03.27.09
Texas TURF exposes the latest toll scheme
Texas TURF, a non-profit organization whose mission is to educate the public about controversial toll road financing, put out a press release regarding SB 220 which passed the Texas Senate on Thursday. While being touted by it’s author, Sen. Robert Nichols, as a bill that we keep existing highways from being converted to toll roads, it actually does the exact opposite. Excerpts from the press release below, Senate bill opens NEW loophole to toll existing highways.
SB 220 authored by Senator Robert Nichols actually opens a NEW loophole that would allow existing highway lanes to be tolled and the free lanes to be subsequently downgraded to access roads. This bill would legalize the conversions of at least three highways: 281 N and 1604 in Bexar County and 290 E in Travis County. SB 220 passed the Senate 31-0 despite citizen concerns, TURF testimony, and our action alert notifying EVERY single senator of this problem.
“It’s an outrage that the author of this bill, Senator Nichols, is out there touting that he’s ended the tolling of existing highways, and he knows his bill does just the opposite! He’s an ex-Transportation Commissioner who not only was involved in writing the first bill to address tolls on existing highways that had the original loopholes back in 2005 (SB 2702), but also he was present when Governor Perry signed the contract with Cintra for the Trans Texas Corridor, and he has plenty of ties to and funding from the highway lobby. He knows exactly what he’s doing. The leopard is showing his spots,” explains Terri Hall TURF Founder.
The wording of this bill leaves a number of loopholes for TxDOT to leap through.
They go on to point out how TxDOT ignored the legislative intent of the so-called toll moratorium that was past last session. Which should remind every Texan that unless the legislature specifically states this cannot be done, not loopholes, TxDOT will do whatever they wish if given the chance. Anyone who lives around or drives on Highway 79, Highway 29 in Williamson County needs to read this.
Hank Gilbert, on the Board of TURF, directly questioned TxDOT Executive Director Amadeo Saenz about this at the 2008 TxDOT press conference promising to use existing highways for the footprint on TTC-69, and he failed to give a definitive answer.
If you watched the Sunset Commission hearings last July, you saw legislators awaken to the fact that TxDOT was NOT following the legislative intent of its previous attempt to outlaw converting existing freeways into toll roads.
“When TxDOT is going to toll every single mainlane currently open to traffic as a US highway built and paid for with state and federal dollars and leave only frontage roads as the non-toll, the taxpayers have rightly gone nuclear,” says Hall.
Most rural divided highways eventually need stoplights at the crossovers. The stoplights make it no less a highway than before it had stoplights, but it certainly slows the thru traffic. Then, TxDOT usually upgrades to a controlled access highway by building overpasses over the stoplights and adding frontage lanes where needed. So TxDOT has been exploiting this all over the state by turning freeways with stoplights (which are naturally congested by having to stop) into tollways instead of building overpasses and keeping those lanes toll-free. (Emphasis added).
“This is wrong and unacceptable. You’ve also been hearing plenty of protest about using stimulus money to build toll roads in a TRIPLE TAX scheme Texans WILL NOT tolerate. Converting existing freeways into toll roads is the same tax scheme, this time a DOUBLE tax, using a different pot of money,” relates Gilbert who protested the use of stimulus money for toll roads for which a commissioner called him and TURF supporters, “bigots.” Watch it here.
“By leaving this bill as is, it’s legalizing theft, period. If TxDOT can slap a stoplight on a highway as a license to double tax motorists to get to work, then that’s exactly what they’ll do to get easy access to our wallets. This is horrific public policy and it needs to be fixed,” Hall said.
Obviously 79 and 29 could become toll roads if this bill is passed and signed as it passed the Senate on Thursday. There’s still time, it’s not a law yet. Very good stuff information Texas TURF.
Eye on Williamson » Hold onto your wallet, corporate toll road are a go again said,
April 7, 2009 at 11:10 am
[...] pointed out previously, the legislature is working hard to make sure that corporate toll roads are as Ben Wear’s [...]