Trans-Texas Cooridor meeting set for Feb. 10

Gainesville Daily Register ^ | January 31, 2005 | JENNIFER SICKING

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

The next meeting concerning the Trans-Texas Corridor has been set for 5-8 p.m. Feb. 10 at the Gainesville Civic Center.

Officials have set forth the corridor as a way to alleviate traffic on the state's major highways by building a system of highways, railroads and utilities that stretch about 1,200-feet wide. Such a corridor also would bypass major metropolitan areas of Dallas, Austin, San Antonio and Houston.

From Feb. 7 through March 31, Texas Department of Transportation officials plan to have 47 meetings throughout the Interstate 35 corridor area, which covers 800 miles in length and 77 counties, according to a press release. The route that most concerns Cooke County residents generally parallels Interstate 35 and extends north of Dallas and Fort Worth and south to Mexico or the Gulf Coast.

TxDOT officials are looking at three entry points from Oklahoma: One at Gainesville, one at Denison and the other near Paris.

In deciding the corridor's path, engineers and officials will look at socio-economic, environmental and engineering impacts. TxDOT officials hope for approval of the Tier 1 study, which is the first part of the project, in late 2005. If federal officials approve the study, then TxDOT will begin a Tier 2 study, which will take a more detailed look at the area.

TxDOT District Engineer Larry Tegtmeyer pointed out another option could be no build.

"It could be decided the Trans-Texas Corridor is not the way to go," he said. "They could run into the realization another alternative might be better."

That would suit some Cooke County residents just fine.

Kenny Klement said during a previous meeting he hoped TxDOT officials took the road out of Cooke County because of county's agriculture production.

"That road will destroy agriculture in Cooke County," he said.

Comments may be e-mailed to info@transtx.com, by calling 1-877-872-6789 or by mailing a letter to Trans-Texas Corridor, Attn. TTC-35, P.O. Box 14707, Austin, TX, 78761-4707.

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

BobL was wondering in another thread whether there were any public meetings concerning the Trans-Texas Corridor. I hope this helps.

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

Trans-Texas Corridor PING!

[ken21]

gee, i got repuked last night!

frankly, it sounds like Diddle E. Squat knows more about it than it do, so, i'm going to leave. bye.

[TXnMA]

frankly, it sounds like Diddle E. Squat knows more about it than it do, so, i'm going to leave. bye.

frankly, all he knows is........Diddle E. Squat!

[TXnMA]

Thanks! Nice and slow...chest high...right over the plate... ;-)

[BobL]

Thanks again Tolerance.

Really what I was getting at was whether there was any public participation in the drawing up of the original TTC plan. My recollection was that several years ago, Governor Perry just suddenly dropped the plan in our laps, without soliciting any public input. I could be wrong about that, but I do watch TXDOT pretty closely, and I cannot remember them soliciting comments on the plan - in a town hall type environment. And believe me, if I had known about it, I would have been there.

These meetings, I believe, are more with the specifics of the alignment of the first leg of the corridor, not the corridor concept itself. That, apparently, is a done deal.

[Jedidah]

There are meetings all over Texas starting this week, but they are NOT being heavily publicized, and they aren't really public hearings. They're just going to tell us what they plan to do.

The Trans Texas Corridor is a huge boondoggle. I am appalled at the haste and hurry with which it has been shoved down our throats.

http://www.houstonpress.com/issues/2005-01-13/news.html

Is there a Free Republic group interested in this subject? Something needs to be done, but the average Texas simply doesn't know what is happening.

Allowing increasing numbers of unregulated NAFTA trucks and drivers from Mexico, who don't have to meet the same standards as US trucks, is enough of a safety concern. Taking hundreds of thousands of acres and ripping a scar across the state to accommodate them is absurd. This project will not benefit the state or its citizens at all.

This is simply backward thinking. In an era of concern about pollution and fuel consumption, it makes absolutely no sense to haul individual loads, each pulled by its own engine. We need to think creatively, ship much more cargo by rail, encourage development of less intrusive and more efficient mass transit, and stop covering our land with concrete and stop this project before it is too late.

Schedule of meetings: http://www.keeptexasmoving.com/get_involved/

[hedgetrimmer]

Its called visioning, facilitation or consensus process. They hold the meeting knowing they are going to build the project whether citizens want it or not. Then those who go to the meeting go away thinking that trying to work with the goverment is just a waste of time.

This, in fact, is exactly how they want you to feel, they don't want your invovlment, and they sure don't want to be transparent and do things constitutionally. Cuz if they did, the people would not allow them to proceed with such a project that takes private property away from individual property owners and gives it over to a foreign corporation. Eminent domain was never ever intended to do this.

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the ping!

[Jedidah]

Pardon my ignorance -- I am fairly new. What, exactly, is a Ping? And if it's something that alerts a reader to a subject they're interested in, could I please be Pinged when there is Trans Texas Corridor news?

(Or, for that matter, Texas news. I voted for Rick Perry twice, but I'll vote for Kinky Friedman or one tough grandma or even a t-sip cheerleader before I'll do it again.)

[BobL]

Amen.

It was once said that public schools really want parental involvement - with one exception. That being choosing the curriculum. Start interfering with that part of education, and the police will take you away in cuffs. Likewise, any involvement now only gives credible to the people behind this insane plan (in my opinion).

[Wallace T.]

I am no fan of the Trans-Texas Corridor because it will use the power of eminent domain to create a state supported private entity that will profit from the construction of the roadway. I would have no problem with this proposal if Cintra, the company responsible for the proposed toll road, would negotiate for the necessary right of way from the landowners, just as any other business would.

It is, however, a bit overwrought to claim that Texas is running out of land or that this highway will rip a scar across the state. It has been stated that the entire population of the world could be fit within Texas, with every family being placed in single family residences on suburban lots. The Texas and Pacific Railroad, the Houston Ship Channel, the oil and natural gas pipelines, the Comanche Peak nuclear plant, Lake Texoma, and the Interstate highway network are "scars," yet they have been vital to the economic growth of the state.

A strong transportation system is vital to the continued economic growth and health of the state. Several Interstates, notably I-35, are operating well beyond their design capacity. The Trans-Texas Corridor may not be the best solution, but increased highway construction is inevitable if the Lone Star State is to maintain sound growth. In the 1970s, the NIMBY mentality and environmental extremists came to dominate politics in California. As a result, road, utility, and water supply construction ground to a standstill. Thirty years later, the once Golden State is plagued by brownouts and gridlock. These are among the problems that have turned California into a state suffering the loss of its middle class to other states. If the same mentality takes hold in Texas, the Lone Star State will degenerate into a prairie version of California.

Like it or not, most people, especially families, prefer not to live in inner cities and want the suburban lifestyle sneered at by the New York, Hollywood, and Ivy League elite (even as they commute to their mansions in gated communities in their high-end SUVs). The suburbs have grown due to consumer demand. If state and county governments have been burdened with road and water supply construction tasks, it was only to meet the needs of the citizens who have moved to places they prefer. Halting road construction, limiting development in rural areas, and forcing people to ride mass transit are elements of liberal social engineering. These strategies only achieved economic stagnation in the Northeast and the flight of the middle class from California. There is no reason to believe they would not have the same results in Texas.

Social engineering is contrary to the foundational principles of this republic. It is the individual, and not government bureaucrats or academic social planners, who should enjoy the inalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

[BobL]

Well stated.

However, I don't see how any private company could get all of the owners, over several hundred miles, to sell out. There will always be a group that will never sell out and there will always be another group that will only sell out at very high cost.

I think what really irks the landowners (and, no, I'm not one of them) is that they will get nothing in return (other than a few bucks) for their land. The toll road is being built for the exclusive purpose of making money for Cintra (which is understandable, as they are a private company).

Considering the wide spacing of exits, and the fact that people and business stay away from toll roads as much as possible, the land owners have no future with Cintra.

In the Houston area, the Grand Parkway (basically a loop about 20 miles radius from downtown) was originally proposed as a freeway. They landowners on that route offered to DONATE their land to the state - obviously expecting the adjacent land to greatly increase in value. The state changed its mind several years ago and decided to make it a toll road. The owners turned around and told the state that they now have to buy the land (so in addition to the very expensive infrastructure needed to for tolling, the state also lost a chance for free right-of-way land).

So now the state is trying to start building pieces of this toll road (the Grand Parkway), but the true stakeholders, the people with their money on the line, see it as nothing but a huge white elephant. But I guess Texas is just too proud to learn from the toll road disasters in other states, particularly California.

[bobbyd]

but I'll vote for Kinky Friedman

What is Kinkys motto?

Something about taking the kitties out of Texas?.....LOL

[Jedidah]

Goood grief. I did not contend that Texas is running out of land. And this is not about social engineering.

It's about some big bucks being passed around in Austin, the state using its power of eminent domain to benefit a private (foreign) company, and the citizens of the state having very little say in the matter because it's been done so hurriedly and with so little notice to taxpayers/voters/citizens.

You wrote, "The Trans-Texas Corridor may not be the best solution, but increased highway construction is inevitable if the Lone Star State is to maintain sound growth."

Fine. Why not build through some reasonably sized roads through the rural areas that would very much like economic development? Little towns in west Texas are drying up, no pun intended, because all traffic is routed through Houston, Austin, DFW, etc. But the monstrous Trans Texas Corridor in no way addresses that problem.

These tollroads are not going to benefit Texas. They will be very limited in access and are designed to carry traffic across the state and out of it, bypassing the communities you so strongly defend.

Way too much of this project has gone on behind closed doors. Smells like a skunk.

[Wallace T.]

I have no problem with Cintra making money as such. I have no use, however, for companies that achieve profit at the expense of citizens who receive less than the potential value for their real property due to the state exercising the power of eminent domain. Being an advocate of limited government, and not an anarchist, I recognize the power of eminent domain as being necessary, a necessary evil if you will, to carry out the legitimate functions of government. The construction of public highways has been a function of government since at least the days of the Romans. It is hard to imagine how private enterprise could effectively own or manage city streets, rural roads, and other avenues of commerce. Road and street construction and maintenance are legitimate functions of state and local governments (though not the Feds).

I am not an opponent of toll roads per se, as they provide a more rapid means to build roads than do gasoline tax revenues. Dallas has greatly benefited from the Dallas North Tollway and the Bush Turnpike, and the same could no doubt be said for the Houston area toll roads. However, these roads are operated by commissions appointed by the Governor and local officials. The commissioners are supposed to operate for the general good of the citizens and are answerable to state and county officials. No one group of citizens benefits exclusively from the toll roads operating in Houston and Dallas. The same cannot be said for the Cintra proposal.

I am skeptical as to whether the Trans Texas Corridor is a good idea, although the intercity capacity of the current Interstate system is seriously deficient. The involvement of a for profit private entity benefiting from eminent domain power is unacceptable.

[E.G.C.]

BTTT!!!!!!

[BobL]

Excellently stated - and in a lot more mature way than I'm able to do it.

It should be incumbent on the people that are pushing this plan to show us how are interests are being looked after. Canada just found out that Cintra has screwed them for the next 50 years. Governor Perry will not be in his job for the next 50 years, so who do we turn to when we find out that he cut a deal with Cintra that basically screws us for half a century? At least there is some accountably when the state owns a road - tolls or not.

And your point about the government using eminent domain to take from one group of people, and then give to another group of people is very scary needs to be shutdown by the Supreme Court. It was not the intent of the 5th Amendment, but it has been done in MANY other areas (like "community redevelopment").

[HamiltonFan]

they held meetings last summer all over the state the on-line clips were full of all these hearings by TXDOT, notices and briefs about the few comments from the handful that bothered to show up. Dozens of them.

[deport]

Beginning Feb. 7 thru Mar. 31 there are 48 meetings scheduled across Texas from the Red River area down to the Valley. Anyone wishing to participate will have their chance..........

TTC-35 Schedule