Or Pay and Pay and Pay.
Smarter options, other than shifting our Austin freeways to tollways, do exist - although the Austin American Snakesman (which is on the board of the pro-toll Chamber of Commerce - also known as Take on Traffic) just wrote an editorial called "No Exit from Toll Roads" saying we don't have any other choice.
In the short term, the $700 million (updated, now $910 million!) tax dollars shouldn't be spent on toll roads, but on cost efficient non-toll solutions such as:
· Variable speed limits
· Ramp metering
· HOV lanes without tolls
· Reversible/barriered lanes for peak periods
· Non tolled Parkways (like fix290.org with a nontolled $100 parkway, compared to TxDOT's $400 million freeway converting tollway!)
· Pass through financing
· More arterial lane miles
· Better incident management and
· Advance computerized control of traffic signals.
In the long term we must index the gas tax. The Texas Transportation Institute report states that more tolls are simply NOT needed - that indexing the gas tax and using the revenue to pay off bonds allows freeways to be built right now.
Once placed, the freeway tolls will NEVER be removed from our public highways. In contrast, the Ledge has the opportunity to index the gas tax every two years!
9/07/2007
What Sen.Kirk Watson Does Not Want You To Know: The REAL SOLUTIONS!
DEMAND THE REAL SOLUTIONS!
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3 comments:
"Do NOT spend $700 Million of our tax dollars for monopolistic tolls
on our freeways or I will work to remove you in your next election."
-- Couldn't have been put better. All of your names are available,
and I'll use every dime I have to spare to oppose you.
Perpetual Tollways really rile me up.
And Kirk, don't bother sending me one of your "but I'm not really for
tolls" emails, you're in someones pocket, but it certainly isn't any
of your constituents. You in particular really do represent the moral bankruptcy of American politics.
I suppose you'll just all let this roll off your slimy backs since you're all most likely getting nice kickbacks from the Toll Tags to lubricate your skins?
Michael
Watson is the worst ... does he walk...or slither...
Dyanne
We already paid for our freeways, let's keep them free. our taxes have paid for them. Why should we have to pay tolls now for something that's already paid? This is just Perry's way of providing profits for his cronies. Chip off the old Bush tactics.
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