BIKE: Oil prices, toll roads & commuter rail in Mudville

[David Dobbs]

At 11:25 -0500 10/7/04, Mike Dahmus wrote:
>1. There STILL is no oil production crisis.

On the contrary, there is a crisis if supply and demand are so close 
together that there is no margin for error, as is currently the case. 
This is why the price continues to climb over the $50 dollar a barrel 
mark because the market is keenly aware that any disruption in the 
flow of oil from any one of several places could severely depress the 
world's economy.  Since December 2002 we've seen significant 
production shortfalls in Venezuela, Nigeria, Iraq and now in the Gulf 
of Mexico because of the hurricanes.  If terrorists were to succeed 
in say, knocking out a major part of Saudi Arabia's output for any 
length of time we wouldn't have just a crisis, we'd have a worldwide 
economic catastrophe that would make the depression of the 1930's 
look like a hiccup.

Now you choose any word you like, but in reality the world is 
addicted to a substance in very short supply from which there is no 
quick and easy withdrawal without enormous pain for everyone.  Is 
this a crisis and if it is, when should we acknowledge it?



At 11:25 -0500 10/7/04, Mike Dahmus wrote:
>2. I supported the toll roads because I'm not a complete moron like 
>yourself who thinks that the other alternative was "no roads". The 
>choice in the REAL world was between toll roads and more free roads 
>IN THE SAME PLACES. NONE of these toll roads weren't ALREADY in the 
>CAMPO plan.

"The choice in the REAL world was (NOT) between toll roads and more 
free roads," but rather whether it was responsible government to 
greatly expand road funding through debt owed to special interests 
with agendas very different from those of the citizenry in the long 
term.  There is a difference between "all the roads we can build as 
fast as possible," "slow roads," "no roads" and a fiscally 
constrained regional transportation plan that recognizes that future 
urban mobility will have to put the emphasis on integrated 
alternatives, i.e., public transit, bikeways, walkways, and better 
land use.   The Austin Transportation Study's long range 
transportation plan adopted in 1994-95 put 49% of it's projected 
budget over 25 years in the direction of these alternatives, but when 
that became known, the road lobby has worked relentlessly to change 
those numbers and change the plan.

The real problem with the present toll road plan is that CAMPO 
(formerly The Austin Transportation Study) has effectively privatized 
Austin's transportation future.  In the "real" world of markets (and 
politics), investors expect a return on their money and they will do 
whatever it takes to protect their investment.  Extensive meaningful 
transportation alternatives, that most readers on this list support, 
will be fiercely opposed by the toll road investors.



At 11:25 -0500 10/7/04, Mike Dahmus wrote:
>The ONLY DIFFERENCE is that suburbanites will have to pay direct 
>user fees when they use these roads instead of (more of) the cost 
>being pawned off on drivers and non-drivers in the center-city as is 
>the practice with free roads.

The implication here is that Austinites will somehow see some tax 
relief and/or transportation improvements within the city limits 
because new suburban road capacity to Austin destinations will no 
longer require city taxpayer subsidies.  In my 35 years in Austin and 
nearly 30 years involvement in transportation issues, I recall no 
evidence to support this possibility.  The road and real estate 
lobby, the suburban land speculators, the road builders, the 
development community and the politicians who receive support from 
these special interests have an unquenchable thirst for more road 
money.

Expect your taxes to go up as more and more roads in the city have to 
be widened and maintained to support more traffic going though the 
city to more suburbs on the edge built along more new roads that got 
their faster because our elected officials tried conning us with 
"user fees" rather than supporting the transit elements in the 
adopted 1994-95 Metropolitan Transportation Plan.

Last year Capital Metro gave up $29 million for roads, mostly in 
Williamson County outside the city limits, and the Capital Metro's 
board continues in it's commitment to rebate a quarter cent to it's 
member cities for the foreseeable future.  This money will 
overwhelmingly be used for roads.  Jim Skaggs and CAMPO member, 
Gerald Dougherty (Travis County Commissioner Precinct 3) have 
repeatedly said that they think Capital Metro can function just fine 
on a half cent and that the "liberated" quarter cent should be used 
for roads.  In fact, Dougherty opposed toll roads and has stated that 
Cap Met money be used instead to build roads

The Travis County government has been described as "pothole 
politics," although it more accurately might be viewed as a mechanism 
for mining city taxpayers pockets for suburban development in areas 
where the city's building ordinances don't apply.  Counties in Texas 
do not have zoning powers and the key to unregulated subdivisions is 
access, i.e., ROADS.

Right now the same forces that for the last 30 some years have worked 
for urban sprawl, who buried the Austin Tomorrow's compact corridor 
plan along an urban rail spine, who have used the legislature to curb 
Austin's self-determination, subverted Capital Metro's original 
mission, and sought to suck up every dollar available for more paving 
to the provinces, are now trying to alter the Envision Central Texas 
outcome.  The toll road proposal is, in fact, nothing more than a way 
to expand the resources for more roads and to implement Scenario A in 
place of the overwhelming choice of the people, Scenarios D and C. 
My source for this information is a long time well respected local 
consultant active with the ECT program.

See:  http://www.envisioncentraltexas.org/resources/SummaryofResults.pdf



At 11:25 -0500 10/7/04, Mike Dahmus wrote:
>3. I HEARTILY SUPPORT passenger rail. My experience IN THE REAL 
>WORLD with a system JUST LIKE the one being proposed by Capital 
>Metro now (South Florida's Tri-Rail) is that it's the stupidest 
>possible way to start a rail network, one that will likely destroy 
>momentum for REAL URBAN RAIL after its construction for 15 years as 
>it did in South Florida.


It is no more real to claim that the current Leander to CBD commuter 
line is "just like" the one in South Florida than it is for Jim 
Skaggs to compare Austin to Seattle.  There are similarities, but 
there are also differences and the political reality here is that if 
this does not pass in November we will probably see another quarter 
cent of our transit money go for roads and in very short order, 
probably in the upcoming legislative session.  (See above).

I suspect that most of us on this list would like a bigger and better 
piece of transit pie, but in the "real world" the perfect plan is the 
enemy of a good plan and after failing to get a good plan (2000) we 
can either vote for our bikeway and a small rail start with the hope 
of rapidly getting more camel into the tent or we can be Casey and 
strike out.

Dave Dobbs
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Texas Association for Public Transportation
9702 Swansons Ranch Road
Austin, Texas 78748
Ph 512.282.1149

Visit our website at  http://www.lightrailnow.org
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


Casey At The Bat

by Ernest L. Thayer

The outlook wasn't brilliant for the Mudville nine that day,
The score stood four to two, with but one inning more to play.

And then when Cooney died at first, and Barrows did the same,
A pall-like silence fell upon the patrons of the game.

A straggling few got up to go in deep despair.
The rest clung to that hope which springs eternal in the human breast.
They thought, "if only Casey could but get a whack at that.
We'd put up even money now, with Casey at the bat."

But Flynn preceded Casey, as did also Jimmy Blake;
and the former was a hoodoo, while the latter was a cake.

So upon that stricken multitude, grim melancholy sat;
for there seemed but little chance of Casey getting to the bat.

But Flynn let drive a single, to the wonderment of all.
And Blake, the much despised, tore the cover off the ball.

And when the dust had lifted,
and men saw what had occurred,
there was Jimmy safe at second and Flynn a-hugging third.

Then from five thousand throats and more there rose a lusty yell;
it rumbled through the valley, it rattled in the dell;

it pounded through on the mountain and recoiled upon the flat;
for Casey, mighty Casey, was advancing to the bat.

There was ease in Casey's manner as he stepped into his place,
there was pride in Casey's bearing and a smile lit Casey's face.

And when, responding to the cheers, he lightly doffed his hat,
no stranger in the crowd could doubt t'was Casey at the bat.

Ten thousand eyes were on him as he rubbed his hands with dirt.
Five thousand tongues applauded when he wiped them on his shirt.

Then, while the writhing pitcher ground the ball into his hip,
defiance flashed in Casey's eye, a sneer curled Casey's lip.

And now the leather-covered sphere came hurtling through the air,
and Casey stood a-watching it in haughty grandeur there.

Close by the sturdy batsman the ball unheeded sped --
"That ain't my style," said Casey.

"Strike one!" the umpire said.
 From the benches, black with people, there went up a muffled roar,
like the beating of the storm waves on a stern and distant shore.

"Kill him! Kill the umpire!" shouted someone on the stand,
and it's likely they'd have killed him had not Casey raised his hand.

With a smile of Christian charity, great Casey's visage shone,
he stilled the rising tumult, he bade the game go on.

He signaled to the pitcher, and once more the dun sphere flew,
but Casey still ignored it, and the umpire said, "Strike two!"

"Fraud!" cried the maddened thousands, and echo answered "Fraud!"
But one scornful look from Casey and the audience was awed.

They saw his face grow stern and cold, they saw his muscles strain,
and they knew that Casey wouldn't let that ball go by again.

The sneer has fled from Casey's lip, the teeth are clenched in hate.
He pounds, with cruel violence, his bat upon the plate.

And now the pitcher holds the ball, and now he lets it go,
and now the air is shattered by the force of Casey's blow.

Oh, somewhere in this favored land the sun is shining bright.
The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light.
And, somewhere men are laughing, and little children shout,

but there is no joy in Mudville --
mighty Casey has struck out.
 
Source: http://www.onenet.net/~njtdb/casey.html













 
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