BIKE: Toll road support faltering

[Roger Baker]

Over 6000 emails to CAMPO in opposition! So now even self-proclaimed 
transit enemy Daugherty defects from the TxDOT/Chamber of Commerce/real 
estate/road contractor lobby supporting the toll roads.

The problem now for the roads is that when you start to take out some 
roads the toll network as a unified concept starts to collapse pretty 
quick. Daugherty has just noticed that the toll road promoters have 
neglected to admit the true cost to the average citizen to drive around 
Austin using these roads built with borrowed money. Duh!

Daugherty sounds here like he wants to take charge of Cap Metro's money 
before the public even gets to vote on a regional rail start this Nov., 
costing about $80 million.  What a political mess you get when you try 
to  conceal from the public the true social, economic and environmental 
costs of the various transportation options like those based on compact 
growth and transit and bike options. Now that the bad planning that 
Daugherty has always supported is starting to bite him on the ass, 
Daugherty starts telling us that we need to start be more honest about 
the true long-range costs.  -- Roger




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Dear Neighbors:

Let me start by telling you that on July 12, 2004, I will be voting 
against the toll road plan as it exists today, but please don't stop 
reading yet!  Prior to becoming a County Commissioner and after being 
elected County Commissioner, my number one priority has been 
transportation. I have been deeply committed for years to building a 
roadway system that would allow people to get around this community. I 
have spent my own personal money and time because I have been so 
dedicated to this goal. I know that we must face the public and tell 
them that tolls are part of future roadway plans, but only when those 
plans are reasonable, economically feasible, and just plain "make 
sense" * not just to the planners but to the general public as well.

As we all realize, there is simply not enough money to fund the 
necessary infrastructure this community needs to deal with congestion 
and the pollution created. The status quo that the Capital Area 
Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO) faces is that we can only 
fund approximately 1/3 of what we need. There is already an identified 
funding gap of well over $5 billion for the 2030 CAMPO plan, and there 
is every indication that this number will only increase. So every 
dollar spent must be spent wisely, with much forethought, and public 
consensus.

Getting the public to accept tolls as part of their every day reality 
is a challenge that every locally elected official must accomplish, but 
before I can ask the public to accept an additional monthly burden, I 
must be able to defend the plan. In my view, the present toll road 
system is a patchwork quilt of tolls. Let me give you an example of 
what I mean. Tolling a short section of a road, which is already under 
construction and will connect existing main lanes, as at Loop 1 South 
at William Cannon Drive, is simply not acceptable.

There is no resemblance between this toll road system and the North 
Dallas Tollway or the Sam Houston Tollway System in Houston.  Those 
roads are examples of lengthy continuous stretches of roadway that are 
added capacity roads.  This community has demonstrated their 
willingness to accept that type of toll road because that is exactly 
the type of roadway that SH 130 represents.

The second road I believe should not be tolled is SH 45 SW. The voters 
in a 1997 bond election passed this road and monies have already been 
expended by the County with the expectation that it would be built 
without tolls. This is the type of "bait and switch" that raises the 
public resistance to toll roads. There is a long-standing public 
expectation that this road would be built as part of a bond package, 
not a toll road!

The general public does not support the toll plan that is on the table. 
My office has had well over 6,000 e-mails from individuals opposed to 
the toll road plan. This is clear evidence that if an election were 
held tomorrow this plan would not win at the ballot box. The spur for 
this outrage is that the public does not believe this plan is fair.

There is one other factor that needs to be put on the table as part of 
this discussion about how we fund our needed roadway system. At the 
same time people are being asked to sacrifice some of their monthly 
budget by way of "tolls," the performance and usage of Capital Metro's 
sales tax dollars, allocated for public transportation, has not been 
questioned. The sales tax that Capital Metro collects has grown from 
approximately $40 million per in 1985 to approximately $120 million 
dollars collected in 2003.

The agency constantly points to growth in ridership with statements 
similar to those that are found in the 2025 CAMPO plan, "Fixed-route 
ridership increased by 42% in the last five years*".  This is a true 
statement but ignores the more important reality that the percentage of 
people that use transit has remained virtually the same for the last 
decade at around 3% - 4%.  Simply put * ridership figures have grown 
mainly because population has grown. On the other hand, revenue (sales 
tax) has grown by over 100% - roughly from $60 million a year to 
approximately $120 million a year.

So on top of paying 1% sales tax that goes to Capital Metro (paid by 
everyone who shops in the Capital Metro area), people will be asked to 
buy "toll tags" or pay tolls to help finance our future roads.  Where 
is the fairness and equity in this system? There is a real integrity 
failure about our system of governance if we cannot honestly admit 
there is a mismatch between how we are spending our money and the 
demand for public good, such as a decent roadway system that is going 
unmet.

The daily reality for some people is that our local system of 
government is now telling them that they may be facing monthly bills of 
  $100 just to get around Austin. I cannot support a road plan that 
means you have to have a toll tag just to get around Austin. The 
millions that we are collecting from Capital Metro should be on the 
table at the same time we are demanding tolls from the public. Ignoring 
this debate is a disservice to the people of Austin and this region. We 
can fund a good transit system and still afford to use some percentage 
of funding for building the necessary roads to keep the region 
economically viable. We no longer have the option of continuing to be 
silent about the inequitable transportation spending.

The CAMPO Board will be meeting to vote on the present toll road 
package on July 12, 2004, 6:00 p.m., at the Joe Thompson Center, UT 
Campus.  The public will most likely not have occasion to speak but is 
welcome to attend.

Gerald Daugherty


Gerald Daugherty
Travis County Commissioner, Precinct 3
314 W. 11th St., Room 500
P.O. Box 1748
Austin, TX  78767
Office:  512-854-9333
Fax:      512-854-9376