06.17.09
Transportation news
Ben Wear on Monday wrote his column about the huge taxpayer money for developers scheme that Williamson County taxpayers have been funding since 2000. It stems form the now infamous [.pdf] 2000 road bond election in Williamson county, (see Amos “Pete” Peters III). Here’s the article, At least for now, Reagan Boulevard heading nowhere. A couple of quick notes. First, the irony of the title of the article in unmistakable. And second, the fact that a road named by the WCGOP Williamson County government, after what they believe to be the greatest president ever, is just a taxpayer give-away to developers, speaks for itself. Now here’s what Wear had to say about the road.
Williamson County, using bond money approved by voters in 2000 for the $89 million project, started building it in 2003. The most northerly section, completed last year, dead-ends at RM 2338. There’s a neighborhood of trailer homes on large lots off to the north of the intersection, but not much else.
In fact, for the whole 17-mile run there is little but pretty countryside. The first stretch, from RM 1431 to RM 2243, has a couple of subdivisions, and there’s an RV dealership, but that’s about it. There aren’t even that many real estate signs.
Is it possible that given rising environmental concerns and the distance from downtown Austin — 45 miles from RM 2338 to the Capitol — someone has finally built a Highway to Who-Cares that will stay that way? No, say developers. In fact, they say the problem is not gas prices or consumer demand, but political resistance to getting them the water and sewer connections (at reasonable cost) they need to develop.
“It won’t be the Road to Nowhere for long,” said Bill Pohl, a developer who owns 700 acres along the road and whose sales signs dot the landscape north of Texas 29. “It’ll get figured out.”
The county plan has the road connecting to Interstate 35 in the next few years, making it 28 miles long in then end, which I guess would make it officially a road to something. But until then, and perhaps for a long-time after, Reagan Boulevard’s best use may be as a place to teach your 15-year-old how to drive.
It’s the classic sprawl-creating, developer friendly road.
ACRE Texas has the latest on eminent domain and More between-session news–eminent domain; Perry signs non-existent document.
Terri Hall, founder of Texas TURF, has a blog at the San Antonio Express News, be sure and check it out.
And “wishy-washy” Sen. John Carona had this to say about his fomerly all important local option tax in the, somewhere in the future, special session.
Later Tuesday, the director for a key state committee weighed in, adding that Carona had no such plans to pursue the controversial measure.
“Chairman Carona believes any special session at this point should just cover consensus items,” said Steven Polunsky, committee director for the Senate Transportation and Homeland Security.
That would include “a 2-year extension for the Sunset agencies and the issuance of general obligation bonds for transportation. He does not currently plan on pursuing local option taxes in the special.”
Still, members are submitting requests in the case the call is expanded, especially in light of the chubbing at the end of the session that killed several measures.
While it’s extremely unlikely Perry would let it be added to the call, it’s would seem that Carona’s statement would be a little more in line with the passion he showed toward the end of the regular session.