URGENT: HWY 46 FEEDBACK NEEDED OR TOLLING IS IN THE FUTURE!
The following is an email from a supporter in response to some questions she asked several people. After the meeting at GVTC, April 26, there are SO many things about this project that are disturbing.

Such as:
• Citizens have less than 30 days to respond.
• Contradictory statements made by TxDOT representative about the tolling of 46.
• County and TxDOT representatives REFUSE to delete the clause about tolling 46 in the future, even though they claim it will not be done.
• Contradictory evidence about traffic at 46 & 281used to justify the “rush”, as compared to the traffic data used last year to justify Home Depot.
• Homeowners in Bulverde will bear the property tax to pay for a road that is probably used more by commercial vehicles and county residents than by city residents.
• County and cities are agreeing to a document that does NOT have a definite plan or design. How can it be known what the cost is if there is no plan??
• City of Bulverde is possibly entering into a contract that is too general, very much like the Home Depot SUP that we have had no control over.
• TxDOT threatened Bulverde by saying that if we do not enter into this contract with the county now, TxDOT will not fund a 46 project for 20-25 years, if that.

PLEASE contact your Bulverde elected officials about your concerns here.

Contact Comal County Commissioners here.

Link to article here.

Leon Valley and residents in the Bandera Road corridor from 410 to 1604 are beginning to awake to the very REAL threat of a TxDOT/RMA steamroller. We already know what the Transportation Commission’s marching orders are from their Minute Order passed Dec. 18, 2003 that states they’ll toll everything they can get their hands on, including elevated lanes in existing right of way, above existing businesses, and near existing residences. But, unfortunately, a whole new area of town is having to stave off their own government’s tax and land grab (under the guise of congestion relief). At least our grassroots group of concerned citizens is poised and ready to help from lessons learned on the 281/1604 project. Be sure to attend the May 17 Toll Road Forum that’s mentioned in the article below.

Just a few short months on the job and Mr. Leroy Alloway of the RMA is already good at misleading the public about their intent to toll Bandera Rd when he states, “there aren’t any foregone conclusions” to toll. Right, that’s why Bandera Rd. is an official project of the tolling authority instead of TxDOT! How refreshing to see a Chamber of Commerce that actually represents the best interests of the business community…way to go Leon Valley Chamber!

Residents address flyover lanes
05/03/2006
By Lety Laurel
Express-News Staff Writer

LEON VALLEY — If built, overhead lanes along Bandera Road would physically and psychologically divide the city, kill area businesses and create noise, light and air pollution, many residents said during a specially called meeting April 25 at the Leon Valley Conference Center.

It was the residents’ turn to discuss congestion along Bandera Road at the meeting that drew about 150 people, despite A Night in Old San Antonio and a Spurs playoff game held the same evening.

Although a couple of people spoke in support of overhead lanes to reduce traffic on city streets, the majority spoke against the proposal and encouraged the city and officials with Texas Department of Transportation and the Alamo Regional Mobility Authority — who were in the audience but not there to speak — to investigate other congestion-relieving options.

The city will hold another meeting on the proposed elevated roadway 7 p.m. May 17 at the Leon Valley Community Center, 6427 Evers. The Regional Community Meeting will be sponsored by state Rep. Joaquin Castro, San Antonio District 7 Councilwoman Elena Guajardo and the City of Leon Valley and will draw residents from both cities, RMA officials and representatives from the San Antonio Toll Party.

“The problems we have on Bandera are bad but they are not 24 hours a day,” resident Shep Howson said. “We have peak times as every city does. Elevated roadways, to me, would be unsightly and a hideous thing. Where we have traffic at certain peak periods, elevated roadways would be here 24 hours a day, seven days a week.”

Resident Mike Davis said that due to TxDOT’s current project to place elevated connectors from Bandera to Loop 410, which will end at Rue Francois near Wurzbach, there already is going to be a divide in the city.

He said he believes that most of the 59,410 vehicles that travel daily along Bandera Road drive through the city and are not locals.

“These people should be able to drive through Leon Valley on a flyover so as not to impede our local traffic and relieve us of the traffic burden,” he said. If that is done, he added, “People will be more comfortable shopping in Leon Valley.”

As for pollution, “When vehicles are running at their optimum and they are not idling at a red light where residents are breathing in their exhaust fumes and their pollution, I say let them run at their optimum … out of our city, and that way we don’t have to breathe their pollution,” he said.

Other residents suggested synchronizing traffic lights, extending Bandera Road from three lanes to five in each direction, converting the median to a high-occupancy-vehicle lane and perhaps building ramps just over intersections.

Resident Anita Eggert said she lives near Bandera Road and already hears the sounds of traffic through her windows. That noise will be made worse with a highway, she said.

A simple solution, she said, could be to increase VIA bus service.

I think there are other out-of-the-box things we can look at other than building more roads,” she said.

In January, TxDOT began the construction project on elevated ramps from Loop 410 to Bandera Road to relieve congestion at Wurzbach and Bandera roads and Bandera and Loop 410.

But in the previous months, the Leon Valley City Council passed a resolution asking TxDOT and the RMA to study extending the project from 410 through the city to relieve congestion and to minimize impacts to existing businesses along Bandera Road. It also asked authorities to study ways to minimize changes to business access and assess the need for additional rights of way.

In February, Mayor Chris Riley submitted 18 questions to the RMA about the possible impacts of building an elevated toll road, asking everything from the potential impact on businesses during and after construction to potential graffiti problems that might come with the highway.

In a March 17 letter, RMA executive director Terry Brechtel said many things still are being studied and promised to investigate possible impacts the project might have on the city’s economy, businesses and environment, among other things.

She also made it clear that all options will be studied, including a no-build option.

Riley said the letter didn’t answer much, but she was relieved by the no-build option.

“None of my questions were answered because they’re being studied,” Riley said. “I’m a little antsy and I want them answered as soon as possible, but one thing that came out of the letter was a no-build option…. That was the only thing that was definitive.”

Leroy Alloway, public information manager for the RMA, said the letter couldn’t conclusively answer most questions because nothing has been decided.

“There are no foregone conclusions in the direction this project may and may not take,” he said. “Until we go out and get community input and do the process we need to take, we won’t have answers. We’re not going in there saying we know the solution. We’re going in there saying we think there’s a problem here.”

At the meeting, Phillip Manea, president of the Leon Valley Chamber of Commerce, agreed that there is a congestion problem along Bandera Road, but he noted that there are similar problems all over San Antonio. He urged the council to tread carefully.

He said businesses are concerned that they’d be too close to the highway, that noise created by an elevated highway would make it difficult to conduct business and that stores close to the roadway would be virtually invisible. He predicated that businesses would lose their customer base, face lowered property values and wouldn’t survive the construction period.

“This is quite possibly the biggest decision that Leon Valley has been faced with the past 20 years,” he said. “Whatever we decide to do will affect us forever.”

Leon Valley questions

Leon Valley Mayor Chris Riley sent 18 questions to the Alamo Regional Mobility Authority regarding toll roads. Following is a sampling of questions (in bold) and answers that were provided by RMA executive director Terry Brechtel.

What will be the impacts on traffic flows on adjacent streets?

The impact … has not been determined at this time. Without having a preferred alternative design the Alamo RMA is unable to provide a detailed response on this question.

Is it realistic to create a pleasant shopping experience in a healthy retail area in the shadow of an elevated highway?

The Alamo RMA staff is currently investigating this issue and will provide further information to you in the near future.

Will the elevated roadway add graffiti “tagging” opportunities?

Alamo RMA will be evaluating anti graffiti coatings for structures to minimize “tagging” and will be partnering with local public safety agencies to help provide enforcement on this issue.

Link to article here.

Does this sound like TxDOT is out of money or that the road building industry is hurting?

“Airport officials decided a glut of construction work squelched interest in their elevated road. And contractors do appear to be busy. Texas Department of Transportation contracts in this region jumped from $179 million in fiscal 2003 to $525 million in just three years.”

Seems some of these companies aren’t satisfied simply building the projects anymore, they want a piece of TxDOT’s fancy new “innovative” road heist where land taken through eminent domain is handed over to private, foreign companies for private gain in 50+ year monopolies called CDAs. Unless they can tap the vein of unlimited cash cow toll revenues, why bother bidding on the little stuff?

Glut of road projects delays airport work
Patrick Driscoll
Express-News Staff Writer
May 1, 2006

City officials are ready to move forward on major projects to expand the airport — if only they can get some companies to do the work.

When officials dangled a $23 million project last December to extend the elevated roadway at San Antonio International Airport, no one bid.

That happens once in a while with construction projects, but it’s unusual.

“It’s a flashing light on the dashboard,” said Doug McMurry, executive vice president of the Associated General Contractors chapter in San Antonio. “It means there’s something wrong.”

But what went wrong in this case is something of a mystery.

Many city contracts have plenty of twists to worry companies — onerous language, high risks and a process rewarding the cheapest work, industry officials say.

But firms that looked at the airport road job and walked away didn’t cite those problems. They talked about how skilled workers are needed to do the bridgework near terminals and traffic, and how workers are stretched thin by a spurt of projects statewide.

“It’s not the easiest job to build,” said Terry Williamson, Central Texas vice president for Texas Sterling Construction. “If I needed structure work right now, I’d bid on it.”

Even contracting giant Zachry Construction Corp., a local firm with more than 11,000 employees, must carefully choose jobs to get the most from workers and equipment spread from coast to coast.

For them, the airport project is in the wrong place at the wrong time.

“We just try to be smart about what jobs we chase,” spokeswoman Vicky Waddy said.

Airport officials decided a glut of construction work squelched interest in their elevated road. And contractors do appear to be busy. Texas Department of Transportation contracts in this region jumped from $179 million in fiscal 2003 to $525 million in just three years.

“It can make it a little more difficult to generate the type of widespread interest that you normally see,” airport spokesman David Hebert said.

So the city worked harder to get the word out — hitting phones, placing ads in industry publications and doing radio interviews — when they made a second call for bids, which are due May 24.

So far, half a dozen companies have nibbled.

“The response we’ve seen has been very encouraging,” Hebert said.

The 1,500-foot-long elevated road, which will connect to future terminals, is among three big projects getting under way to expand the airport. Bids for a $42 million parking garage are due May 17, and a request for bids on a $70 million terminal is to go out this fall.

Unlike the low-bid road project, the garage and terminal bids will be judged according to a list of criteria, a process called competitive sealed bidding that the city is dabbling with and which contractors applaud.

“To their credit, they’re listening and they’re making changes,” said McMurry of the Associated General Contractors.

City officials expect to start construction on the roadway and five-story, 3,000-space garage in July or August and on the seven-gate terminal by January and finish in late 2008.

The projects are part of a $425 million plan that includes building two terminals, razing an old terminal and upgrading runways.

When finished, there will be three commercial jet runways to handle 30 percent more flights, 50 percent more parking and up to 10 more passenger gates, for a total of 34.

Last year was a record for airport traffic, with 7.4 million passengers. That beat 2000, the year before terrorist attacks sent the aviation industry into a tailspin, by almost 2 percent.

“This airport is just busting at the seams,” said Harry Sigley of Carter Burgess, the program manager for the new terminals, garage and roadway.

Last I checked it’s our right, no, our duty as citizens to be involved and have a say in our self-determination. Our movement is about redressing our government for grievances and taxation without representation. Here’s what our District Engineer for TxDOT, David Casteel, had to say about concerned citizens’ input on their money grabbing secret contracts, and their monopolistic land heist fraught with eminent domain abuse….sorry if he tires of our input…we pay his salary. Guess what, Mr. Casteel, our facts aren’t factoids…they’re the TRUTH! Perhaps if TxDOT was more truthful and not caught in lies and contradictions found in their own documents, in news reports, and in public meetings, your job would get easier.

Link to Driscoll’s blog here to make a comment.

Fightin’ words … and more
By Pat Driscoll
Express-News
May 03, 2006

David Casteel of the Texas Department of Transportation let it be known Tuesday that he’s tired of insults from toll-road critics — and he delivered some tough words of his own.

“We come to face many cynics in our dealings,” Casteel told a friendly crowd of about 400 road industry and government officials at his state of transportation speech at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, sponsored by the San Antonio Mobility Coalition.

“There are those who misquote, misapply and string together meaningless factoids and conjure up rumors about things like traffic signals and overpass plans and try to damage the reputations of people at the city and the department,” he said, referring to a U.S. 281 toll-plan controversy.

“We have met people who have used mean words to describe us and those who came before us,” he said, adding references to past controversies, such as the failed 14-year effort to stop U.S. 281 from going through parklands. “They have called those who laid out this city incompetent and worse.”

And then this …

“To those who fight us, let there be no mistake, we will fight back with facts to meaningless factoids, with a comprehensive regional plan to the one-road concern,” he said. “We will fight — we are not fighting for any personal, political or selfish reason — we are fighting for the right reasons, for Texans, for the future.”

Casteel, TxDOT’s lead engineer in San Antonio, also talked about how the state’s population grew 57 percent over the past 25 years but the amount of driving went up 95 percent while highway lane miles increased just 8 percent. He said driving in Bexar County is projected to go from 35 million miles in 2000 to 56 million by 2030.

Those are reasons why local officials should use all tools authorized by the Texas Legislature and voters in recent years, including bonding and tolls, he argued.

But enough of that warmed-over fare … check out David the bulldog wearing a few other hats:

David strokes his chin …

“Oscar Wilde — who even though he was a strange guy did have a lucid thought or two — he once defined a cynic as a person who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.

David rolls up his sleeves …

“What we do is build — we build every day, all day and all night, 24 hours a day, seven days a week — we are building — you cannot drive through this region and this state and not see us build. You send money our way and we will build, send more money and we will build more — we build — while others complain, we build — while others blame, we build — while others call names, we build.”

David waxes poetic …

“We are the giant martini glass into which the various legislation and empowerment tools have been poured — and not stirred gently but shaken vigorously, sloshed around and spilled and put back in the glass. It has been a rough and vibrant mixing — but my friends, in our region the taste is sublime.”

Link to Herald-Zeitung here.

TxDOT wants to toll Hwy 46 and the Commissioners know it, so for Comal County Judge Danny Scheel and TxDOT’s Greg Malatek to say it’s not going to be tolled is untrue. The Commissioners may not anticipate tolling 46 for this go-round, but it’s clear TxDOT has its sights set on tolling it. The November Transportation Commission Meeting transcript affirms this and so does an email from Comal County Commissioner Jan Kennady March 16, 2005, “While the toll road would not be constructed for another 15-20 years or so, it has been mentioned every time TxDOT holds a meeting. That may never happen, but I want the public to be aware of the possibility of a toll road in the future before the county kicks in funds for the four-lane highway. The incorporated cities (Bulverde and New Braunfels) would also be responsible for buying right-of-way within their city limits, etc.” This is why folks have a hard time swallowing the vow not to toll. It’s also a misstatement of fact to say someone was escorted out of the meeting by deputies. With 200 witnesses in the room, the actual situation can be easily confirmed.

Also, the sentiments of many who attended were this: they feel rushed, they don’t think 46 is congested (except at Bill Brown for pick-up/drop-off), people don’t want new taxes to pay for roads, and the overwhelming sentiment was unsupportive of this expansion without more concrete planning and dollar figures. It seems fair and balanced to interview a cross section of actual attendees and not just politicians to truly gauge the sentiment like the Express-News did.

Commercial real estate signs and new subdivisions have steadily peppered 46, particularly the last two years. I find it interesting that TxDOT’s engineer, Greg Malatek, says the reason 46 can’t be tolled is due to the almost endless driveways dumping traffic directly onto 46. That’s not the citizens’ choice; developers, the City, and County have allowed this to take place and now want us to pay to fix it. Apparently Mr. Malatek hasn’t looked at 281 lately since it, too, has endless driveways and is often the ONLY way in or out of subdivisions and businesses north of Loop 1604, and despite many driveways, they’re finding a way to toll 281. Sorry, but his assurances ring hollow!

Then, County Engineer Tom Hornseth says TxDOT’s out of money. Who’s been getting all of that gas tax we pay every week at the pump? TxDOT takes in more money than Starbucks or Southwest Airlines does in a year, and if Southwest Airlines can get people from Point A to Point B and stay in the black, TxDOT can too! See the $820 million in gas taxes sitting in TxDOT’s account RIGHT NOW earmarked not for free roads, but TOLL ROADS here. When the ORIGINAL PLAN for 281 (see it here) cost $48 million and now as a tollway, $83 million (see the Express-News article), seems TxDOT can cough up the money when and where they choose. The trouble is, the ONLY choice they’re picking (when it’s toll viable, ie- enough congestion) is to build toll roads at nearly DOUBLE the cost to erect PLUS a lifetime NEW toll tax! That’s not “out of money,” it’s fiscal irresponsibility!

With an $8.2 billion surplus, it’s hard to believe the state is “cash-strapped” and needing new sources of funding for highways. We pay gas tax, new vehicle sales tax, licensing and registration fees, the list goes on and on…TxDOT gets plenty of money for highways. It’s how they’re spending it and the fact that they’re overcharging (nearly double) us for projects (like taking 281 from a $48 million free road improvement plan to an $83 million tollway) that’s breaking the bank. Their budget went up over $1 billion last year. It’s a matter of priorities, not lack of funds.

Bulverde may not join Texas 46 upgrades
By Ron Maloney
The Herald-Zeitung
April 28, 2006

County officials said Thursday that Bulverde could either pitch in with the county on widening Texas 46 or go its own way on the project.

The word came as County Judge Danny Scheel expressed frustration following a public meeting Wednesday night in which he said Bulverde residents — many of whom had previously expressed concerns about traffic problems on Texas 46 — suggested they might rather wait than join the county and the city of New Braunfels in efforts to upgrade Texas 46.

The Wednesday meeting, listed as a special meeting of the Bulverde City Council, was conducted at Guadalupe Valley Telephone Cooperative in Smithson Valley to accommodate an anticipated large crowd, although a quorum of Bulverde council members did not attend.

Scheel said Bulverde Mayor Sarah Stevick asked him to attend to explain the “pass-through financing” agreement the county is working to reach with the Texas Department of Transportation to finance the project and upgrades to U.S. 281.

During the “reports of elected officials” portion of Thursday’s Commissioners Court agenda, Scheel spoke of a meeting in his office several weeks ago between New Braunfels, Bulverde and TxDOT, called to discuss the problems on Texas 46 and how to pay for a solution.

Scheel noted that each day he is “bombarded” with e-mails from constituents complaining about inconveniences and even danger on Texas 46.

“On FM 2722 in the mornings, the traffic lines up so far and traffic is so bad on 46 that people can’t turn left,” Scheel said. “So they turn right, then look for a place to turn around and head back toward New Braunfels, which only makes the traffic worse.”

On Walnut Avenue most afternoons, Scheel said, westbound traffic backs up well down the hill toward Landa Street from the Loop 337/Texas 46 interchange. At the intersection, Texas 46 veers west away from the loop after several miles of Loop 337 and Texas 46 running as one roadway. Walnut Avenue, a main artery connecting downtown New Braunfels to the loop, becomes Texas 46 West at the intersection, and many drivers take Walnut to Texas 46 as part of their commute home to west New Braunfels subdivisions or western Comal County.

“I think the city of New Braunfels recognizes we have a severe situation there, and we have to do what we can to deal with that situation. After the meeting last night, I’m not sure the people of Bulverde do,” Scheel said. “Bulverde’s only cost would be the cost of interest on the money we would have to loan TxDOT, the cost of the right-of-way and moving utilities.”

Bulverde’s 3.7 miles of Texas 46 would cost that city $1.3 million under the agreement the county is working on, Scheel said.

“People last night thought maybe it wasn’t necessary or that they ought to wait,” Scheel said. “I just don’t understand that thinking. I told them, as politely as I could, we plan to move forward. The total cost of Bulverde’s part of this project is $7.9 million. They can spend $1.3 million with us or $7.9 million on their own. It’s their choice.”

Stevick said she appreciated county officials attending the meeting to educate citizens on the proposal.

“The meeting was intended to inform the public, and we’ll have this before council twice more before we vote on it,” Stevick said. “The public will have opportunities to learn about it.”

Stevick said she supports the Texas 46 project.

“The judge is correct — there are some residents concerned,” Stevick said. “But I think it’s just like any other issue. You’re never going to have 100 percent of the people behind it. Do I think the people who are against it are a majority? I don’t know. I didn’t get that feeling last night. I think a majority might be in favor of it.”

Residents responded positively, she said, to information they learned at GVTC.

“I think as we get more information and specific numbers out there, it will help as well,” Stevick said. “In the next 60 days, we’re going to look at hard numbers and narrow this thing down. It’s just like anything else. If you start taking action without informing the public, you’re going to have resistance.”

County: No tolls

Work on U.S. 281 in Bexar County has been halted pending an environmental study. But the project has become a lightning rod because new lanes on the federal highway in northern Bexar County will be paid for through tolls.

For more than a year, Comal County officials have said at virtually every forum where they could get in front of a microphone or into print that they would not support toll projects on Texas 46 or U.S. 281.

Still, many members of the crowd of some 200 who attended Wednesday night’s meeting in Smithson Valley were there to express their opposition to toll roads.

“We have continually said — it feels like hundreds of times — that there will be no tolls on these projects. TxDOT told them last night there could be no tolls on Texas 46,” Scheel said. “But there we were, two-and-a-half hours later, listening to speaker after speaker, and they were asking if we didn’t have a secret agreement with a private company for tolls. There are no tolls on these projects, so I guess these people came to the wrong meeting. The deputies had to escort one person out of the meeting.”

Scheel and New Braunfels officials have been working with TxDOT to create an agreement similar to one recently approved for a San Marcos project in which Wonder World Drive would be extended three miles to allow western Hays County residents access to Interstate 35 without driving through downtown San Marcos.

A cash-strapped state looking for ways to fund highway projects created two nontraditional scenarios in the 77th Texas Legislature for funding road projects. One, such as the Bexar County U.S. 281 project, involves toll funding and requires local governments to create a body called a regional mobility authority to oversee the work and collect the tolls.

The other, “pass-through,” which is being pursued by Comal County, involves local government financing of a project that would then be repaid by the state without tolls.

Under that “pass-through” scenario, the county would issue bonds for $16 million to fund part of the proposed Texas 46 improvements from FM 2722 to about a mile west of U.S. 281 in Bulverde.

TxDOT would repay the bonds over four years, and then the county would use the repaid money to leverage work on U.S. 281 within the county. On both projects, the county would pay the local 10 percent match for right-of-way, the moving of utilities and the interest on the bonds for a net local cost of $7 million, county officials have said.

The bulk of the $70 million the two projects would cost would be financed through traditional TxDOT sources.

Scheel and the other commissioners bristle at the thought of paying anything above the local match for state road projects, which they see as an unfunded state mandate, but say they are forced to if they want to see the project go forward anytime soon.

“If we don’t do this, these projects are probably 10 to 15 years out,” Scheel said. “If we do, we’d move this thing up on the front burner. These projects will not include tolls, and the money we put up will be repaid in each case in four years.”

Link to article here.

Apparently the bill won’t get traction from Republicans because they’re too busy raising taxes in spite of an $8.2 billion surplus. Concern over gas prices tops nearly every national poll. With gas prices at or near $3 a gallon, people do not have the discretionary income to pay tolls on top of fuel costs (see post here and here). So again, why is TxDOT proceeding to toll nearly every highway improvement project in Texas?

Democrats propose state fuel tax holiday
By Isadora Vail
Express-News Austin Bureau
Web Posted: 04/28/2006 12:00 AM CDT

AUSTIN — Democrats in the Texas Legislature hope temporarily curtailing the state’s gasoline tax will ease some of the pain drivers are feeling at the pumps.

They filed House Bill 120 on Thursday to stop collecting the state’s 20 cents per gallon in gas tax for the next 90 days. However, the proposal has little chance of gaining traction with GOP lawmakers in the special session.

“Gas prices in San Antonio are through the roof, and some places it is more than $3 a gallon,” said State Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer, D-San Antonio. “People want gas tax relief just as much as property tax relief.”

Rachael Novier, spokeswoman for Gov. Rick Perry, said “the governor is focused on the Texas Supreme Court mandate of school finance reform and property tax relief.”

She said once those issues are solved, Perry would consider putting other bills, including the gas tax, on the session’s agenda.

“With regards to this specific issue, I would have to question whether the Democrats are talking out of both ends of their mouths,” Perry spokeswoman Kathy Walt said.

“Democrats say they want to better education, but this would take away from it. Twenty-five percent of gas tax is dedicated to education every year, and that could amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars.”

Martinez Fischer said this issue isn’t a partisan issue, and he doesn’t know of anyone who would oppose the bill, but this bill doesn’t look like it will see the House chambers any time this session.

The “Gas Tax Holiday” would save about $2.50 a tank, Martinez Fischer said.

The bill would replace the roughly $800 million in lost gas revenue with a federal transportation fund the state received last year called an equity bonus program, or with funds from the $8.2 billion state surplus.

Link to Herald-Zeitung article here!

Strayhorn receives raucous welcome
By Leigh Jones
The Herald-Zeitung
Published April 27, 2006

Scooter Store employees gave one big welcome to one tough gubernatorial hopeful Wednesday.

Carole Keeton Strayhorn seemed genuinely surprised when her entrance into the mobility giant’s New Braunfels headquarters was greeted by a chorus of cheers accompanied by a cacophony of clappers, horns and cowbells.

The independent candidate, who bills herself as “One Tough Grandma,” raised her hands in response and bowed with a short flourish before walking around the periphery of the crowd, shaking hands and offering hugs to what appeared to be very excited supporters.

“You all are the most enthusiastic employees I’ve seen anywhere in Texas,” she said when she finally made it back to the microphone. “I just want to pack y’all up and take you on the road with me.”

After thanking The Scooter Store for its warm welcome and congratulating the company on the recent celebration of its 250,000th delivery, Strayhorn told the group of prospective voters they would find her name on the ballot when they went to the polls later this year.

“We are blowing the doors off this petition drive, let me tell you,” she said. “We’re already ahead of where we need to be, and we will be on the ballot in November.”

A number of Scooter Store employees already have assisted Strayhorn in her quest to gather 45,000 signatures before the May 11 deadline so that the independent candidate can get on the ballot. The company began circulating petitions for both Strayhorn and fellow independent candidate Kinky Friedman last week. Company officials did not know how many signatures had already been forwarded to each candidate’s campaign office.

Strayhorn encouraged the audience to vote for her to return Texas to its independent and unified roots.

“(Republican Gov. Rick Perry) has politically fractured this state. We are divided, not united. That’s not the Texas way, and it cannot continue,” she said. “The only way to get anything done is to set aside partisan politics. I will remain an independent to get things done.”

If elected, Strayhorn, who is also a Republican, promised to improve the state’s education and economic performance through what she has dubbed the “Texas Next Step” program.

“Every high school graduate needs to have the opportunity go to a two-year technical or community college to learn a trade, with the state picking up the tab for tuition and books,” she said. “Texas needs to have the most educated workforce to stay on top.”

Describing herself as a common-sense conservative, Strayhorn proposed to pay for the program by eliminating what she called Perry’s “corporate welfare slush fund.”

She also promised state government under her watch would re-invigorate the children’s medical program that was recently scaled back to save money.

While she has big plans for her time in office, Strayhorn admitted the road to the statehouse would not be easy.

“Perry has said he plans to wage an ugly campaign,” she said. “I say, bring it on. I will continue to be one tough grandma.”

Although she would not say for sure, Strayhorn might soon have some experienced help from her son, former White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan. The youngest of Strayhorn’s four sons turned over his Washington job to radio and television commentator Tony Snow roughly four hours before his mother’s appearance in New Braunfels.

“We’ll just have to see,” Strayhorn told the Herald-Zeitung when asked if McClellan would be helping her campaign in the months leading up to the election. “He has lots of opportunities, but I sure would love to see him back in Texas.”

See Sal’s blog here.

IMPORTANT EXCERPTS TO NOTE…
“That toll lobby is the Real Estate Council of Austin (RECA) and its developer members who have more influence on TxDOT than citizens. RECA is also known to have more influence with special interest politicians whose campaigns benefit from their fat checks.

Linda Rife also works as a consultant for TateAustin. TateAustin has numerous contracts with the Williamson County heavy freeway tolling authority. TateAustin will be telling the public how the double tax toll roads are the best thing since sliced bread.

It’s important to note that both State Rep. Terry Keel and Comptroller Strayhorn have confirmed that TateAustin is getting paid with our gas tax dollars to sell us on this new toll tax scheme.”

Link to Herald-Zeitung article here.

Can we honestly trust what these folks tell us anymore? First 281 was paid for, then they said the funds were “reallocated,” then it turns up in the Express-News, Dec 1, 2005 (see the article), that not only is the money there, the sum grew $35 million in order to erect a tollway on an existing freeway instead! Now, our politicians and TxDOT are trying to pull the wool over our eyes again “vowing” not to toll 46, when the November Transportation Commission Meeting transcript affirms this: “None of these projects were feasible in terms of traditional tolling. The projects were then each evaluated for pass through financing feasibility and only a few corridors in Comal County were found to be feasible.” As you can see in the transcript, all throughout the discussion, Hwy 46 expansion is mentioned as one of these projects they were evaluating and studying for tolls. Therefore, they studied it for traditional tolling and found it wasn’t feasible…YET they plan to in the future. In fact, the pass through financing contract states on page 3 that as long as the County and TxDOT agree, they can add tolls to this project at a future time. If Hwy 46 is IMPOSSIBLE to toll as TxDOT’s Malatek claims or that there are no plans to toll Hwy 46 as District Engineer David Casteel claims, how is it that the possibility to toll in the future is actually WRITTEN INTO THE PASS THROUGH CONTRACT?

An email from Comal County Commissioner Jan Kennady March 16, 2005 also states TxDOT fully intends to toll Hwy 46: “While the toll road would not be constructed for another 15-20 years or so, it has been mentioned every time TxDOT holds a meeting. That may never happen, but I want the public to be aware of the possibility of a toll road in the future before the county kicks in funds for the four-lane highway. The incorporated cities (Bulverde and New Braunfels) would also be responsible for buying right-of-way within their city limits, etc.” This is why folks have a hard time swallowing the vow not to toll. The only reason it’s not being tolled is it’s not toll viable until yet more congestion arrives. How will it get congested? Unbridled, unplanned growth driven by developers, not the community!

Commerical real estate signs and new subdivisions have steadily peppered 46, particularly the last two years. I find it interesting that TxDOT’s engineer, Greg Malatek, says the reason 46 can’t be tolled is due to the almost endless driveways dumping traffic directly onto 46. Apparently Mr. Malatek hasn’t looked at 281 lately since it, too, has endless driveways and is often the ONLY way in or out of subdivisions and businesses north of Loop 1604, and despite many driveways, they’re finding a way to toll 281. Sorry, but his assurances as well as Judge Scheel’s ring hollow!

Then, County Engineer Tom Hornseth says TxDOT’s out of money. Oh really? Who’s been getting all of that gas tax we pay every week at the pump? TxDOT takes in more money than Starbucks or Southwest Airlines does in a year, and if Southwest Airlines can get people from Point A to Point B and stay in the black, TxDOT can too! See the $820 million in gas taxes sitting in TxDOT’s account RIGHT NOW earmarked not for free roads, but TOLL ROADS here. When the ORIGINAL PLAN for 281 (See it here.) cost $48 million and now as a tollway, $83 million (see the Express-News article), seems TxDOT can cough up the money when and where they choose. The trouble is, the ONLY choice they’re picking (when it’s toll viable, ie- enough congestion) is to build toll roads at nearly DOUBLE the cost to erect PLUS a lifetime NEW toll tax! That’s not “out of money,” that’s highway robbery and fiscal irresponsibility!

County vows not to put tolls on Texas 46
By David Rupkalvis
Herald-Zeitung
April 27, 2006

SMITHSON VALLEY — Opponents of a proposal to put in toll roads got a bit of good news Wednesday night — a project to widen Texas 46 will never include tolls.

Close to 200 people filed into the Guadalupe Valley Telephone Cooperative auditorium to hear a presentation from county, state and Bulverde officials on the plans to widen the road.

While the mood was often tense, the people in the crowd did hear what they wanted most.

“We have been working with TxDOT, and we’ve been working on what we call pass through financing,” Comal County Judge Danny Scheel said. “There are no tolls in any of these projects.”

Many in the crowd still objected to language in the pass-through contract that says tolls will not be allowed unless agreed to by both the state and county.

But Greg Malatek an engineer with the Texas Department of Transportation, tried to ease those concerns.

“Part of the issue is tolls can’t be on (Texas) 46,” he said. “With all the access points, it’s physically impossible to be a toll. There are too many driveways. There’s no way to put a gate up there with all the driveways.”

With the tolls out of the question, the only way to get work done quickly on the road was through the new financing agreement, Scheel told the crowd.

Traffic on Texas 46 is already bad, he said, and with the county’s population expected to grow by up to 40,000 people in the next decade, it will only get worse.

“We can’t afford to sit back and wait for the rest of the people to get here,” Scheel said. “Then you try to catch up.”

To speed up the process, which could take decades if the county waited for TxDOT to it alone, the county and the cities of Bulverde and New Braunfels would need to loan TxDOT the money to build the roads. The local governments would also need to pay 10 percent of the cost to purchase rights of way and move utilities.

TxDOT would then pay back the loaned money, minus the interest, over a nine-year period.

“We’re excited about this project,” Scheel said. “It will speed it up. If all goes as planned, TxDOT will start buying right of way in December with construction in 2008.”

Malatek explained that the plans are to widen the road from Old Boerne Road near Bulverde to Loop 337 in New Braunfels, a total of 19.65 miles.

It would include 3.68 miles in Bulverde, 3.33 miles in New Braunfels and 12.64 miles in the county. The costs would be split between the entities with each paying their share based on a per-mile price.

County Engineer Tom Hornseth said to make the financing work, the county would loan TxDOT $16 million with Bulverde and New Braunfels loaning closer to $600,000 each. Each entity would also pay its share for rights of way and utility movements.

“In the old days, TxDOT paid for the whole thing,” Hornseth said. “Well, TxDOT does not have the money. We are entering into this agreement to expedite the project.”

Bulverde Police Chief Royce Goodsen said the improvements could not come fast enough for his department. In the last 15 months, there have been 113 accidents, including four with fatalities, on Texas 46 in Bulverde, he said.

“I think this is a great deal for the city of Bulverde to try to get these roads fixed, not 10 years from now, not 30 years from now, but in two or three years,” Goodsen said.