Posted on 02/18/2005 9:27:41 AM PST by Paleo Conservative
No, honestly I didn't. I may be stubborn, but I have no problem admitting it if I misunderstood or am just flat wrong.
Questions remain, though.
HOW will we make sure foreign truck maintain a safe level of operation?
HOW does the state justify allowing a monopoly to be created for the benefit of a PRIVATE company?
WHAT kind of safeguards are there to make sure the company doesn't try to financially rape the public?
Most importantly, IS this what the people WANT, or is it just legal contortions for the benefit of the government?
Any and all questions from every resident in this state need need to be addressed before they even APPROACH that piece of paper with a pen!
Oh my, then I must immediately apologize for accusing you of intentionally lying. I didn't realize that you thought they were going to take the entire wide-lined areas. If that were actually the case, I would be leading not only the fight against the idea, but a call for impeachment! So sorry for my vitriole, now your concern becomes totally understandable.
Let me cover a few basics, to make sure we are all on the same page. There is a concept to build about a dozen corridors across the state over a 50 year period. The one parallel to I-35 is the first under study, and likely the only one that would be built in the next 8-10 years. Currently TXDOT is in the planning process and still negotiating the terms with the winning bidder to build this, Cintra. When that negotiation is complete, the terms will be announced, but as I understand it, that still doesn't mean the project is 100% going to take place, as there are state and federal requirements still to be met.
Right now TXDOT (as required by law) is taking public comment on routing options, of which there are several 1-mile wide study corridors, as seen on the map in my previous link. None of these have been graded yet based on a list of criteria (cost, amount of disruption, proximity to urban markets, estimated use, etc.) That will happen later, at which point one option will be chosen as the preferred alternative, an actual 800-1000' wide ROW route will be proposed, and all that will again be put forward for public comment, but with more extensive question and answer meetings. Then there is more steps in the approval process, but I don't know the details about that. Earliest it would be approved is next year, and the earliest the first portions would be finished (Hillsobro to a connection with I-10 east of San Antonio) is 2009-10.
As to foreign truck safety, that is really a separate issue that affects all roads. I was (and still am) against the allowance of Mexican trucks up here, even realizing that the stated reason was because it was in a treaty where we got tradeoffs from Mexico conceivably of more value. Bad idea.
The monopoly issue is a concern, let's read the fine print when the actual contract is negotiated and released. My guess is that there will be caps on the toll rates that can be charged, unless demand is so high that raising rates is necessary to limit use so as to maintain traffic flow at the posted speeds(as has been used on other tollways, since the idea is you pay a premium to avoid congestion and get there faster.)
As to what the people want, I can only speak for myself. I was originally against toll roads, but having read up on them, I now think this is a good idea, because the alternatives are either:
1) Don't build, but since we are going to keep rapidly growing in population then we will become as congested as the Northeast, DC area, California, etc.
2) Build as freeways, which would require a large gas tax increase (from 20 cents to nearly a dollar, even if we cancel the portion of the gas tax that funds schools) because there are already road projects that have been delayed for years because of limited funds
3) Build as freeways, but no gas tax increase, meaning it would take nearly 3-4 times as long to build the needed capacity
4) Allow toll financing, so a private company would pay for the road and take the risk of default, but get it built sooner
You raise valid concerns. I'd urge you to research both sides, both for and against, because for me the more I learned, the more I think it is a very good idea.
Here's some more info from an interview on Dan Patrick's KSEV radio show a few days ago with Transportation Commish Ric Williamson about the TTC, perhaps it might start to answer some questions:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1344806/posts
LOL!
Let's face it, you hang around FR long enough, you can get a little *gun-shy*!
I, too apologize for my... well... panic attack. :)
I'm still not that sure about it.
Another big concern being how much freeway access will there be for the folks who don't 'volunteer' to pay the toll/tax?
But I will check up on it.
Thanks for the link.
Diddle E. Squat seems to have gotten things straightened out, so I won't pile on at this point.
There are some legitimate concerns with the whole corredor idea, but it won't be as bad as you initially feared.
HOW does the state justify allowing a monopoly to be created for the benefit of a PRIVATE company?
You pay for your ride, I'll pay for mine.
Interesting that New England is left entirely out of the picture...
Hell, I've even used DFW Airport as a toll road.
I'm doing this for nothing. All I did was collect links and pictures that had been posted on previous TTC threads and consolidate them into text files that I can copy and paste into a reply box on Free Republic. The files take up only 5 KB total on my hard drive, and they take just a few seconds to copy, paste, and post.
LOL Well, ya definitely got a leg up on me with the shortcut thing!
I can see why, though - not a bad idea. : )
Then why the hit and run style of posting?
shusssssssh...... don't let them find out we are getting free tolls for the ten years after completion... gotta have some bennies for all the promotional work don'tcha see.
Also, quite a few of the graphics I post are hosted on anti-TTC websites.
Believe it or not some people may not have seen any of the previous threads on Free Republic about the TTC. I'm just trying to make it easier to find the information that has previously been posted on these threads.
Don't feel obligated to explain your posting history to a 2 day old newbie and his forty questions... jmo of course
The environmentalists, if sufficiently motivated, could easily delay or disrupt the I 35 portion of the corridor. There happens to be an endangered species found in that area, the Houston Toad.
If a big enough stink is raised, some "accommodations" would certainly be made.
"There are issues with Trans Texas Corridor that give rural members heartburn. "
these are legitimate issues to be raised.
i grew up on a farm and witnessed the effect of an interstate highway on our neighborhood. some things that happened:
1. there were arguments between farmers over whose land was purchased and at what price. one farmer held out for an absurd asking price and the state merely rerouted the freeway.
2. the state used "divide and rule" techniques to dismantle groups of farmers from causing problems at public meetings.
3. the state purchased soil for building the overpasses and freeway from farmers. our neighbor sold too much and destroyed the farm. my father sold clay soil underneath the good soil insisting that they remove the topsoil and replace it, which they did with no ill effects.
4. the biggest impact was socially on our neighborhood. friends on the other side of the freeway had to drive long distances to visit. gradually visits became longer and longer until friendships dissolved.
many of the farm women embraced the freeways and formed new relationships and got jobs in the city.
the end result was that people that some people we knew well before the freeway, we no longer knew. they had become strangers.
5. crime reared its head. we never locked our doors or cars and trucks until the freeway came. also, there were always people stranded with broken down vehicles that needed to use a phone. i never was comfortable with people walking onto the farm from the freeway. some wanted gas, some money, etc.
this has lessened with the advent of cell phones.
6. the state up graded our freeway from asphalt to concrete. you can NOT hear yourself think within 2 city blocks of a concrete freeway.
it's not the same place after the freeway's built. that's "progress".
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