Area highway plan may require more tolls

They aren't calling it "Phase 2" any more, but the plan probably isn't changing much. The only good thing since the plan was conceived in 2004 is that HW71/I-35 and 183/I-35 will likely not turn into toll roads. They were already under construction in 2004 when CAMPO designed the plan.

Read more....

CAMPO Road plan meetings

(All run from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m.)

•Aug. 21, Covington Middle School, 3700 Convict Hill Road, Austin.

•Aug. 23, Kyle City Council chambers, 100 W. Center St., Kyle.

•Aug. 29, East Communities YMCA, 5315 U.S. 183, Austin.

•Aug. 30, Allen R. Baca Center, 301 W. Bagdad Ave., Round Rock.

Sen. Watson says "Phase II Toll Plan is truly dead"

Sen. Watson sent an e-mail today saying Phase2 tolls (conversion of existing highways into toll ways) "are no longer on the table" and "truly dead." I've attached the e-mail in whole and unedited except for some bold statements which are interesting.

He also mentions the "decision tree" which I've attached here as an image.

Kudos to Watson for communicating directly.

I hope Phase2 is truly dead. This was the BIGGEST RIPOFF scheme to date!


Senator Kirk Watson wrote:

From: "Senator Kirk Watson"
Subject: A New Plan For Roads
Date: Thu, 2 Aug 2007 11:25:58 -0500

Good morning.

As you may have seen, the Texas Department of Transportation has proposed new highway projects for Central Texas. But I think the proposal is most notable for what it does not include: TXDOT no longer proposes tolling sections of highways that have been built and opened without tolls.

In other words, the proposed toll road conversions that were a fundamental part of the Phase II Toll Plan are no longer on the table, and the Phase II Toll Plan is truly dead.

What's left are highway improvements that are important to this region, including work on:
-- State Highway 71 past Austin-Bergstrom International Airport to SH 130;
-- The heavily congested merge of SH 71 and U.S. 290 in Southwest Travis County;
-- The completion of U.S. 183 from 290 to 71.

You can find more information on these projects at http://www.campotexas.org/.

The estimated cost of these projects is approximately $2.24 billion. However, due to the financing problems that we all know too well, we are at least $500 million short of building them.

The Board of the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization will spend the next two months collecting public input and studying options for constructing these projects, serving our region, and filling the half-billion dollar hole we're facing.

One option, for example, might be to put in High-Occupancy Vehicle lanes on some of the road segments and continue them onto some of the already-constructed portions. Another might be to use some sort of fee mechanism to make sure that essential road capacity isn't wasted as it has been in other areas.

Again, these are options for the public and the CAMPO board to consider. But as I've said repeatedly, I think at least one option should be taken off the table: the conversion of existing and open highways into full toll roads.

I believe the process will be far more transparent and accountable than it has been in the past, due in no small part to the policy framework -- the "Decision Tree" we have created -- that will guide our work. I have attached a copy of the Decision Tree that was the product of work by CAMPO's Mobility Financing Task Force and input from a number of you.

These roads belong to us, and I think the Decision Tree will help us ensure that they remain effective -- and public -- assets. But just as the public must continue to control its infrastructure, we cannot shrink from our responsibility to ensure that it truly serves the region, meeting the needs we have now and those that are coming.

Thank you for your interest and your assistance in this vital mission. Our region and our future are better because of it.

Kirk Watson

Decision Tree

[CLICK TO ENLARGE]

Pay more on existing Tolls to Fund more Toll Roads

It's the new buze.... toll roads use is higher than predicted. Therefore we are not paying enough to use them. Increased toll rates will help keep people off the roads who can't afford it so that congestion remains low. Higher toll rates will also fund more toll roads.

Just check out the the media barrage we are seeing on a daily basis.

For this mess, you can thank your politicians for mis-managing your current tax dollars and refusing to address the problems before they grew this large.

Toll Road traffic exceeding projections

Motorists can - and should - pay more

A desire to keep the rates low could torpedo toll road goals

TxDOT - Gas Tax doesn't meet road expenses

NTTA on road to more tolls

Driving 45 is a numbers game

Confusion is king in Austin road names. Click above to read.

State of TX monitors movement of toll road workers

In this article today titled "State Claims Toll Tags Easy to Use, Hard to Abuse", a spokesman for the State of Texas (Gabi Garcia) says although they do not charge Toll Fees to contractors who maintain and operate Toll Roads, "the movement of those contractors is monitored to guard against abuse or fraud."

I just found that interesting.

TxDOT Audit Urges More Toll Roads and Higher Fees

Houston Chronicle-
Audit urges more tolls for Texas drivers
The state's best chance for keeping up with demand for new and improved roads is to build more toll roads with higher fees, according to an external audit of the Texas Department of Transportation.

Among other recommendations, the audit by Dye Management Group and Deloitte Consulting suggests the state replace the existing gasoline tax with a fee based on miles traveled per vehicle.


Dallas Morning News-
TxDOT could bump tolls to improve roads
Texas needs more toll roads, and drivers should pay more to use them, an external audit of the Texas Department of Transportation suggested Wednesday.


A fee for miles driven to replace the gas tax, wow... They blame part of the funding shortage on vehicles getting better gas mileage. So, lets tax per mile instead of tying it to a product. That's nice except that means you would have to convert all roads to toll or charge an extrordinary amount on existing toll roads to make up the difference.

If there's no gas tax, would the profits from tolls be used to build MORE TOLLS or would it be used to offset the lost revenue meant to build new free roads and maintain them.

I see this as more propaganda for crooks to justify their theft.

Phase II in a fuzzy phase

Article by Ben Wear

Highway shortfall is worsening

This stuff makes my blood boil so much that I have to pause before I make a post. There's a budget surplus, politicians won't index the gas tax and on top of that, let's pull more money from the Highway Fund. Oops, not enough money, looks like we'll need to build toll roads in your town. In this case I'll let the article speak for itself.

183-A Tollway design generating rash of violations

183-A's toll-tag-only section has more than 30 percent violation rate.

More than 30 percent of people who drive on the 183-A tollway's anomalous toll-tag-only section are doing so illegally, an abnormally high violation rate that has the road's operator pondering alternatives to the confusing setup.

The Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority has asked Vollmer Associates, its traffic and revenue consultant, to analyze what might result from several scenarios, including continuing under the current arrangement. The authority expects to have that information within a few months and could consider making changes in the fall.

Tracking 183-A tolls

In June, the first month when all cars on 183-A were subject to tolls (albeit at a reduced rate for toll tag users), the road averaged 55,850 toll transactions a day. However, more than 11,000 of those times — about 20 percent — the driver did not pay for the privilege, many at the toll-tag-only toll gantries near Lakeline Boulevard.

Toll point	Daily toll transactions	Violations	Violation %	Tag Use
Lakeline (northbound)*	16,246	6,216	38.3	61.7
Lakeline (southbound)*	10,260	2,148	20.9	79.1
Brushy Creek (northbound)**	3,623	187	5.2	76.5
Brushy Creek (southbound)**	2,701	151	5.6	79.7
Park Street (both directions)**	23,016	2,515	10.9	73.2

* Toll-tag-only plaza with no cash booths

** Cash booths and toll tag readers

Source: Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority, unaudited toll statistics

MORE.....

State chooses NTTA for SH 121

The approval still leaves an opening for Cintra if deadlines are not met..

"The commission’s decision allows the NTTA 60 days to reach a project agreement with the Regional Transportation Council (RTC) and 45 days to close on that agreement. If the deadlines are missed, the contract would be awarded to Cintra, the private Spanish company that had been tentatively given the project in February"...........

Well it looks like the pressure TxDOT has been under this year has had some affect.

"Williamson said “baseless” accusations and “unattributed quotes” about the character of TxDOT staff have made him wary of encouraging the department to get re-involved in the process."

“Every time something doesn’t work, it is always TxDOT’s fault,” Williamson said. “I am having a hard time keeping district engineers…because they are getting beat up by public officials.”

It wasn't quit the outcome the NTTA wanted......

“They could have canceled the Cintra procurement and awarded the project outright to us,” Wageman said. “I think we have to be very focused on getting this thing done in the time frame allowed us. “

“By the end of the day today, or certainly by Monday, we will work up a schedule with the RTC so that we can drive this thing to a successful conclusion,” Wageman said.


Whole Article......

Free toll rides on 183-A only today

Surely this isn't out of the goodness of their heart due to the flood. If it were, they would wave the tolls for the whole stretch of 183. I imagine with the flood evacuation, many folks are traveling WITHOUT TxTags. The CASH-ONLY portion of the toll road is being used by an unusually high number of non-paying drivers who normally would never use these roads.

Maybe Cedar Park Police refused to pull them all over and issue tickets for not paying.

AAS Reports:

Steve Pustelnyk, a spokesman for the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority, said the agency decided to waive tolls for Wednesday on the 183-A toll road to ease evacuation from the South San Gabriel River flooding.

The road runs from RR 620/Texas 45 North, near Lakeline Mall, to just south of the South San Gabriel River, but tolls are charged only on the southerly 4.5 miles in Cedar Park and Austin.

The Texas Department of Transportation, while it continues to charge tolls today on the bulk of the three other Central Texas tollways it operates, was waiving tolls at the Texas 130/U.S. 79 interchange near Hutto.

According to the agency, FM 685 in that vicinity, the free alternative to the Texas 130 tollway, had some flooding. So, until further notice, the agency said people would be able to enter and leave Texas 130 at U.S. 79 without paying the 50 cent toll at that location.

State may defy local leaders on 121 toll plan

Dallas Morning News Report:

Money, politics could push panel to override choice of NTTA

The Texas Transportation Commission has made a habit of honoring local leaders' decisions.

But when commissioners meet Thursday to consider North Texas leaders' plans for the politically charged State Highway 121 toll road, nobody expects a rubber stamp.

The Regional Transportation Council voted 27-10 last week to endorse the North Texas Tollway Authority for the multibillion-dollar project. If ratified by the commission, the local vote would torpedo an earlier deal the state reached with the Spanish company Cintra.

Commissioners have never overruled a decision by the regional council, but with so much money and politics at stake, Highway 121 could set a precedent.

Read More.....

NAFTA superhighway heads north from Texas

Two articles worth a look with supporting documentation linked in.


NAFTA superhighway extends north
Plan under way in Texas will extend to Oklahoma, Colorado


NAFTA superhighway heads north

Nichols discusses legislative session with group

The Palestine (TX) Herald had a piece today reporting on Sen. Robert Nichols speaking to the Republican Women of Anderson County. The following is a excerpt from the report that deals with his position on toll roads. Click the header to read the whole thing.


“I am pro-toll roads, especially in urban areas, but selling those roads to foreign companies is not something I believe the people of the state of Texas want,” he said. “I am proud of the legislation we passed basically providing for a moratorium on private equity toll roads. The companion House and Senate bill protects 99 percent of Texas roads or gives local entities first right of refusal. In a great part of the state the bill shut down the Trans-Texas Corridor plans.”

Regarding issues of eminent domain, Nichols said he filed a bill which would have prohibited the taking of private property for recreational purposes. The bill received a hearing but it never made it to the senate floor for a vote.

Houston - As Westpark tolls rise, so do tempers

Drivers up in arms after officials double the fee at peak hours to ease congestion

Harris County Commissioners Court's decision Tuesday to fight congestion on the three-year-old Westpark Tollway by forcing some drivers off the road with higher rush-hour fees drew the ire of cash-strapped commuters.

And a dismissive response from Commissioner Steve Radack — "Let them go down Richmond Road" — made the new $2.50 tolls even less palatable for some.

Commuter Vic Stewart, in an e-mail, said of the Commissioners Court, "And 'Let them eat cake!' They'll certainly have time."

Commissioners Court voted unanimously to hike fees to $2.50 from 6-9 a.m. and 4-7 p.m., hoping fewer drivers will use the tollway.

The court, also in a unanimous vote, raised fees by 25 cents on all county toll roads. The increases will go into effect in September.

With the toll roads already known among some area residents as "Lexus Lanes," the new prices left some drivers wondering whether the court has forgotten about working people.

More....

NTTA gets OK for 121 toll project

Today, The Dallas Morning News reports that the local Regional Transportation Council endorsed the North Texas Tollway Authority over Perry/TxDOT favored Cintra.

"The 27-10 vote Monday by the Regional Transportation Council sets the stage for a showdown in Austin at the Texas Transportation Commission, which is expected to make a final decision June 28. While the commission has previously said it will place great emphasis on the council’s vote, it is not bound to do so, TxDOT spokesman Randall Dillard said."

"Council members appear to have been convinced that endorsing a local entity, with a long history of building and operating toll roads in North Texas, was preferable to awarding the contract to a private company based in Spain that builds toll roads across the world, but which has limited experienced in Texas."

“What it really boils down to is whether the dollars that are made here stay here in Texas, or if they are going to fly off [as corporate profits] to Delaware, or wherever they go,” said Dallas City Council member Bill Blaydes."

Commission authorizes more than 80 toll road projects across Texas

This from articles in the Statesman and Texarckana Gazette today:

"State lawmakers recently passed a two-year moratorium on some private toll road contracts. The law still allows local and state planners to move on the new toll projects....

“The message we got was toll roads are OK, but we don’t want privately owned roads,” said Ric Williamson, chairman of the Texas Transportation Commission, which approved the projects."

Government left unchecked will only get bigger. The bigger and more powerful it becomes, the more self-serving it becomes.

Those in positions of power, rather elected or APPOINTED, begin to make decisions based on their own greed. Instead of serving the public, they contrive schemes to profit from public funds.

They change laws to benefit their own agenda, they create committees and agencies staffed with individuals who will do their bidding. They hide behind these committees to protect their true intentions from the mostly unknowing public. NEWS FLASH: The Governors office signs a "compromise bill" BEHIND THE SCENES: his committees continue with the mission as he intended.

Absent a dictatorship, government grows slowly while the sleeping masses allow it to be fed term after term.

There is no difference in party. All politicians are subject to the temptation of power and money. They must be rotated out of office frequently to keep them honest. Career politicians make a living off of manipulating law for personal gain.

It's time for a rotation.

TxDOT to install cameras on I35 from Austin to San Antonio

The Texas Department of Transportation has awarded a contract to install cameras on Interstate 35 from Loop 1604 to Ben White Blvd. in Austin, officials said. It spans 79 miles in all and is the first joint project connecting two metropolitan areas, TXDOT officials said.

Soon you will be able to log on to your computer or turn on your television and check traffic from San Antonio to Austin.

More...

Perry signs SB792

Monday, June 11, 2007

Associated Press

AUSTIN -- A compromise Texas transportation bill has been signed into law Monday by Governor Rick Perry.

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CapMetro could fall into red in next 3 years