Link to article here.
The only people left on the planet who think toll road proliferation the politicians courted by them. Politicians beware…your comeuppance is coming if you continue down this path. Just a $.20 cent per mile toll is like adding $5 to every gallon of gas you buy (if one’s vehicle gets 20 MPG). [...]

Link to article here. With this kind of angst over gas prices, add tolls on top of it, and politcos can expect an explosion of taxpayer backlash against unsustainable transportation policies. Americans just don’t have the money to pony-up any more of the family budget for transportation!
Americans Blame Congress for Gas Prices, Consumer Reports [...]

IMMEDIATE RELEASE
TURF statement on TxDOT selecting private partner to develop TTC-69
Austin, TX, June 26, 2008
After the overwhelming public feedback preferred the “no build” option and after the Legislature made it clear it wanted time to slow down this train of privatizing our public infrastructure, TxDOT’s selection, today, of a private partner to develop [...]

Link to article below here. Yep, TURF nailed it. Read our analysis earlier this week here. The moratorium bill only specifically prohibits awarding contracts to build and collect tolls. It does nothing to prevent TxDOT from awarding development contracts or what this story refers to as a “design” contract. It also reveals what we tried [...]

Link to poll story here or read it below.
The headline declares Texans want their roads fixed but don’t want to pay for them. But it’s not a matter of not wanting to fund them, it’s a matter of economics. Texans don’t have any more money to give to transportation with gas at $4 a gallon! [...]

Link to article here. See what we have to look forward to? Cintra won the development rights to TTC-35 project and now has control of SH 130, the first segment of the Trans Texas Corridor TTC-35 project. It’s also one of two bidders on TTC-69. Let’s not forget that the toll rates doubled this year. [...]

While we applaud the Senator for having the foresight to prevent the Highway Trust Fund from going bankrupt in the near future, she did vote for the last highway bill (SAFETEA-LU in 2005) that contained more than 6,000 earmarks for congressional pet projects, including the bridge to nowhere in Alaska and a parking garage for [...]

Are we supposed to take this “task force” seriously? They call this a “community” effort? Not when only pro-toll, Chamber of Commerce, big money wheelers and dealers are on this task force, with the exception of our good friend Bill Barker, transportation planner and expert who has worked in the industry for more than 30 [...]

TURF Committee Report Response
Overall, we’re delighted that the Sunset Commission sees the need for fundamental reform at TxDOT, and acknowledges that simply tweaking some things or maintaining status quo will not suffice to restore the public trust in this agency or in transportation decision-making around the state.
However, in response to the Committee Report, we have [...]

The Texas Transportation Commission meeting this Thursday has an agenda item that shows the Commission will consider executing a private toll contract for the development of Trans Texas Corridor TTC-69 despite the moratorium prohibiting private toll contracts through September of 2009. Cintra is likely who had the most influence in the change in route [...]