San Antonio traffic – the new close shave
A new, easily observable – and highly dangerous – phenomenon is occurring with increasing frequency in San Antonio traffic, on the highways and possibly lesser roads. I call it the new close shave. It has now been visited upon me four times in the last week and yet I had never noticed it before. When I merge onto the freeway, a person already speeding in the right hand lane, where newcomers must, by design, make their appearance, will not only fail to move into the next lane over but speed right up to my rear bumper before only moving halfway into the next lane, try to graze my external rear mirror if at all possible and then move back into the right hand lane as sharply as possible, often with just enough space for maybe a sheet or two of paper between our vehicles. more »
Rebirth of a blog
It's all his fault! 
It’s not like there hasn’t been anything to talk about. The 281/1604 interchange started construction earlier this year amid some very interesting legal proceedings. Work also started on the superstreet out on Loop 1604 as well as a variety of other smaller projects. The Legislative session came and went with no progress on transportation funding. And a certain toll road opponent has been in the news a few times lately reminding us that there still needs to be a contrasting narrative.
But the past seven months has been crazy for me. I started the year with a brand new baby boy, my wife’s and my second joy. Daddy-duty has kept me quite busy as did several unusually consuming projects at my day job. On top of that, the general lassitude that comes with now being 40 kicked-in, all of which combined to relegate my longtime enjoyment of all things transportation-related—including writing this blog—to the back burner for a while. But things have slackened lately, meaning that I can hopefully get back to blogging about local transportation issues and updating my website, which had also gone dormant for the first half of this year. I probably won’t be as prolific as I used to be, but I’m aiming not to go seven months between posts!
So if you’re still out there, thanks for sticking with us. I’m in touch with my co-bloggers Patrick and Hugh and hopefully they’ll be back in the mix here soon as well.
Cheers,
–Brian
I love it when I’m right…
Back from a few weeks of daddy-duty, and this caught my eye right off the bat…
One year ago, almost to the day, I posted here defending the TxDOT $1 billion “accounting error” that toll opponents, gubernatorial candidates, and other TxDOT-haters were using to justify their anti-TxDOT rhetoric. In it, I noted that if people would just take a few minutes to understand what happened, they would realize that the “error” was in reality quite harmless, easy to make, and, most importantly, that no money had actually been lost.
Well, lo-and-behold, the TxDOT Restructure Council’s recent final report with recommendations on how to improve that agency included a footnote about the error and guess what– it completely validated my position. From the Ft. Worth Star:
And, the report included a miscellaneous note about the 2007 fiasco involving a $1.1 billion “accounting error” that briefly led to a statewide shut down of road work.
The report concluded that in fact there was no actual accounting error — and the department didn’t actually lose $1.1 billion, as many critics have alleged. Instead, the department was in effect a victim of its own dissemination of inaccurate information.
In September 2007, the report noted, a memo was sent to all district engineers regarding the next year’s letting schedule. The memo informed them that $4.1 billion would be available for construction projects, but that figure was inaccurate because it included $600 million in bond funding that had been double-counted internally, and $500 million from the Texas Mobility Fund that wasn’t available.
Steps were quickly taken to correct the mistake and prevent it in the future, the report noted.
The full report is available here:
http://ftp.dot.state.tx.us/pub/txdot-info/restructure/report_010511.pdf
The discussion of the accounting error is on page 55 of the report.
Heat already on AGUA?
In reader comments posted yesterday in response to the Express-News’ story about AGUA’s lawsuit to stop the US 281/Loop 1604 interchange, several posters were calling for boycotts of local businesses listed on AUGA’s “donors” page. Today, that list of businesses is gone from AGUA’s site. Reading between the lines, I think it’s pretty obvious that the heat is already on AGUA from their donors over their wildly unpopular and inane decision to sue.
What effect do you think this will have, if any?
So long Maggie!
Maggie and yours truly at her retirement shindig
You’ve probably seen Maggie Rios on the local news talking about road construction, lane closures, and the like, but you won’t see her on TV anymore– at least not as a TxDOT spokesperson. That’s because after 30 years of toiling at the state’s highway agency, Maggie has decided it’s time to give up the limelight and retire. Now she’s off to do what most pensioners look forward to doing: spending ample time with her grandkids and husband and just plain relaxing.
I’ve known Maggie for almost two decades now, going back to when she was an assistant to David Otwell, the agency’s local public information officer back in the late ’80s and early ’90s. She is a wonderfully kind person and a consummate professional who always strove to be the best liaison and ombudsman possible between TxDOT’s San Antonio district office and John Q. Citizen, an often challenging proposition. She has provided immeasurable assistance to me over the years in the form of numerous documents, answers to countless questions, and the fielding of a number of complaints and suggestions (yes, even I complain to TxDOT once and a while). Along the way, she has become a good friend.
As such, it was an honor and privilege for me to be able to attend her retirement ceremony a few weeks ago, during which she received a proclamation from the Legislature thanking her for her many years of service, as well as a flag that had been flown over the state capitol in her honor. Additionally, she received a nice plaque from TxDOT and a wonderful gift from her co-workers. It was obvious that she will be greatly missed.
Enjoy your retirement Maggie!
Good things from the Union Pacific in San Antonio
UP at TTM
I am delighted to be able to be able to share a positive story about the Union Pacific railroad, an organization which rarely gets much in the way of good press in these parts. Today the UP came to the rescue at the Texas Transportation Museum here in San Antonio like knights in shining armor. more »
Actually, they are all divas
I had small, jolly close to subtle, magnetic signs made for the Texas Transportation Museum’s 1924 Model T truck that simply say, “The Diva.” This is because while the old girl runs pretty well on our unimproved roads and neighboring streets, it acts out badly during show time. Oh well!
Here is a link to a set of snaps taken at the recent fourth annual Ford Model T Show here in San Antonio. It is a joint project with the local Model T club, the “T Fords of Texas,“ and sponsored by the Red McCombs Automotive group.
http://www.txtransportationmuseum.org/WE.htm
It was during this event that I arrived at the surprisingly conclusion that all Ts are divas. That’s why they are still here. Someone was just too crazy about each one to let it go. So far this year I have had the pleasure of touring both Medina and Caldwell Counties in this persnickety old machines and I fully understand the devotion. Now all I have to do is get the one I am looking after for future generations to run right! Having said that she did come through in spades during the Flambeau Parade, so she makes all the effort worthwhile!
Goin’ round the Bend
Feeling the need to get away from it all, I just returned from a long Memorial Weekend in Big Bend. I had the great good fortune to go with Anton Hajek, a local lawyer of some note but, more importantly, a man who has been visiting the area for many years, since, in fact, he was a teenager. Since then not only has his led many scouts through the vast National Park, the biggest yet least visited in the lower forty-eight, he is a leading member of the “Friends of Big Bend” plus a Master naturalist to boot. more »
Where do bad driving habits come from?
I don’t have a good answer for this question but I do wonder where bad driving habits come from. I was compelled to think about this after I was almost impelled over the side of the remarkably high bridge connecting IH10 and Loop 410 on Sunday morning by an oblivious young woman concentrating on texting, who may not even have noticed what happened.
I suspect such insanity creeps up on you. You try something once in a relatively safe environment and then the foolishness takes on a life of its own. I dare say I am not a paragon of virtue, either. Anyhoo, what kind of witless driving are you seeing and what do you think is going through the minds of the perpetrators?
Top-rated cars for working people
The New York International Auto Show has been offering up plenty of glam and muscle to hog the spotlight since last week.
2011 Audi R8
MSN has had fun giving us the show’s 10 most notable unveils, and the 10 sexiest rides — i.e., to your right is a glimpse of the Audi R8 Spyder (go ahead, click the glitz for a full view).
“Give us sports cars and make them sexy as hell,” MSN’s Matthew de Paula declared. “We want 10-mile-per-gallon Lamborghini Gallardos and 510-horsepower Aston Martins all the way.”
Closer to ground level, Consumer Reports plodded forward to give us the New York standouts. Cars.com patiently poked and prodded the show’s winners and losers.
It’s a lot to digest, sort of like trying to eat your way into a bargain at an all-you-can eat buffet.
I guess that’s why my thoughts keep drifting back to a more meat-and-potatoes Top Picks announced just before the noise revved up in New York. Using affordability, comfort and safety as criteria, AAA selected the best cars to commute to work in.
And topping AAA’s list is the …
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