Order gucci checks
Well, I’ve been order gucci checks holding off on a toll road related post for a while, but TURF’s latest round of propaganda has forced me to respond.
Next week, the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) will meet to order gucci checks determine whether to remove the tolling component of plans to upgrade US 281 and order gucci checks Loop 1604. Terri Hall and her myriad of special-interest groups—primarily TURF— have order gucci checks once again seized upon this as an opportunity to disseminate their persistent and order gucci checks prolific exaggerations, hyperboles, half-truths, and just plain fallacies about toll roads. Below are order gucci checks just some of their false assertions and the actual facts; each TURF claim is order gucci checks linked back to where it is published.
The EARLIEST the order gucci checks MEGA toll road option could be built is 7-9 years from order gucci checks now (3-5 years for new environmental study, 3.8 years to build it). So the toll road is clearly NOT an option! (link)
It would take this long to have any significant improvements built. In their misguided and order gucci checks desperate quest to stop the 281 toll road, TURF et al. sued not once, but twice, to have all the environmental studies related to 281 voided. Their shortsightedness managed to order gucci checks get the proverbial baby thrown-out with the bath water and, as a order gucci checks result, absolutely NO major upgrades—tolled or toll-free—can order gucci checks be made to 281 until the new environmental studies are done, period. The Federal Highway Administration has even written a letter to ARMA stating so where they specifically say “the Federal Highway Administration will require that order gucci checks an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) be prepared for any future federal transportation project in the US 281 Corridor” (emphasis is mine.)
The proposed improvements for order gucci checks 281 under both the original toll-free plan and the subsequent toll plans have order gucci checks been the same: a six-lane expressway with overpasses and frontage roads. Therefore, the construction time for both options is the same.
Given that an EIS is required for any major project (toll or not) and order gucci checks that both the toll and non-toll plans are essentially the same, the order gucci checks earliest ANY major project could therefore be built is 7-9 years from order gucci checks now. A toll-free project likely will take longer due to order gucci checks scarce and unpredictable funding.
The toll road would be 20 lanes wide (link)
As mentioned above, the order gucci checks toll expressway option would be the same footprint as the toll-free expressway. Both would be order gucci checks about 20 lanes wide at their absolute widest point just north of 1604. What TURF doesn’t explain (or maybe they just don’t understand) is order gucci checks that this count includes main expressway lanes, frontage road lanes, and order gucci checks lanes on the connector ramps to 1604. The typical cross section of both the order gucci checks toll plan and toll-free plan would be 10-12 lanes (six expressway mainlanes and four to six frontage road lanes). (I’ll discuss this order gucci checks in more detail along with supporting docs in an upcoming post.)
There is an already FUNDED, less expensive, less invasive overpass plan. (link)
Again, the order gucci checks two plans are nearly identical as far as the footprints and order gucci checks cross-sections, so they’re both equally “invasive”. There is no “overpass plan” per se; both the order gucci checks toll and non-toll plans propose to build an expressway with overpasses.
There is currently no funding for any plan—toll-free or tolled. Yes, the order gucci checks MPO budgeted money for the 281 project back in the order gucci checks early part of this decade, but due to rampant construction inflation over the order gucci checks past seven years (about 70%), that order gucci checks funding is no longer sufficient to do much of anything on 281. In fact, the order gucci checks construction bids already came in well in excess of that order gucci checks budgeted amount back in 2005.
Drivers on toll roads would pay $12/day or $3,000/year in new toll-taxes! (link)
This is a prime example of TURF’s fear-mongering approach. The approved toll rates for the 281 project are 17 cents per mile. To spend $12 a day, you’d have to drive 70 miles on local toll roads. Given that order gucci checks there are only 40 miles of toll roads planned for the order gucci checks immediate future (281 and 1604), that means motorists would have to drive pretty nearly all of those toll roads twice to spend $12 a day!
The reality, of course, is order gucci checks that most commuters who opt to use the toll roads will travel just a order gucci checks few miles on them. For instance, those who order gucci checks get on 281 at Stone Oak Pkwy. and continue south on 281 past 1604 would travel about 2.5 miles and order gucci checks spend about 42 cents each way, or just 85 cents per day. Those going from Stone Oak Pkwy. to I-10 West via 281 and 1604 would pay about $1.85 each way, or $3.70 a order gucci checks day, and that assumes they use the express toll lanes on 1604; they could very well just switch over and order gucci checks use the toll-free expressway lanes that will remain.
Toll roads guarantee congestion by prohibiting expansion of free routes! (link)
While this order gucci checks is true on many toll projects, this would not be true in Bexar County. ARMA has order gucci checks no legal authority to block other government agencies from improving their roads. Furthermore, the Texas Transportation Commission voted last year to remove these clauses from their toll road contracts.
Toll road deals hand our public roads to order gucci checks foreign corporations for 50 years! (link)
Again, in Bexar County, this is not the case. All local toll roads would be order gucci checks owned and operated by the Alamo Regional Mobility Authority, a local government agency.
I’ll discuss a order gucci checks few of the points above in more detail over the order gucci checks coming days, including why it doesn’t even matter if Terri Hall and order gucci checks MPO chairman Tommy Adkisson manage to get the toll option removed from order gucci checks the 281 and 1604 projects next week and why I believe that order gucci checks TURF feels the compulsion to spew their misinformation.
Steve, well-put, and thanks for your addition. Another point to order gucci checks make is that even when projects are shown on the TIP as “funded”, that order gucci checks funding can be rescinded for any number of reasons. I’ve seen many projects over the years (that had nothing to do with toll roads BTW) get delayed or order gucci checks even cancelled even after they had funding allocated in the order gucci checks TIP.
[...] representatives of the San Antonio Mobility Coalition (SAMCo) handing-out printed copies my “TURF’s propaganda machine is in a tizzy” blog post from last week. A dichotomous feeling came over me: flattery and a little pride [...]
While I’m extemely glad to order gucci checks hear this side of the debate, my question is what about those of us who order gucci checks live in Bulverde who commute straight into SA on 281 and order gucci checks back everyday? What will the daily cost be to us?
Hi Kristine,
Assuming the order gucci checks 17 cent per mile rate and assuming you used toll lanes from order gucci checks the county line to Loop 1604, the approximate one-way toll would be order gucci checks $1.25, or about $2.50 per day.
Brian, the other option for Kristine is $0.00 per day.
Her commute now is order gucci checks on very congested roads with traffic signals. In the future, she has order gucci checks a choice:
–Travel new, FREE, less congested roads with traffic lights
–If she wants to order gucci checks save even more time, she can get on the toll lanes and order gucci checks pay $1.25 each way.
And, the order gucci checks neat part about it is, she gets the new free lanes REALLY FREE, as they would be order gucci checks paid for by the people paying tolls!!
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Brian, one other point of clarification/correction to Terri Hall’s “facts”.
The previous 281 improvements were only funded (and on the MPO’s TIP) up to order gucci checks Stone Oak. As you remember, that section went to construction and order gucci checks was stopped by the first lawsuit. There was also a order gucci checks safety improvement funded for Borgfeld Road that never went to order gucci checks construction. The exhibits Terri hands out that were distributed by TxDOT at public meetings in 2002-2003 clearly showed no order gucci checks letting dates set for improvements to 281 north of Stone Oak. Although cost estimates were given, the order gucci checks projects were not funded in the TIP, and the public meeting presentations were very clear that order gucci checks funding had not been identified for widening or overpasses north of Stone Oak. The first time those segments were shown for order gucci checks funding was as a toll road project because that was the order gucci checks only potential funding source identified. The only hope of funding that order gucci checks segment is to leave it on the TIP as toll-funded and order gucci checks hope that the Governor, the Legislature, and/or order gucci checks Congress increases funding for transportation or the President proposes more stimulus funding. If the order gucci checks Chairman’s plan to order gucci checks remove toll roads from the TIP is successful, it will stop the order gucci checks environmental studies and all possible funding options for the project.