BIKE: Bikes versus toll roads -- my picture in the paper, etc.

[rcbaker]

A number of transpo progressives including myself are putting out an 
action alert to try to mobilize all progressive transportation advocates -- all 
bike riders included to show up at the CAMPO meeting this coming 
Monday, 6-6:30, May 10 for the big public hearing on toll roads to be held 
in the LBJ Auditorium on Red River. If you want to speak, please come 
early and sign up, or at least clap and cheer when the toll road opponents 
speak. 

Many bike riders might not understand the toll road, issue but they are 
pure special interest politics mascarading as transpo planning, and 
certainly not conducive to bikes or sustainable growth. 

I think the Save Barton Springs assn. and The Sierra Club are recently on 
record as opposing any approval of toll roads right now without integrating 
it soundly into CAMPO's long range plan, which is not being done. 

The toll road guys are trying to stampede CAMPO into quick approval 
approval of its $2.2 billion toll road package on the grounds that we would 
lose Texas Mobility Fund money to other areas like Dallas to Houston, if 
we don't sign on the bottom line immediately. If you bother to check their 
numbers, the money isn't there and can't be used, and this threat is 
exposed as a scare tactic to get quick political approval. 

Here is more analysis of what is going on with this key transportation 
battle now shaping up:

In essence TxDOT, with the unelected CTRMA operating as their agent, 
wants to toll many existing Austin roads to generate money to build new 
roads to keep serving sprawl as usual. The public is being told that there 
will always be existing roads that the public can use instead of paying a 
toll, but the reality is that existing free roads would be turned into toll 
roads and what amounts to the new frontage roads would then be free. 

But of course the free roads would too congested to be a very useful 
alternative. But think about this seemingly generous offer a minute. If the 
free roads weren't meant to be much too slow to be a very useful 
alternative, then how could TxDOT could get anyone on wall Street to 
invest in bonds using the future toll road revenue as a financial 
guarantee? 

Just look at all the special interests connected with real estate and sprawl 
trying to mobilize support for immediate approval of the toll roads. Pete 
Winstead is a sort of poster child for mixing special interests of real estate 
with public road policy. 

http://austin.bizjournals.com/austin/stories/2004/05/03/daily34.html?jst=b_ln_hl 


Beyond this, Will Wynn may be having second thoughts about the toll 
roads.
We need to work at least for a delay of these massive projects until the 
public understands the implications well enough understand the real 
implications of everyone who drives a car being forced to pay five or ten 
bucks more to drive around Austin each day -- to build new roads that only 
make the current sprawl trends worse. 

You may have seen my picture on the City/state section of the Statesman
on Wed. Made me look like the populist firebrand I try to be. It also 
incorrectly reported that I had cited MY website as austinbicycle.org
The reality was that I cited corridorwatch.org and made no such personal 
claims. But I don't think Michael will mind the free publicity for his site 
much. 

Really folks, this is an important meeting and its important to turn out the 
troops at this critical tipping point in transportation politics. I think the toll 
road lobby can be defeated once the public understands. Much of the 
opposition will now come from suburban areas, and this should be seen 
as friendly to biking interests given the big picture.

Toll road beneficiaries are largely the road contractors, the sprawl 
development interests, TxDOT, and the financial middlemen. 

Losers would be existing commuters, rail transpo proponents, inner city 
residents, and alternative transportation advocates, and the municipal 
revenue bond investors. 

Once world oil production peaks, these 40 year toll road bonds are going 
to go down so fast I predict that they will make the Titanic seem buoyant 
by comparison. Its not only the bond holders who would take the hit. The 
local governments and planning bodies that lent their support will have 
trouble getting even sensible bonds passed.

-- Roger

 Roger


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