TTC-35 PUBLIC HEARINGS CONTINUE NEXT MONDAY - JULY 17TH

Corridor Watch ^ | July 13, 2006 | Corridor Watch

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

CorridorWatch.org NOTICE TO MEMBERS - 07.13.06

TTC-35 PUBLIC HEARINGS CONTINUE NEXT MONDAY - JULY 17TH

Overflow crowds are attending TTC-35 hearings!!!! JOIN THEM!!!!

This is the time for all CorridorWatch members to do something that will have an impact.

( ( ( VOLUNTEERS ARE NEEDED TO HAND OUT CorridorWatch.org MATERIALS ) ) )

I have updated the public hearing instructions below. Please take the time to read them and attend the closest hearing or any and all that you can.

These hearings are helping us educate Texans about the Trans Texas Corridor – the truth – and impact that it will have on all Texans if we allow it to happen the way it is currently proposed.

Linda has already attended two hearings and will be attending many more. I too will be attending hearings and making comments known. We look forward to meeting you.

We need to let TxDOT, the Governor, the Legislature and the Federal Highway Administration hear our concerns and issues. We need to be seen and heard by the media so they can report our concerns and issues to their viewers, listeners and readers. We need to speak out and let our elected officials know that we will hold them responsible as our representatives. We need to step up to the plate and swing or be run over and forgotten.

DON'T LET ANYONE GET AWAY WITH SAYING THIS IS A NIMBY (NOT IN MY BACKYARD) ISSUE! IT'S NOT. IT'S BIGGER THAN THAT – IT'S A NOT IN MY STATE ISSUE. Remind them that this is not a transportation project, it's a revenue project. It’s an unbelievable land grabbing, monopoly building, autocratic scheme developed without public input and devoid of collaboration with regional or metropolitan transportation organizations.

- David Stall, CorridorWatch.org

SECOND WEEK'S SCHEDULE (see CorridorWatch.org for full schedule)

July 17 Ft Worth - Will Rogers Memorial Cntr,.Exhibits Hall, Round Up Inn, 3400 Burnett-Tandy Dr.
July 17 Greenville - Fletcher Warren Civic Center, 5501 S. Bus. Hwy. 69 (Linda Stall)
July 17 McGregor - McGregor High School Auditorium, 903 Bluebonnet Pkwy.
July 18 Cameron - Cameron ISD Performing Arts Cntr, 303 E. 12th St.
July 18 Granbury - GISD Pearl Street Conference Cntr, 205 E.Pearl St.
July 18 Mesquite - Poteet High School Auditorium, 3300 Poteet Dr. (Linda Stall)
July 19 Clifton - Clifton High School Cafeteria, 1101 N. Avenue Q
July 19 Hearne - Hearne Junior High School Aud., 401 Wheelock St.
July 19 Terrell - Terrell ISD Performing Arts Cntr, 400 Poetry Rd. (Linda Stall)
July 20 Caldwell - Caldwell High School Auditorium, 550 County Road 307
July 20 Corsicana - Drane Intermediate School Auditorium, 100 S. 18th St.
July 20 Groesbeck - Groesbeck High School Auditorium, 1202 N. Ellis St.

IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT YOU PARTICIPATE IN THE NEPA PUBLIC HEARING PROCESS.

These hearings specifically seek comment on:

TTC impact to farmland and effects of Ag conversion (call your Bureau or Co-op);
TTC impact to community travel patterns (call your School District);
TTC impact to community and the potential of social disruption (call you pastor);
TTC impact to emergency services, delivery and access (call you EMS, VFD & PD);
TTC impact to local retail & sales tax revenue (call your Chamber);
TTC impact to regional economy (call your EDC);
TTC impact to property tax (loss of taxable property and diminished valuations);
TTC impact to disadvantaged populations (cost of tolls & fees; greater travel distances);
TTC impact to air quality;
TTC impact of noise;
TTC impact to water quality;
TTC impact to wildlife (call your Game Warden & Management District);
TTC impact to threatened & endangered species;
TTC impact to floodplains (including impact of large impervious surfaces);
TTC impact to significant historical and cultural sites (call you Society);
TTC impact to cemeteries, public and private as well as family burial grounds;
TTC impact to archaeological sites;
TTC impact to hazardous waste sites; and,
TTC impact to visual quality.

Attend one or more public hearings. You DO NOT have to attend the meeting in your area or county. You CAN comment at ANY of the public hearing locations. You do not even have to live, work, or own property in the path of TTC-35 to participate in these public hearings. Yes, you can even drive from Houston, El Paso, or Lubbock and speak at these meetings.

Your input will define the issues examined in their next round of environmental analysis.

You do not need to read or understand the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) to participate in this process, to share your comments, or express your opinions.

Each meeting will begin with a period of open house visiting from 5:00pm to 6:30pm. At 6:30pm there will be a TxDOT presentation (including a video) that should conclude by 7:00pm. Thereafter you and fellow Texans will be given the microphone to make your comments. Elected officials can jump to the head of the line – will your local officials be there? Any that share your opinion should be encouraged to attend and speak.

Please stay and speak at the hearing yourself! Be civil, be firm, and BE HEARD.

Make good use of your time and direct your comments directly to TxDOT. This time really isn’t intended as an opportunity for you to address the audience. You should visit with other attendees a great length before and after your comments, but you shouldn’t try to convince other attendees of your position during your very short comment period.

You do not need to be an expert, environmentalist, or expert of any kind to register your opinion on the official record.

Try to have one or more specific comments (objections or not). You can review some of our concerns at the end of this message. Maybe you agree with some of them. Write down your own notes and give your comments and/or objections quickly, your time will be limited to THREE MINUTES. You do not need to give full and comprehensive reasons behind each of your concerns. Be brief. Better to raise several important issues than dwell too long on one or two. If you do get cut off be sure to write the rest of your comments down and submit them for the record. Likewise, if you can't stay late enough to speak write your comments on the form provided and leave them.

This is a kind of voting process. Just because the person before you said what you had planed to say doesn't mean that you don't need to say it again. You do! If you don’t they’ll register that issue once, not twice.

They are counting and if you want to be counted you MUST say it for yourself. Avoid saying, "I agree with the last speaker." If you agreed with the last speaker say the same thing all over again (even it he or she is married to you!). Repeating concerns over and over is a good thing.

If you come to a hearing with a concern express it. Don’t let anyone at the meeting convince you that your concern is unwarranted or that you don’t need to raise the issue. Don’t take anyone’s word. Get your issue or concern on the official record.

NOTE: TxDOT Internet online comment forms will ask which route selection you support. If you don't support any route don’t leave it blank – check "I oppose" AND "No Action Alternative."

BECOME INFORMED – KEEP INFORMED.

Learn more about the TTC. Sadly there is plenty of misinformation on both sides of the issue. Seek out differing opinions and draw your own conclusions. Recognize that TxDOT officials and contractors are working hard to convince you and others of the merits of their project.

Already during the first week’s hearings we have heard TxDOT officials spinning their perspective on the TTC. For example they say that it will be built in phases and that you shouldn't be concerned at the size or number of elements. The fact is however that TxDOT will need to take all the land, for every element, to reserve the space. That means that even if only four-lanes of toll road are built they will be in a swath of land three times wider than our Interstate Highways (including feeder roads).

Watch out for 'weasel words,' such as "probably, likely, should, shouldn't, most, think, believe, usually, promise, intend, expect, anticipate, faith, confident, feel, trust, view, assume, opinion, predict, thought, maybe, could, and future." Cut to the bottom line, always ask, "Does the law permit or prohibit TxDOT (or the concessionaire) to do that?"

Be cautious about the answers you get to your questions. Even the best-intentioned TxDOT representative (or CorridorWatch.org member) can only tell you what they know or believe. In some instances the information they share may be incorrect. We have witnessed erroneous and/or misleading answers to TTC questions at every level of Texas government. Most are uninformed; few are intentionally disingenuous.

STAY ENGAGED.

This is an environmental process. The Governor and the Transportation Commission have already decided to build the TTC. That decision was reached without asking for your input. These environmental hearings will help decide where the TTC will be built. If you have concerns about building the TTC you must contact your elected state officials and let them know your opinions. Only the Governor and the State Legislature can change the future course of the TTC plan.

Of course we would like a very strong record of objections to be built across the state during these public hearings. A record that will signal to our elected officials that this is indeed an unpopular project. That while we recognize that we need roads, we do not need the TTC. Let's consider alternatives.

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THE TRANS-TEXAS CORRIDOR IS AN ALL AROUND BAD IDEA FOR TEXAS.

Here are just a few reasons why:

It turns private land into State land. More than one-half million acres will become government property used not only for transportation but also as State owned rental property in direct competition with private development. It takes land well in excess of what is required to accomplish the goal of providing transportation and utilities. The width cannot be justified.

It's designed to generate revenue first and provide transportation second.

The Plan is based on uncertain assumptions. The plan is predicated on Texas population growth, not traffic projections. There is no demonstrated public demand for corridors that circumvent the metropolitan traffic generators.

It doesn't solve the urban congestion & traffic problem.

Adverse economic impact. It takes economic assets away from Texas communities by rerouting the flow of commercial trucks and limiting traveler access to local services, lodging and attractions.

Private Interests v. Public Interests. Puts private state partners revenue generation ahead of legitimate public interests.

The opportunity for informed public comment and full NEPA participation is seriously restricted by the state keeping project design details already outlined and defined by the concessionaire secret.

Loss of local property taxes. State owned TTC land will be removed from county and school district tax rolls. County and district taxpayers will shoulder the burden of making up the losses.

Local jurisdictions, predominantly rural, will be burdened with the cost of providing infrastructure, governmental services and emergency services to a massive state owned project that may generate no local revenues while the state and their concessionaires reap the benefits of tolls, fees, and charges.

It creates a 'soft' terrorism target. This is not the time to put so many critical infrastructure elements in one place. A single act could impact transportation, communications, and utilities. As proposed the corridors are in the least equipped and prepared communities to respond to an act of terrorism or accidental incident. The threat to life, property and the environment are tremendous.

Dividing the State. Corridors will divide rural Texas making it more difficult to get from one place to another. The economic factors that impact the ability to provide crossings will limit access across the corridor. Longer travel distances will result in loss of community cohesion, increase travel cost (fuel), increased vehicle generated pollution, and increased emergency response and transport times.

Potential for tremendous liabilities created by secret Comprehensive Development Agreements. It is impossible to understand and explore the range of possible concerns and issues that such agreements may present when their content is secret.

High cost of tolls. Toll are projected to equate to $3.85 per gallon of gasoline. At 15-cents per mile the increased cost to the travelling public is more than ten times that of the present gasoline tax.

Air pollution. Increased highway speeds (80 MPH) mean greater fuel consumption and more air pollution. Increased non-corridor travel distances also mean greater fuel consumption and more air pollution.

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CorridorWatch.org, Inc.
Fayetteville, TX 78940-5468
"Challenging the Wisdom of the Trans-Texas Corridor"

CorridorWatch.org, is an organization of concerned Texans and public officials who question the wisdom of the Trans-Texas Corridor. Our mission is to increase public awareness and understanding of the Trans-Texas Corridor and its impact on Texas and all Texans.

For More Information Visit Us on the Internet:
www.CorridorWatch.org

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

Trans-Texas Corridor PING!

[BobL]

"At 15-cents per mile the increased cost to the travelling public is more than ten times that of the present gasoline tax."

15 cents per mile would be a gift. Try 30 cents, if Cintra stays on track with their other rates in North America.

We're hosed, but no doubt the governor's boys will arrive here shortly and attack all who don't worship at Rick Perry's toes.

[COEXERJ145]

Only a matter of time before the tinfoil hatters appear and claim this is all part of the Bush plot to destroy the United States.

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

At 30 cents a mile, if I were in Texas, I would learn to ride a motorcycle so that I could weave in between all of the cars parked on I-35 so I wouldn't need to use the Corridor.

[TXnMA]

Thanks for the ping, TSR!

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

You're welcome.

[TXnMA]

TTC impact to archaeological sites;

TXDOT will hear from this Texas Archeological Steward...

(To preempt the 'Spelling Police': "arch a eology" is the official Texas (THC) spelling...)

[Deek]

Oh delight. Yet another shrill call from the "Socialized Highway" crowd.

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

So far, we've had people mention the "tinfoil hatters", the "governor's boys", and now the "socialized highway crowd." This promises to be an interesting thread.

[E.G.C.]

BTTT

[BobL]

Agreed. They (Cintra) are advertising numbers in the 15 cent range, but the last time I checked in Canada they were well into the 20's (US, per mile), so they'll likely be 30 cents by the time they're done here. They also will have a very tough time paying back their bills at 15 cents.

[wolfcreek]

destroy the United States.


To hell with the President's agenda! Personally, as a Texan, I'm currently only worried about TEXAS! I don't want to see my state used as a doormat for some international interest. Those that do, need to seek residency elsewhere!

[COEXERJ145]

Oh please. Take the tin foil off.

It is just a freaking road.

[wolfcreek]

I hear Califoria's a nice place to live. SEE YA!