MOPAC TOLL ROAD: Town Hall Meeting

The MOPAC overpass of William Cannon was scheduled as a Freeway by TXdot since the year 2000. Mopac Construction work on the overpass began as a Freeway on 10/15/03 with your tax dollars ready to pay for it.

Now, TXdot & CTRMA have immediate plans to convert the new MOPAC overpass (William Cannon) into part of a Toll Road.

A Toll Road at Circle C's Front Door?

Part of the Toll Road plan would be to extend a new Mopac Toll Road from Slaughter to 290, and complete the ramps for the new overpass to connect to 290. The future plan, stated by TXdot's Ed Collins, is for those Toll Road Dollars to pay for a Mopac/Slaughter overpass. All current Mopac Roads would stay free under any plan. A majority of the CCHOA Board of Directors are against this Toll Road.


What can you do about it?

1. Show up at the May 4th TxDOT/CTRMA Town Hall at Kiker
This Tuesday, May 4, 2004
7 PM - Kiker Elementary School
(we need everyone to fill that auditorium).

2. Show up at the May 10th CAMPO hearing.
Monday, May 10, 2004
6:45 PM - Joe C. Thompson Center Auditorium, UT - Dean Keeton (26th Street) and Red River, Austin

PLEASE ATTEND THESE IMPORTANT MEETINGS to provide input.
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In addition to showing up at the meetings, please email these 23 Campo board members.

Dear CAMPO Board,

The MOPAC overpass of William Cannon was scheduled as a Freeway by TXdot since the year 2000. Mopac Construction work on the overpass began as a Freeway on 10/15/03. NO TOLL for the MOPAC/William Cannon overpass!

Daryl.Slusher@ci.austin.tx.us
gonzalo.barrientos@senate.state.tx.us
dawnna.dukes@house.state.tx.us
Richard.Arellano@ci.austin.tx.us
Thelma.Barraza@ci.austin.tx.us
burnett@co.hays.tx.us
bdaigh@dot.state.tx.us
dan.gattis@house.state.tx.us
Danny.Thomas@ci.austin.tx.us
cityhall@westlakehills.org
eddie.rodriguez@house.state.tx.us
elliott.naishtat@house.state.tx.us
gerald.daugherty@co.travis.tx.us
gboatright@wilco.org
jack.stick@house.state.tx.us
jtrevino@austin.utexas.edu
sam.biscoe@co.travis.tx.us
karen.sonleitner@co.travis.tx.us
Brewster.McCracken@ci.austin.tx.us
mike.krusee@house.state.tx.us
mayor@round-rock.tx.us
steve.ogden@senate.state.tx.us
terry.keel@house.state.tx.us
todd.baxter@house.state.tx.us

Please forward this as an email to all your friends and neighbors.

The Failure of Toll Roads


The Failure of Toll Roads
By Roger Baker June 20, 2003? 

The major factors that are going to cause the toll road bonds to default are:

1. Declining regional growth in the suburbs of affluent folks who will pay daily road tolls. The growth has been previously mostly based on high tech, or state government, or a cheap pleasant place to retire (but now Sun City can't sell their homes) and Austin/regional growth has plummeted.

2. The scale of the toll road network built with borrowed money, which is already about $3.5 billion and that is before the RMA builds even more toll roads at the urging of TxDOT. This is all being driven mostly by the roadbuilding and real estate interests who want to make money as opposed to contributing their own money. One glaring example of this madness is Perry's 50 year $175 billion Trans-Texas corridor Plan.

3. The sudden realization that there is not enough gas has taken the marketplace by surprise, although it was predicted years ago by the better petroleum and gas geologists. Oil will peak within the decade (it may be peaking now) and then suddenly get a lot more expensive according to supply and demand, killing the toll roads built with borrowed money. There are now many scientists and energy experts that have caught on that the marketplace is blind when it comes anticipating a resource shortfall and the politicians and bureaucrats tend to be in denial of bad news (just as the fishing industry failed to heed warnings and has collapsed ocean fishing stocks).

Probably the ONLY effective way to fight back is to expose the promoters of these toll roads in advance using the damning facts, widely publicized, so that the RMA and CAMPO promoters become scared that their reputations will be thoroughly ruined when it happens....

read more here:
http://bicycleaustin.info/articles/rb-tollroad-failure.html

and here:
http://bicycleaustin.info/articles/rb-campo-inflates-pop.html

Escarpment as alternate route?

Will Escarpment be an alternate route to avoid toll booths?

NEWS 8 Austin

Parmer Lane residents worried about traffic after toll is imposed

4/27/2004 By: James Keith

Construction on the Loop 1 extension has people in North Austin concerned. Neighbors said they're worried about an increase in traffic as drivers look for alternate routes to avoid toll booths.

Parmer Lane Elementary sits on one of Austin's busiest roads. Parents and staff experience the traffic everyday.

''It's really horrendous,'' principal Joni McKee said.

School leaders are worried about the possibility of more congestion.

When Loop 1 construction is complete in 2007, Parmer Lane will become even busier. The street will be the last free road on North MoPac. Drivers looking to avoid a toll are expected to use Parmer as an alternate route.

''A bad situation can get worse, much worse with more cars coming down Parmer Lane. Parmer Lane is a very busy street,'' McKee said.

Neighbors want the state to extend the free roadways further north. They said the last thing the area needs is more drivers.

? WATCH THE VIDEO
Parmer traffic
People who work and live along Parmer Lane worry that a proposed toll road would make bad traffic worse.
''I see a lot of people take the exit at Parmer then start cutting through the neighborhood. That just creates a safety issue for people who have to live there and that's us,'' school neighbor Ricardo Guerrero said.

Construction plans call for FM 1325, which begins where MoPac ends to be tolled. Neighbors are against the idea. They said fees should only apply towards new construction not to roads already in existence.

''We're saying, wait a second, if we already built it and paid for it, shouldn't we continue to have a free exit so our neighborhoods don't get over run with people running through them?'' Guerrero said.

The Texas Department of Transportation says it has few options. The department is conducting a feasibility study to find the best solutions. But with construction already underway, neighbors said any recommendations may be too late.

The Loop 1 extension is one of five tollway projects underway in Central Texas.