the other way around.

But will that slow the trains down?

“If our trains are slowed by more than 15 percent the city will have to decide how to assign the free time on the green lights,” said Frank Wilson with Metro.

So the trains might move 15 percent slower—but cars wouldn’t stop as often.

City engineers will time traffic lights to minimize train delays.

Metro is still waiting on some important steps - like city approval, federal approval, and federal funding - before it can move forward on all the new lines.

But assuming no surprises - some limited construction could begin this summer.