BIKE: Populist victory over road lobby

[Roger Baker]

McCracken is the immediate hero here, but he likely wouldn't have done  
it without Sal Costello, SOSA, and all the independent grassroots  
organizing.

On CAMPO, McCracken's resolution got defeated about 2 to 1, with Gerald  
Daugherty on the bad side, along with CAMPO Director Aulick. TxDOT's  
Bob Daigh deserves a special bad actor award for expressing his opinion  
just before the CAMPO vote, with no reasons given, that any independent  
study of the CAMPO plan would be likely to threaten TxDOT funding for  
our area. -- Roger

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State & Local | 3/4/2005
Council approves independent look at toll road plan
City funds to be used to hire experts for review of finances
By Ruth Liao

  The decision to create an independent transportation review of the  
toll road plan lingered for hours at the City Council meeting Thursday  
before council members voted unanimously to approve.

  City Council agreed to use city funds to hire an independent expert to  
review the financing of the toll plan. In a resolution sponsored by  
Councilman Brewster McCracken, an outside transportation consultant  
would be hired to review the Texas Department of Transportation and  
Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority.

  "I don't believe that what they're looking at involves our project,"  
said CTRMA spokesman Steve Pustelnyk. "It's somewhat irrelevant. The  
project has been approved and is moving forward; what they're looking  
at could impact future projects that we could be involved in."

  McCracken, a member of the Central Authority Metropolitan Planning  
Organization, which oversees the toll road planning process, addressed  
concerns about overestimated toll charges, construction costs and  
completion estimates.

  Within the last three weeks, they have found everything they didn't  
know the past 10 months, McCracken said.

  He presented estimates of average toll charges per mile, which he said  
was 9 cents nationwide, 11 cents in Dallas and 14 cents in Houston. He  
said CTRMA originally said charges would be 12 cents to 15 cents, but  
has changed its estimates from 44 cents to 64 cents, five times higher  
than the national average and three-to-four-times higher than what  
CTRMA had given to CAMPO.

  McCracken said the total estimated construction cost was $586 million,  
and $371 million in previously allocated funds were available. He said  
with a $215 million shortfall, an additional $867.6 million from  
additional non-toll road funding that will be provided to the region  
could easily make up for the difference.

  He also said highways without tolls could be finished faster with  
available funding. He named U.S. Highway 290 as an example that could  
be finished by 2005 without tolling, but instead be completed by 2006  
with tolls.

  CAMPO Executive Director Michael Aulick opposed the resolution for a  
review. He said the toll package followed the state funding policy of  
building expressways, and that the toll costs were similar statewide.  
Compared to national estimates, he said places such as New Jersey and  
Delaware had such antiquated toll systems that the costs per mile were  
much lower than toll ways built in the last 10 years. Aulick said that  
average was 36 cents per mile.

  In reference to financial costs, Aulick said TxDOT and CAMPO funding  
estimates varied, but with tolling, the projects would still be  
finished faster.

  Sal Costello, founder of People for Efficient Transportation Political  
Action Committee, supported the resolution. He said the council would  
be the first political body to represent the people, who wouldn't be  
able to afford to pay $2 to $5 for each leg of commuting.

  The toll plan, updated every five years, will soon be approved by  
CAMPO around May. McCracken proposed in the resolution that the expert  
reviewing the plan would report back to the council by April 26. Within  
the next seven weeks, they hope to find a consultant, said Karen Gross,  
McCracken's policy director.

http://www.dailytexanonline.com/news/2005/03/04/StateLocal/ 
Council.Approves.Independent.Look.At.Toll.Road.Plan-885863.shtml?page=1
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