Posted on 08/21/2008 7:45:43 AM PDT by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
(KCPW News) Utah lawmakers took tips on highway funding from a Texas legislator this morning. Texas Republican Representative Mike Krusee joined them on Capitol Hill. He told the Revenue and Taxation Interim Committee that with federal money drying up, the only way to pay for new highways is to make them toll roads.
"Guess how many roads pay for themselves in taxes? Zero. Not a one. Most of them are less than 50 percent," said Krusee. "Imagine if you're a grocery a store owner, and you decide, I'm gonna sell sirloin at a buck a pound, and I'm gonna sell milk at a dime a gallon. That's basically what's happening with transportation. We're letting people use our roads for three cents a mile, when it costs us 20 to 30 cents a mile."
Krusee noted that both the state and federal government will collect less and less money from gas tax revenues as residents buy more fuel efficient cars or drive less.
The lawmaker, who chairs the Texas House Committee on Transportation, also urged lawmakers to consider congestion pricing. It's a method of collecting tolls during peak traffic times so that fewer cars use the road.
"If the road gets really congested, you just raise the price until some people decide to use alternatives, and that road is free-flow," said Krusee. "When you can tell people and you can tell businesses that they have a certainty in traveling from A to B at all times, I think that's really valuable for your economy, and I think it's also good for your quality of life."
Krusee's remarks to the Utah legislature came as the state decides whether to make the planned Mountain View Corridor a toll road. Several west side cities have urged the legislature not to do so, though UDOT says it will face a $16.5 billion shortfall in the next two decades with the current revenue streams.
Trans-Texas Corridor PING!
Does anybody know what percentage of state and federal gasoline taxes go directly to highway construction and maintenance?
Florida’s Turnpike is a toll road that we have had for decades. It works well and is good for tourism and transportation. Why is Texas having such heartburn over a toll-road?.................
Except that the vast majority of people have no control over when they have to be at work or when they can leave.
And yet it’s a Spanish company that will actually profit from the toll roads and not the states in which they lay ... at least for the next 75 years or so.
First, because they want to destroy rural Texas in a major land grab. Second, because it’s a Spanish company (as in Spain) that will own / profit from the toll road, not the State. Third, the only reason for the Trans Texas Corridor is to transport Chinese products from Mexico to Canada. It has nothing to do with what the State needs and all to do with lining some peoples pockets, none of which reside in rural Texas.
Oh okay, Ours is owned by the state and operated by the state, solely for the betterment of the state................
GOT TAR...GOT FEATHERS?
Texas already has custom built toll roads. The governments wants to convert existing free roads into foreign own toll roads.
One of the unique features of the new I-10/Katy Freeway will be the Katy Tollway/Managed Lanes - the first multi-lane electronic tollway in the nation with full design standards that will operate within the right of way of an interstate highway providing multiple entrance and exit locations to drivers. The new Katy Tollway/Managed Lanes will replace the single contra-flow METRO-operated High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lane, located today in the center of the I-10/Katy Freeway. The Harris County Toll Road Authority (HCTRA) will operate and maintain the Katy Tollway/Managed Lanes.
No, not directly. Although the employer is going to have to learn to be more flexible or move locations if they start losing employees because traveling to work becomes cost prohibitive.
It isn't as simple as just raising toll prices until people find a way to either drive less or companies relocate. It also isn't good for your tax base if you drive out companies.
However, the costs of maintaining roads has been going up, and the gas taxes have remained a constant number of cents per gallon rather than rising with inflation. Something does have to change.
BTTT
Is that the project where the state has begun lowering speed limits and adding traffic lights along the alterative routes, in order to push motorists to use the toll road?
IIRC, there are some serious "non-compete" clauses that burden the state in these cases. No new non-toll roads may be built in the area for x number of years, no improvements to existing non-toll roads, etc.
The Feds are going to be upset about losing their grip on state highfunds as a means of passing legislation that the federal government cannot directly pass.
Wouldn’t surprise me. There have been schemes to “encourage” people to pay-to-play when it comes to commuting (by ruining feeder commute times).
Congestion causes pollution and road rage. The downtown business establishment in Houston has made it quite clear that they want suburban tax dollars but don’t expect any basic services or infrastructure support for that money.
We "have" to go to toll roads as we go to electric cars because it is too difficult to tax your home electric bill to pay for the roads.
What REALLY needs to be done is to put a couple of thousand dollar "lump payment" road tax on electric car license fees every year (gas burning cars pay it over time at the pump).
If I have to pay gas tax AND toll tax, I should get a tax rebate or lower toll fee. It is double taxation.
No, Texas and the republican and democrat party want to sell the roads to the Saud's and friend and then they get more money to *iss away.
Seriously talk to both New Jersey and Massachusetts, if you REALLY want to talk about tolls!
IIRC, the state of Texas only uses approx. 50% of the fuel taxes actually on the roads. Some of the other 50% I believe goes to education, you know, the chilrun. Don’t know what the other goes for and do not know how much of our federal fuel tax monies are stolem from us, but I read sometime back that a significant percentage is probably used once again for the chilrun.
Guess how many roads pay for themselves in taxes? Zero. Not a one. Most of them are less than 50 percent," said Krusee. That's basically what's happening with transportation. We're letting people use our roads for three cents a mile, when it costs us 20 to 30 cents a mile."
Maybe we should change the amendment to the Texas Constitution permitting 25% of fuel taxes to be siphoned off for education and "special projects". Oh- you're "letting" us use our roadways for 3 cents per mile, and it costs you....since when is this an us vs. them issue?
Krusee noted that both the state and federal government will collect less and less money from gas tax revenues as residents buy more fuel efficient cars or drive less.
Cry me a river, Krusee. You weren't crying that loud when everyone was driving an SUV at warp speed, sucking huge amounts of fuel. Learn to budget or get out and open the position to somepne who can.
It seems to me the state of Texas did a better job maintaining, cleaning and designing our roadways before they started subbing the work out to private contractors. (Yes, I know what I’m saying might not be popular)
I mean, we don’t even get roadkill removed anymore.
Let’s have an audit of federal and state gas tax revenues and the relevant trust funds.
Is this money being used exclusively for road maintenance and construction?
I have no problem paying excise taxes on gasoline, but I do not think that it is reasonable to be spending ~$100/month on tolls just for the privilege of commuting to work in a reasonable amount of time.
See post #23 and this one.
http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/19/1933.asp
We Texans don’t think spending $100 is reasonable either.
This is a part of the expansion of I-10 westward out of Houston. The tollway is the middle lanes [four I think, two each way] in the middle of I-10. This will be managed by the Harris County Toll Road Authority. I don’t know how they could add any more lights than basically exist along the existing freeder roads. This expansion includes both toll and free lanes.
I traveled the I-10 untolled portion yesterday. It is nice in comparison to what it was prior to the expansion project. This was an expensive project as the widening included buying up of some commercial property along the roadway.
I mean, we don’t even get roadkill removed anymore.
I thought that is what the buzzards did... lol.
Don’t know what the other goes for and do not know how much of our federal fuel tax monies are stolem from us,
I don’t think all states get all their federal gasoline tax money back either. Isn’t it allocated on some other basis besides amount paid in?
Maybe it was just the speed limits they were messing with; don't recall for sure. It was mentioned in another thread here, maybe a month ago.
Simply because our tolls will be 30 cents or more per mile. Check out what Cintra is charging for their road in Canada.
And by the way, the article is simply LYING when they say it costs 20 to 30 cents per vehicle to operate a highway. Try closer to 2 or 3 cents...although I will admit it becomes more expensive when you have to have an army of people (and/or very expensive equipment) collecting tolls. It also costs more per mile when you toll the highways and push off people to other roads (i.e., highway costs are mostly fixed, so the per mile cost goes up in that case).
Here in Houston, tolling is roughly 10 cents per mile (we haven’t privatized our roads yet), and still our toll road authority has money left over to spend on Harris County side streets.
the sumbiches tolled me 3.00 for driving 1 mile on Texas 121, a highway that was free since the days of Sam Rayburn.
Understand...the politicians look at toll roads as “revenue generators”, and they can be. If they price the tolls at cost, then 3 to 5 cents per mile. If they price them to generate max revenue, then you’re looking at 10 times that price. The roads are worth WAY MORE than they cost...what makes them valuable is the right-of-way that they open up.
That’s why I hate tolling...the cost for the road is very low, but the temptation to seize huge amounts of money often cannot be resisted.
If I recall correctly, the park mentioned in the article is actually being built over the Woodall Rogers Freeway. That’s not specified in the article.
Thanks for the link. I’m pretty outraged at what our TX state government is doing.
Thank God people are starting to wake up.
While you are talking about whatever irrelevant issue you are talking about, yesterday, Perry, Dewhurst, and Craddick reached an an agreement on some very relevant issues.
Then you have to dodge the buzzards. Saw several dead ones on our vacation. Fat and Slow!
That’s correct. I guess it *coooools* the roadway below.
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