Posted on 01/11/2007 1:37:36 PM PST by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
Trans-Texas Corridor PING!
Who was the idiot who did the contract work? He should be disbarred.
$140 in tolls plus gas to drive from DFW to San Antonio? That's more than $300 for a single round trip!
GOOD.
It's about time road users were required to pay for the use of infrastructure the way the railroads do.
"Oh, but fuel taxes pay for road infrastructure." Malarkey. Private automobiles cause zillions of dollars worth of environmental and psychological damage to America each year. Who pays for the loss of quality of life caused by our car-oriented society? Who pays for the loss of national security caused by our addiction to foreign oil and our laughably anemic rail system? Who pays for the destruction of our cities and small towns caused by freeway suburbanization? We all do. Charging people a hundred and fifty bucks to drive a private car 316 miles is probably undercharging them, considering the damage to mental health, field, stream and air, and national security caused by mass use of automobiles.
Of course, there's no way in hell such a toll will ever be charged to drivers in the real world, but if charging any toll at all gets people out of cars and onto high-speed trains, I'm all for it -- and I say that as a person whose familiy business is moving cars city to city. We'll change our business model if we have to; the results will be worth it.
I support the TTC project -- not because I love roads and cars, but because of the rail system that will be built alongside the Überbahns. We ought to just build the railroads -- but if building a system of megahighways is the price we have to pay for decent rail service, I'm ready to fork over my $300 to drive on them -- or the $150 or less it will cost to take the bullet train.
BTTT
bump.
We could build a superhighway from Mexico to Canada...with no exits along the way except for fuel stops.
I just hope that it's not too late to stop this.
Yes.
Malarkey. Private automobiles cause zillions of dollars worth of environmental and psychological damage to America each year.
Private transportation gives this country the highest standard of living on earth. And we have that high standard of living despite whatever costs for the roads there are.
It's about time road users were required to pay for the use of infrastructure the way the railroads do.
Did you think that roads were paid for by Santa Claus or something? Roads are paid for by the people. The people drive on the roads. Even people who don't drive on the roads get their food and their economic livelihood in some measure because of roads. In other words, everybody benefits from roads, and they all pay for roads. What's the problem here?
if charging any toll at all gets people out of cars and onto high-speed trains, I'm all for it --
When there is a train waiting for me at the front door of my house, that I won't have to wait in the sun for, and will take me directly to work, then directly to the store after work and back to my house, with no stinky slum dweller sitting next to me, and that plays the radio station I want to listen to as loud as I want, then I'll sell my car.
Until then, forget it.
d I say that as a person whose familiy business is moving cars city to city. We'll change our business model [to railroads] if we have to; the results will be worth it.
New York City already exists. Move there.
I support the TTC project -- not because I love roads and cars, but because of the rail system that will be built alongside the Überbahns.
I guess you missed the part in the article that says Cintra won't have to build the rail parts unless it wants to. But it *will* get the land right up front, that I'm sure they will happily lease back to the farmer they took it from to get a little income from farming.
You ever drive I-40 west of Amarillo? They've already built that wide right-of-way idea back in the 70's, with a rail line and auxiliary road. Except they tore out the rail line a few years back because there were no trains on it.
Quit dreaming of a return to the 19th century because it we're not going to change the entire world to fit your idea of nirvana.
Your's are the most outrageous comments I've seen in a long time.
“Nobody wants this boondoggle and if they try and shove it down our throats, they'll lose the power they so crave.”
One would think, but I have seen in person just the opposite. West of Houston, our State Senator Armbrister announced his retirement. The area is strong Republican, so the real and only race was in the Republican primary. Gary Gates ran on a very conservative, limited government platform, with a campaign mostly funded by himself [he has successful businesses]. His opponent was Glen Hegar, a very crafty politician who knows how to play the conservative game. Hegar received money and, more importantly, significant endorsements for a few main reasons, one of which is that Hegar would not oppose the highway plan, and Gary Gates campaigned strongly against it. At campaign stops, Gates would have large graphs and articles much like this one trying to educate the public. In the end, Hegar won. One day, Hegar will be a US Congressman.
Unfortunately, most of the public is not aware enough to see something like this. The current politicians who will benefit from supporting will be long gone before the average voter realizes that it will cost him $200 to visit relatives across the state—with the money going to a private monopoly!
You outdid yourself this evening. It'll be hours before I can find the time to read this.
A road from someplace you don't want to be to somewhere you don't want to go.
Excellent! Why no traffic jam?
toll fees as high as 44 cents a mile
Now it all makes sense.
In this case, it means TxDOT has agreed not to improve any roadways that run parallel to the TTC for the duration of the Cintra lease, unless those improvements had already been approved prior to the signing of the contract.
Parallel at any point? Or parallel to the entire TTC?
Later this month, TxDOT officials will be in Washington, lobbying Congress to exempt from federal taxation any income gained from dividends or partnership distributions by toll road companies.
LOL!
The state was paid $3.8 billion for the lease, which will allow Cintra-Macquarie to keep all tolls during that time, an estimated total of nearly $12 million.
I don't think so.
That’s more than 900 square miles
Out of nearly 262,000 square miles. They're paving over the state!
I guess tolerance is what you need to get into LA from a long weekend of fun on the Colorado. Even eight lanes become huge parking lots.<(•¿•)>
"Private automobiles cause zillions of dollars worth of environmental and psychological damage to America each year."
What a load of crap.
Need to get to the hospital immediately? Emergency? Heart attack, choking baby etc.? Have fun waiting for the train.
Maybe you just forgot a sarcasm tag, I hope.
Thanks for the ping!
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