http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/tolls/ en-us Fri, 9 Oct 2009 03:20:29 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2358097/posts Prince William County decided not to join Arlington County in its lawsuit against high-occupancy toll lanes on Interstates 95 and 395, citing what it characterizes as race-baiting and class warfare in the suit. The county considered joining the suit because it shared concerns about the HOT lanes’ proceeding without a proper environmental study and their effect on traffic, but Board Chairman Corey Stewart, R-At large, said the board unanimously agreed Arlington’s suit raised too many concerns. “The board had a closer look at the suit and there are allegations in there about Pierce Homer, the secretary of transportation, and about... The Washington Business Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2358097/posts#comment Fri, 9 Oct 2009 03:20:29 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2292721/posts The social and economic costs of lost productivity and wasted fuel from traffic-choked streets are estimated to be $87 billion a year, according to the Texas Transportation Institute’s 2009 Urban Mobility Report. So far, federal, state and local efforts — focused mostly on expanding road capacity — have been largely unsuccessful at slowing the growing congestion on U.S. roads. Transportation experts now advocate a different approach, changing the emphasis from increasing supply to reducing demand. To reinforce smart growth policies, plug mounting transportation funding gaps and achieve immediate traffic relief, London, Stockholm, Singapore, Milan and three cities in Norway have... National League of Cities http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2292721/posts#comment Wed, 15 Jul 2009 01:11:04 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2266626/posts A group of lawyers is trying to stage a modern-day Boston Tea Party against what they see as unfair Massachusetts Turnpike tolls. Attorney Jan Schlichtmann...is leading a group arguing Massachusetts has been acting illegally by using money from the east-west Turnpike to pay debts for the north-south Big Dig project. Schlichtmann and the others argue the tolls amount to a user fee that can only be used to maintain the roadway on which they were incurred Associated Press http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2266626/posts#comment Sun, 7 Jun 2009 14:56:30 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2255597/posts [Mass.] Pike drivers might get a free ride for an entire day or several hours during traffic-heavy holidays such as Thanksgiving and Memorial Day, according to a report on the Easter traffic debacle released today. The report, which blames understaffing and a fragmented “wave through” policy for the seven-mile backup on the Massachusetts Turnpike April 12th, called for a study into creating “toll free days.” “A review should be completed to determine whether it is possible to have entire toll free days or extended toll free periods during expected high traffic delays,” an official wrote in the report. The toll... Boston Herald http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2255597/posts#comment Thu, 21 May 2009 16:56:32 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2241224/posts The proposed toll road along US 290 East discriminates against low-income and minority populations in Austin, according to a complaint filed with the Federal Highway Administration. Texas RioGrande Legal Aid (TRLA), the leading provider of legal aid in Texas, in conjunction with the SOS Alliance and the Center on Race, Poverty and the Environment, filed the complaint on behalf of three Travis County residents and the Bluebonnet Neighborhood Association. Filed against the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority (CTRMA), and the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO), the complaint argues that the toll road project violates... The Elgin Courier http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2241224/posts#comment Thu, 30 Apr 2009 13:43:35 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2228617/posts Massive Easter traffic backups caused by no-show Turnpike toll takers have hatched new levels of driver rage - and Pike managers are promising Memorial Day could be just as bad. Traffic was snarled for hours and backed up for miles on the Massachusetts Turnpike Friday and Saturday. But the worst was Sunday, when it backed up from Allston as far as Sturbridge. It was all because an untold number of toll takers called in sick, and managers were forbidden to call more in on overtime. At one point, the Allston-Brighton tolls were left with just one lane inching past a... Boston Herald http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2228617/posts#comment Tue, 14 Apr 2009 07:24:08 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2163467/posts Two years ago, lawmakers went to war with Gov. Rick Perry over his push to privatize Texas toll roads, but their efforts to stop the idea largely failed. As they return Tuesday to launch the 2009 legislative session, lawmakers will be faced with a choice of either raising taxes – which both Perry and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst have called a bad idea – or giving private companies a greater role in paying for, and operating, a fast-expanding network of toll roads. The two-year moratorium on private road deals that passed in 2007 slowed but didn't kill Perry's plan to... WFAA http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2163467/posts#comment Tue, 13 Jan 2009 00:28:45 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2162792/posts A truck driver — in a burst of James Bond-like ingenuity — rigged his license plate to evade cameras at the George Washington Bridge allowing him to avoid $1,200 in tolls, authorities said today. Allan Flores, 50, of Jersey City, was arrested and charged with theft of services and deceptive business practice by the Port Authority Police, authorities said.“Our commercial vehicle inspections unit, despite what appears to be a clever method of avoiding tolls, has done an excellent job staying one step ahead,” agency spokesman Pasquale DiFulco said. “And toll violators would be well advised to know that we are... northjersey.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2162792/posts#comment Sun, 11 Jan 2009 21:27:21 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2159769/posts E-ZPass users and operators of large trucks will pay more for the use of the state's toll facilities under a series of changes proposed by the Maryland Transportation Authority to offset declines in revenue and increases in the cost of maintenance, Transportation Secretary John D. Porcari said today. Under the proposal given preliminary approval by the authority's board, users of the E-ZPass electronic toll collection system will be charged $1.50 a month for bill processing even if they don't use a toll facility during that month. New and replacement transponders -- the electronic devices placed in vehicles to record tolls... The Baltimore Sun http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2159769/posts#comment Tue, 6 Jan 2009 19:42:27 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2152472/posts Confronted with a struggling transportation fund, lawmakers in Texas soon are expected to wage battle on various methods to help generate $14 billion for roads and bridges throughout the state. Another bill is intended to sideline the planned Trans-Texas Corridor. A report released this week from the Texas Department of Transportation says that the state will need to come up with $313 billion by 2030 for road and bridge maintenance and for congestion solutions. The report’s unveiling happened a couple of weeks before the Texas Legislature is set to convene its 2009 session. Lawmakers say they already were committed to... Land Line Magazine http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2152472/posts#comment Mon, 22 Dec 2008 02:50:19 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2144168/posts The decision on granting a hearing challenging President-elect Barack Obama's U.S. citizenship is still pending. The "Washington Times" reports that the U.S. Supreme Court held a private conference Friday morning to discuss whether to take up a lawsuit but it was not on the list of court orders for the day. According to the "Times" a Supreme Court spokesman said the decision to hear the case will most likely be announced next week. Arkansas Matters http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2144168/posts#comment Sat, 6 Dec 2008 22:00:18 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2140981/posts The Greater Toronto Area needs a gazillion dollars to fund Metrolinx, a mega mega transportation system of light rail, commuter trains, subways, highways, roads, and bicycle paths designed to reach every ward in an 8,000 square kilometre operating region approaching six million people. It will cost more than governments can afford, say its government backers. The answer, the backers say, is a toll road system that extends across the GTA and finances the transit megaproject. I have a better idea. Install the GTA-wide toll road system and scrap Metrolinx. Once roads are tolled, the population growth that is now projected... Financial Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2140981/posts#comment Mon, 1 Dec 2008 20:15:00 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2137902/posts (11-23) 18:07 PST -- The idea of making San Francisco the first city in the nation to combat congestion by imposing a toll on motorists who drive on the local roads is "totally doable" from an administrative standpoint, a top city transportation official deemed. But clearing the necessary political and public opinion hurdles is another matter altogether. Charging people more for anything is always a tough sell. Talk about reaching deeper into people's pockets when the economy is in the tank is even more difficult. "We're going to have to get buy-in," said Jose Luis Moscovich, executive director of the... San Francisco Chronicle http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2137902/posts#comment Tue, 25 Nov 2008 07:39:29 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2137009/posts An elaborate modeling of housing prices and traffic congestion in cities across the US concludes that financing roads with comprehensive congestion priced tolls rather than taxes rather would provide major benefits in reducing housing prices and sub-optimal densities - 'sprawl' - as well as reducing the familiar delays and uncertain travel times. Moving to tolls or other direct road use charges will significantly improve overall welfare, economic efficiency and standards of living, the study says. Authors are Ashley Langer University of California Berkeley and Clifford Winston, Brookings Institution. The study is reported in Brookings-Wharton Papers on Urban Affairs 2008. ...... Toll Road News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2137009/posts#comment Sun, 23 Nov 2008 17:33:02 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2134806/posts Texas politicians who support toll roads won't have Sal Costello to kick them around anymore. Costello and his family moved to a small town in Southern Illinois this summer. He announced it on his blog Sunday, quietly, an adverb seldom associated with Costello in the past. Costello, if you're new around here or have forgotten, was a Southwest Austin graphics designer who in 2004 made a warp-speed trip from obscurity to notoriety after politicians pushed through a plan to build seven more toll roads. The plan included putting tolls on three roads that were already under construction using nothing but... The Austin American-Statesman http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2134806/posts#comment Wed, 19 Nov 2008 19:54:28 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2131886/posts If you’re having trouble figuring out what Gov. Deval Patrick’s really trying to do with the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority, just keep in mind the ABC’s of Beacon Hill budgeting: Anything But Cuts. While your wages have likely remained flat the past five years, state government spending has gone up 8 percent each year. During the past year, while the private sector was losing 1.4 million jobs, USA Today reports that state and local governments added 160,000 - the second-fastest growing sector of the economy. So when you hear that Patrick is “getting rid of the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority,” you should... The Boston Herald http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2131886/posts#comment Fri, 14 Nov 2008 05:30:00 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2129456/posts (BUT tolls within 128 to be raised??) Gov. Deval Patrick is planning to dismantle the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority to improve efficiency and try to mollify public complaints about planned toll hikes, two government officials said Monday. (snip) One government official said dismantling the Pike "would keep a promise to the taxpayers, (snip; but...) According to the plan, tolls likely will be raised inside Route 128 to pay off debt associated with Big Dig. Toll booths outside Route 128 will be eliminated, except in West Stockbridge near the New York border and in Sturbridge, close to the Connecticut border. WBZ TV 4 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2129456/posts#comment Mon, 10 Nov 2008 19:16:38 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2128868/posts Go ahead. I already find myself perpetually crooked over the table, living in this city. I should have rock-hard abs as often as I bend over. Mr. Bloomberg, I only ask that you are quick about it, so that I might go back to walking around Brighton Beach, Brooklyn on my never-ending mission to locate signs written in English. You have hurled a large medicine ball of saliva at the people of New York, shoving that huge middle finger of yours in the faces of the electorate by eliminating term limits – because only you could save the Apple from... WCBS-TV, New York City http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2128868/posts#comment Sun, 9 Nov 2008 18:27:46 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2111879/posts Savor the occasional cause for optimism that top leaders can value teamwork over turf in the contentious area of transportation financing. Take the years of squabbling over how Texas can scrape up billions of dollars to catch up with road-building needs. Suddenly, there's positive movement, first from Gov. Rick Perry last week. He told this newspaper's transportation writer, Michael Lindenberger, that he would not use his veto to obstruct a move by lawmakers to index the lagging motor-fuels tax to inflation. "If it is the will of the people, and of the Legislature, I suspect I would go along with... The Dallas Morning News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2111879/posts#comment Wed, 22 Oct 2008 04:06:44 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2100090/posts Having tolls removed from a major route in British Columbia, Canada, has taken some of the sting out of the cost of operating a trucking business in that province, but there’s still plenty of sting to go around. In late September, the government removed a $20 truck toll and $10 passenger vehicle toll from the Coquihalla Highway, which connects the city of Hope to Kamloops, B.C., in the Canadian West. Provincial officials said that truckers were pleased with the move, and they were. “Given the price of fuel, truckers are very happy with this,” Bridgitte Anderson, spokeswoman for British Columbia... Land Line Magazine http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2100090/posts#comment Wed, 8 Oct 2008 02:20:20 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2099299/posts State transportation officials are poised to issue billions of dollars in debt to help speed road construction, a move that will keep Dallas-area projects on schedule for now but will do little to shore up the state's long-term road-funding crisis. The Texas Department of Transportation will likely begin issuing $1.5 billion in bonds within 60 days, pending the recovery of the nation's upended credit markets, and is taking steps to borrow another $6.4 billion over the next few years. Historic turmoil in the credit markets is already costing the department hundreds of thousands of dollars in extra interest payments each... The Dallas Morning News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2099299/posts#comment Tue, 7 Oct 2008 04:10:47 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2086322/posts There is rising criticism that the Machang Bridge, which opened in July at the cost of millions of won, is only enriching speculative capitalists with tax money. They say that throughout the country, roads built through private investment are becoming white elephants where investors eat tax money via rough traffic predictions and contracts with excessive profit guarantees. The province of South Gyeongsang spent 380 billion won (US$337 million) in budget outlays and 190 million won in private capital to build the Machang Bridge linking Changwon and Masan. For the next 30 years, the earnings from the bridge tolls will be... The Hankyoreh http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2086322/posts#comment Sat, 20 Sep 2008 03:00:07 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2072430/posts In my recent letter to you concerning the TTC, I misquoted some information about the company known as Cintra. Mr. Patrick Rhodes of Cintra wrote in response to my mistake. Therefore, I stand corrected with the following: Fellow citizens, the company, Cintra, is not affiliated with ZAI-ACS. Cintra is partnered with Zachry on some TxDOT projects and ACS is partnered with Zachry on some other TxDOT projects. Therefore, I hope this clarifies the over-zealous statements in my letter. Cintra is a Spanish-owned company, and ACS is a larger Spanish-owned company. Zachry, a Texas company, is affiliated with each of them... The Lufkin Daily News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2072430/posts#comment Mon, 1 Sep 2008 16:29:46 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2066243/posts NEW YORK (Reuters) - Public investment funds based in Texas could invest directly in transportation projects through a new corporation under a plan unveiled on Thursday by the state's legislative leaders and the governor. Texas has the nation's biggest road privatization plan but the legislature, reacting to criticisms that developers were enriching themselves at the expense of taxpayers, enacted a two-year moratorium. That has crimped road-building projects and led to a series of clashes between the governor and the legislature, who now have agreed on a compromise plan. Developers, including overseas companies, investment banks and private equity funds all vie... Reuters http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2066243/posts#comment Fri, 22 Aug 2008 17:57:25 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2065530/posts (KCPW News) Utah lawmakers took tips on highway funding from a Texas legislator this morning. Texas Republican Representative Mike Krusee joined them on Capitol Hill. He told the Revenue and Taxation Interim Committee that with federal money drying up, the only way to pay for new highways is to make them toll roads. "Guess how many roads pay for themselves in taxes? Zero. Not a one. Most of them are less than 50 percent," said Krusee. "Imagine if you're a grocery a store owner, and you decide, I'm gonna sell sirloin at a buck a pound, and I'm gonna sell... KCPW http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2065530/posts#comment Thu, 21 Aug 2008 14:45:43 GMT