That should be posted in its entirety. So here we go:
Strayhorn’s Transportation Plan Reads Like Bad Science Fiction
AUSTIN – Carole Strayhorn today unveiled a transportation plan that does little more than read like the script of a bad science fiction movie: a lot of lights, a few cameras and very little action.
“Carole Strayhorn’s latest plan to solve Texas future transportation needs is so unrealistic, she might as well have proposed using the transporter system from the Starship Enterprise,” said Perry campaign spokesman Robert Black. “Carole Strayhorn is trying to make Texans believe her plan is legitimate by using bad special effects, slights-of-hand, and out-of-this-world absurdity but Texans are smart enough to see there is no substance behind her smoke and mirror transportation tricks.”
Carole Strayhorn’s latest far-fetched proposals:
* Implement a “Ports-to-Plains” transportation plan. Carole Strayhorn provides no new funds for completion of this project and this plan does nothing to relieve congestion in the I35 corridor. She claims that she is opposed to taking private land for public highways, yet she is willing to take West Texas land for a public highway?
* Expand I35 by using existing rights-of-way. This plan is currently being implemented where existing rights-of-way can be utilized. It will add one lane to I35, cost billions of dollars and take decades to complete.
* Double Deck I35. To double deck I35 would cost $10 billion and take decades. She provides no new money to fund this venture.
* Further efficiencies in TxDOT. Where are the efficiencies? If Carole Strayhorn knows where TxDOT is wasting money, she should tell taxpayers today.
* Increase Telecommuting. Is Carole Strayhorn going to TELL Texans to stay home and FORCE telecommuting on Texas employers? How will mechanics, utility workers, oil patch workers, and millions of other Texans who labor with their hands every day.
* Make railroads more efficient. How will Carole Strayhorn implement this proposal? How will she force private railroads to be “more efficient” on 120 year old rail lines? How does this get hazardous materials out of our city centers?
* Use $4 billion in Texas Mobility Funds. This money is already dedicated to relieve congestion in Texas’ major metro areas. Is Carole Strayhorn proposing stripping our major cities of these funds and allowing congestion to continue?
* Use $3 billion in revenue bonds. Like the mobility fund, most of this revenue has already been committed to relieve congestion in urban areas.
Earlier in the year, the Strayhorn campaign’s first response to address the Texas transportation challenge was to do nothing: ”He (Strayhorn campaign manager Brad McClellan) said there’s plenty of state and federal transportation aid to pay for the state’s future highway needs.” [Austin American Statesman 02/25/06]
While now saying that she is against toll roads, Carole Strayhorn repeatedly recommended that the Texas Legislature use toll roads to build more roads faster. She even advocated using the financing tools used to build the Trans Texas Corridor.
* ”Comptroller Rylander’s performance review recommends TxDOT adopt innovative financing tools, such as Grant Anticipation Revenue Vehicles (GARVEEs), build more toll roads, and tap into a new line of credit through the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA).” [Press release from Comptroller Carole Keeton Rylander, January 12, 2001]
* ”Another dimension of Shapiro’s plan, called ‘toll equity,’ which Rylander supports, lets the state pool taxpayer money with private financing to build toll roads, which helps free up state money for other projects.” [”Lawmakers lay groundwork to ease traffic, but plan lacks money.” Associated Press 20 May 2001]
* ”Some of Rylander’s proposals would make it easier for Texans to register their cars, and others would consolidate operations at various department offices. She also supports building toll roads and ensuring that representatives from every region of Texas, including the border, serve on the Transportation Commission.” [”Comptroller criticizes state agency; Rylander’s report says.” Austin American-Statesman Jan.13, 2001]
* ”Building highways through toll financing, rather than pay-as-you-go financing, dramatically speeds the time it takes to complete a given project. We estimate that if tolls made possible the immediate construction of a $320 million project that would otherwise not be built for another 15 years, the project would economically benefit the state some $411 million more, over 30 years, than if the road was delayed and built as a free road under a pay-as-you-go system.” [Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. “Paving the Way: A Review of the Texas Department of Transportation.” Jan. 2000]
”Carole Strayhorn has been all over the map when it comes to transportation and her latest proposal amounts to unfunded promises that will leave Texans stuck in traffic for decades,” Black said. “Texans deserve better than a plan that looks like it was drawn up on the back of a cocktail napkin.”
http://www.rickperry.org/news/article/291