Link to article here.

This is our primary problem with SB 1929, it does not significantly change the path we’re on which is toll proliferation. See the TURF quote below. Though we’re not opposed to traditional toll roads (where they’re new roads using new right of way, voted on by the people, the money and control stay local, and the tolls are removed when the road is paid for), even Dallas officials recognize that too many toll roads in a region will hurt our economy.

SB 1929 doesn’t fundamentally change this shift to tolling as the preferred method to solve our transportation funding issues. We’ve got some work to do for the good provisions of this bill to become law. We’ve learned our lessons from HB 3588 in 2003 and HB 2702 in 2005 well enough to know, we cannot accept ANY bad with the good since TxDOT will ALWAYS pervert the intentions of EVERY bill to allow them to exploit our state highway system as assets for sale on the open market. This should not be the mission of our highway department.

Transportation bill curbs agency’s powers
Legislature: Senate plan would increase regional bodies’ voice on projects
Thursday, April 19, 2007
By JAKE BATSELL / The Dallas Morning News
AUSTIN – A far-reaching transportation bill unveiled in a Senate hearing Wednesday would tighten private toll-road contracts and give regional authorities more say over projects in their back yard.

The comprehensive bill – the product of weeks of negotiations among lawmakers and state transportation officials – would curb the powers of the Texas Department of Transportation, which has come under fire for the way it has been awarding toll contracts to private companies.

“Its purpose is to reform the excesses of prior legislation and to fine-tune the various tools available to us in the years ahead,” said Sen. John Carona, R-Dallas, the bill’s author and chair of the Senate transportation committee.

The bill also calls for a two-year moratorium on private tollways, with several North Texas exemptions. The committee unanimously passed a separate moratorium bill Wednesday that already had received House approval.

But perhaps the most attention-grabbing provision in Mr. Carona’s bill would allow the Texas Department of Transportation to transfer road-developing powers to the state’s 24 metropolitan planning organizations – regional bodies that set priorities for road projects in their region.

State transportation commissioners told lawmakers they would welcome delegating more power to local authorities if it speeds up road projects in a fast-growing state that is running tens of billions of dollars behind with its transportation funding needs.

“The state faces challenges that central government is not prepared to move fast enough to solve,” said Ric Williamson, chairman of the Texas Transportation Commission.

Critics have accused the Transportation Department of using bully tactics in its pursuit of private toll-road projects, particularly the Trans-Texas Corridor and State Highway 121 in Denton and Collin counties.

Mr. Williamson said commissioners have heard the growing outcry, and that he hopes elements of the comprehensive bill will help mollify those concerns.

“You’re changing the relationship between what’s perceived as a very strong, some would say overbearing, imperious TxDOT to one of more collegiality and cooperation,” he said.

Still, several senators were wary of granting road-implementing powers to planning organizations that lack the Transportation Department’s technical and engineering expertise.

“I’m not sure that what we’re looking for is to devolve the responsibility of TxDOT into mini-TxDOTs around the state,” said Sen. Florence Shapiro, R-Plano. “I don’t know what the ramifications of that might be.”

Mr. Carona’s bill, which will likely face a committee vote next week, attempts to rectify some of the most controversial provisions in recent private toll-road contracts. The bill establishes procedures for the state to buy back roads after entering into private toll deals and narrows clauses that place limits on competing roads.

But the bill also concedes that toll roads are a key component of the state’s future transportation strategy and gives local toll agencies such as the North Texas Tollway Authority more power to bid for toll-road contracts.

“This bill does not significantly alter the path that we’re on, which is toll proliferation,” said Terri Hall, director of Texans Uniting for Reform and Freedom, a grassroots San Antonio group that opposes toll roads.

Several North Texas leaders stressed that toll roads – public or private – are needed to relieve the region’s congestion.

“Little Elm and its citizens need help today – not two years from now,” said Little Elm Mayor Frank Kastner. “It shouldn’t take one hour to drive seven miles in our community.”

Last week, the House approved a two-year moratorium on private toll-road contracts but exempted North Texas from the ban. On Wednesday, transportation committee members unanimously voted to pass that bill along to the full Senate, but with different moratorium language.

The Senate committee’s version of the moratorium exempts a number of individual projects, including State Highways 121 and 161, a tolled-lane project on the LBJ Freeway, the planned Trinity Parkway in Dallas, and two projects in Tarrant County.

Mr. Carona collaborated on the comprehensive bill with Rep. Mike Krusee, R-Round Rock, who chairs the House transportation committee. Mr. Krusee said Wednesday that the bill could provide a chance to secure more road funding by raising the state’s gas tax, which has been stuck at 20 cents a gallon since 1991.

All tax bills originate in the House, where members are reluctant to raise the gas tax. But Mr. Krusee said Wednesday that measures to raise the gas tax according to an index that mirrors inflation may be more palatable if wrapped into the comprehensive bill.

“I think House members really would like to see more oversight of TxDOT, and if you gave that to them, they might stomach an index,” Mr. Krusee said. “And that’s my intention to try to do that.”

House Speaker Tom Craddick said that while he supports the notion of a gas-tax indexing bill, his office hasn’t polled members about the issue.

“Two years ago I came out in favor of gas indexing because I think we have a huge need for additional dollars for highways and construction,” Mr. Craddick said. “We’ve got to find some way to do it.”

Read the Express-News blog with Wentworth’s comments here. Then read below to make sense of it…
Hooray for the grassroots! In an amazing turn of events, Senator Jeff Wentworth heard your voices loud and clear and in about 12 hours time, changed his mind and introduced an amendment to INCLUDE 281 in the original moratorium bill SB 1267, which effectively would kill the 1604 deal as well. Since the two projects were linked by TxDOT, the package deal to hand over our public highways to a foreign company, Cintra, and Zachry, is no more should it become law.

We anticipate that the same will occur when HB 1892 comes to a floor vote next week. This isn’t over until it’s law, but the grassroots just completely changed the direction of this train.

In fairness, please contact Senator Wentworth and thank him for changing his mind. We always make room for a politician to redeem himself. Also thank Senators Uresti, Van De Putte, and Zaffirini once again for listening and putting the best interests of Texans ahead of obscene private profiteering. Ask all of them to re-introduce the same amendment when they vote on HB 1892 next week!
Call the Capitol switchboard: (512) 463-4630 and/or email.

jeff.wentworth@senate.state.tx.us
judith.zaffirini@senate.state.tx.us
leticia.vandeputte@senate.state.tx.us
carlos.uresti@senate.state.tx.us

Link to blog here.

In response to Sen. Jeff Wentworth’s commentary printed in various publications
Wentworth sold-out Texans
Austin American Statesman blog
April 20, 2007

There’s no nice way to put it. Senator Jeff Wentworth just sold-out Texans with the latest in toll conspiracy legislation HB 1892.

During the past decade, the Texas legislature has become adept at “end around” power-plays for their special interests. One such maneuver has been the recent legislation presented and approved for a 2-year “moratorium” on toll roads and the Trans-Texas Corridor (TTC). It is a placebo law that attempts to appease and quell the public’s anti-toll sentiment.

In Senator Wentworth’s article printed in several local newspapers, including the Waxahachie Daily Light, he presents his opinion that “democracy is alive and well in Texas and is healthy as a horse”. Is that one of hundreds of healthy horses that still are being sent to two of the horse slaughterhouses in northern Texas?

Confucius many years ago told us to “Beware of the man who blows hot and cold with one breath.” Apparently one such man is Senator Jeff Wentworth.

With one breath he praises the people of Texas for speaking out against toll roads and the Trans-Texas Corridor and yet then he supports a bill that provides the same power to local governments afforded CAMPO and Regional Mobility Authorities (RMA’s) that determines road policy and development, which then will ensure the creation of approximately 24 little RMA’s. Voters should ask why the legislature shifted that power to local government. The response by many legislators would be similar to what Wentworth tells the people, that it is the democratic way to delegate power to the people, while in reality, it permits an “end around” power-play for TxDOT and toll proponents to work their crusade on smaller populations so that the anti-toll groups won’t be as powerful.

In addition, HB 1892 includes a passage, Section 1 (c-3), that highlights the term “managed lanes”, which is a different terminology for “toll roads”. In this section the legislature excuses “managed lanes” from the legislation, which enables TxDOT or the new local entity to develop contracts for “managed lanes. “A rose is a rose is a rose…” and toll roads are toll roads!

Furthermore, even though the bill acknowledges the new powers of county commissions a “legislative study committee” must be formed to review the proposed plan. The 9 members will be selected as follows: 3 by the Governor, 3 by the Lt. Governor and 3 by the House Speaker. Obviously, much of the control remains with the state and NOT with the local government —- Section 1 d) 1,2,3, .

It is a shameful way to do legislative business, but unfortunately for hardworking Texans such maneuvering and diversion tactics have become the way here in Texas.

People need to wake-up and see clearly the strategy being used against their wishes. Yes, the 2-year toll road / TTC moratorium is a good thing, but not at the cost of the “end around” distribution of RMA power to local county commissioners, because it is just another way for toll proponents to get the job done even during the “moratorium”.

During the past several years Wentworth has become a huge disappointment to his constituency and he does NOT deserve to be reelected in 2 years — but that doesn’t help us now.

Voters need to contact Wentworth and Senator John Carona, Chair of the Committee on Transportation & Homeland Security to tell them that their “sleight of hand” on the toll road issue is NOT appreciated and that they need to vote against any bill that helps toll road special interests, such as this one.

Bottom-line is that the majority of Texans don’t want the Trans-Texas Corridor or other toll roads and the legislature should heed the will of the people.

GOOD NEWS!
…MORATORIUM PASSES OUT OF SENATE COMMITTEE
BAD NEWS!
…281/1604 TAKEN OUT OF MORATORIUM
…WENTWORTH SOLD US OUT IN FAVOR OF CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTOR & FORMER CLIENT, ZACHRY!

Today, in Senator John Carona’s Transportation Committee hearing, there was much debate swirling about the best way to proceed with our transportation future…either put forward the county powers bill (HB 1892) that the private toll moratorium is attached to or adopt Carona’s attempt at a compromise bill with the Governor’s cronies, House Transportation Chair Mike Krusee and Transportation Commission Chairman Ric Williamson (whom NOBODY trusts!).

It became clear early on that members were reticent to push the Carona/Krusee “compromise” omnibus bill, and pressure…from the GRASSROOTS…prevailed and the committee unanimously passed the moratorium HB 1892 out of committee this evening. More to come on the shocking events at the hearing today, including TxDOT testimony about our roads that made the senators’ jaws drop in amazement…even TxDOT still manages to shock our lawmakers with their illegal reach to convert an existing freeway into a tollway. The legal gymnastics TxDOT attempted will fall flat. (check back on this blog soon).

THE BAD NEWS
At the direction of OUR SAN ANTONIO SENATOR whose former law firm represents Zachry, Jeff Wentworth, Senator Tommy Williams replaced the HOUSE wording of the moratorium with the version that takes 281/1604 OUT of the private toll moratorium. Williams was willing to change it to include our roads, but deferred to Senator Wentworth whose district was affected by the amendment. Zachry is also a MAJOR campaign contributor to Wentworth, and bidder for the 281/1604 private toll contract, the lucrative 121 deal in Dallas area, and the detested Trans Texas Corridor. Read about just one of many money trails here.

Another San Antonio Senator, Carlos Uresti, tried to prevent this from happening and called Senator Williams to ask that 281/1604 are PART OF the moratorium, but to no avail. In fact, Wentworth was NOT present when almost a dozen of YOUR FELLOW CITIZENS (most leaving home before 6 AM and having to stay ALL DAY waiting for them to call our bills) got up to testify on YOUR behalf asking that our roads be INCLUDED in the moratorium. Wentworth missed 90% of the hearing, AGAIN, and when he finally showed up, he offered two pro-TxDOT/pro-tolling authority amendments and REFUSED his LAST CHANCE to amend the moratorium to reflect the WILL of HIS CONSTITUENTS!

WHAT NEXT???
ACTION ALERT!
CONTACT THESE SENATORS IMMEDIATELY!

Call the Capitol switchboard: (512) 463-4630 and/or email. Calling is best considering the tight timeline.

Contact Senator Jeff Wentworth:

(512) 463-0125
jeff.wentworth@senate.state.tx.us

Tell him that you’ll work just as hard as you did for this moratorium to defeat him when he’s up for re-election. Time for him to become the next Carter Casteel who learned the hard way NOT to cross her constituents when it comes to DOUBLE taxing us for what we’ve already paid for and for selling us out to benefit a foreign company!

Contact Senator Carlos Uresti:

(512) 463-0119
carlos.uresti@senate.state.tx.us

Thank him for trying to prevent this language and ask that he now offer an amendment on the floor of the Senate next week to INCLUDE our roads in the moratorium!
Contact our other San Antonio area senators and ask that they now offer an amendment on the floor of the Senate next week to INCLUDE our roads in the moratorium!

Senator Leticia Van de Putte:

(512) 463-0126
leticia.vandeputte@senate.state.tx.us

Senator Judith Zaffirini:

(512) 463-0121
judith.zaffirini@senate.state.tx.us

THEN THIS PRIVATE TOLL MORATORIUM CAN FINALLY GET TO THE GOVERNOR’S DESK (in time to override his promised veto)!

We’re almost there, don’t give up now.

URGENT ACTION ALERT:
CALL SENATORS TO GET OUR ROADS IN MORATORIUM!

All of our senators signed onto the moratorium, but now is the test to see if they meant it. We want the wording of the House Bill (HB 1892) to become law, NOT the currently amended senate version that inadvertently TAKES OUT 281/1604 from the moratorium since the ONE San Antonio senator who sits on the Transportation Committee, Jeff Wentworth, was not present to make sure our 281/1604 CDA was part of the amended moratorium. We’ve been diligently contacting every senator’s office making sure they’re aware of the flawed senate wording and what the PEOPLE expect.

Please call our San Antonio senators and respectfully say:

“Make sure Bexar County is INCLUDED in any private toll road (or CDA) moratorium!”

There are several bills that they could attach the moratorium bill to, so bill number is irrelevant.

Call the Capitol switchboard: (512) 463-4630 and/or email. Calling is best due to the tight timeline, email may not get read in time…

jeff.wentworth@senate.state.tx.us
judith.zaffirini@senate.state.tx.us
leticia.vandeputte@senate.state.tx.us
carlos.uresti@senate.state.tx.us

There are two forms of the moratorium out there, one that includes our roads in the CDA moratorium and one that doesn’t. OUR SENATORS CANNOT ALLOW OUR ROADS TO BE EXEMPTED FROM THE MORATORIUM. Let them know you expect them to be looking out for us. EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM SIGNED-ON and Reps Macias and Leibowitz made sure the House bill got changed to put our CDA project back under the moratorium! That’s the version WE MUST PASS in the Senate!

Link to article here. It’s interesting to note that on one hand the RMA says the ONLY source of funding is tolling and on the other, they insist nothing is a done deal. Sounds like tolling is in their minds! Do they hear their own contradictions? They’re a tolling authority after all! Someone at the RMA needs to read the A&M study that shows there are many options other than tolling to fund our road needs. We also have additional proposed solutions for the Bandera corridor on our web site. And folks, if it weren’t for the massive outcry at the July public meeting last summer, there would BE NO COMMUNITY GROUP nor ANY input from the public at large. So way to go!

Bandera traffic solutions analyzed
Amanda Reimherr
Express-News Staff Writer
04/09/2007

LEON VALLEY — Only 6.5 percent of all the traffic on Bandera Road is traveling the full distance of the thoroughfare between Loop 410 and Loop 1604 and likely would be the only traffic to use a proposed limited-access toll road, according to a study by a local group.Leon Valley officials and residents learned that during their first public briefing from the Alamo Regional Mobility Authority’s Bandera Road Community Working Group, which is charged with reviewing traffic solutions — including possible tolls — along the road.

Al Uvietta, a Leon Valley resident and member of the group, presented the information at the April 3 City Council meeting.

“We requested the information from the RMA on the number of cars that actually traverse the full distance on Bandera Road between 410 and 1604 because that is who would use a limited-access toll road,” Uvietta said.

“The answer was 6.5 percent,” he said. “That means that people are getting on and off in between the two loops, and that is the brunt of the traffic problem. That is what needs to be fixed.”

According to the RMA’s Web site, a daily average of 31,000 to 61,000 vehicles uses Bandera Road.

Appointed by state and local government officials, the 14-member community group consists of individuals who live or work along the Bandera Road corridor. They serve as a community advisory panel that provides feedback to the RMA, an independent government agency “that works in conjunction with the Texas Department of Transportation, the San Antonio-Bexar County Metropolitan Planning Organization and other agencies to provide a tolled-lane network” to help solve traffic problems in the region.

Leroy Alloway, the RMA’s public information manager, said the group’s input will be part of the agency’s study of Bandera Road. The group is reviewing 21 options for dealing with traffic congestion along the 6.5-mile stretch between 410 and 1604.

However, no monies or funding options, except tolling, are available to pay for any road improvements, Alloway said.

He emphasized that no decisions have been made and tolls are not a “done deal.”

The Community Working Group was created to provide citizen input after a public outcry from the cities of Grey Forest, Leon Valley and Helotes, as well as residents from surrounding communities.

Each of those cities has passed a resolution panning the use of elevated lanes or toll roads along Bandera, and some of the board’s members have publicly stated their opposition to such plans.

The RMA will release an official statement about the progress and input from the group within the month, officials said. It will be the first of several such releases. The group has met monthly since January and is set to meet for a total of 15 months.

Members must report back to their respective communities about the group’s progress, as Uvietta did at the Leon Valley council meeting.

“Helping to improve connections like Grissom and Culebra could alleviate some of Bandera’s problems today,” Uvietta said at the meeting. “The configuration of the feeder and side streets is the real issue, and the solution is not to build a bridge. Many of them dead-end on Bandera instead of crossing over, so traffic is forced to go one way or another on Bandera Road.

“We understand that the RMA’s study is just of Bandera Road, but we are trying to look outside that for solutions.”

Uvietta told the council that he believes any limited-access roadway would be a problem.

“We are looking at all the options, but there are funding constraints because tolling is the only funding option,” he said. “We have to look at solutions for our community and there may not be funding now, but let’s plan ahead.”

Fellow board member Marcy Meffert also offered her input.

“I just really think the city of San Antonio should think about extending their roads, like Grissom, across Bandera Road,” she said.

“We are not responsible for all of Bexar County, and San Antonio really needs to look at their roads in this problem because the simplest solution should be considered first. We also have to consider the destruction of our city.”

Councilman Jack Dean said he appreciated the update.

“I want to thank the whole RMA committee,” he said. “This is really the first in-depth information we have had on this situation.”

Link to article here.

Drivers unhappy with U.S. 281 traffic lights
By Nydia Lopez
KENS 5 Eyewitness News
04/13/2007
Some drivers say the traffic lights installed on U.S. 281 north are creating more problems than they are meant to solve.

The Texas Department of Transportation says the three lights were installed in November for safety reasons, after numerous wrecks and complaints.

“There’s been a lot of accidents in that area, and people have shown concern something needs to be done out there,” said Laura Lopez of TxDOT.

John Borbon said the lights an unnecessary roadblock.

“Those lights are quite irritating,” he said.

Borbon’s commute takes him from Marshall Road and U.S. 281 to downtown. It used to be a breeze.

“I’ve seen traffic jam has actually extended by miles in both directions. And it’s actually added 15, 20, 25 minutes more to our commute,” Borbon said.

Borbon said he understands the necessity for the lights, he just wants TxDOT to do something about the congestion.TxDOT does plan to expand U.S. 281 from 8 and up to 12 lanes, sometime next year.

Link to article here,

Another victory for the grassroots! The Bandera Rd project is getting national attention due to the award-winning Truth Be Tolled documentary film by San Antonio filmmaker William Molina who lives in the Bandera Rd area. Though this is a painful delay, this recognizes the CITIZEN DISDAIN for an elevated toll project over Bandera Rd. Your voices ARE BEING HEARD!

Bandera Road project stalled
By Patrick Driscoll
Express-News
04/12/2007

Adding elevated toll lanes to Bandera Road could significantly hurt businesses and residents, and besides, most people just don’t like the idea, Federal Highway Administration officials have decided.As a result, a full-blown environmental study must be done, the agency told the Texas Department of Transportation in a recent letter.

“The potential for significant controversy appears likely,” states the letter, dated March 29 and signed by District Engineer Salvador Deocampo.

The more detailed study could last another three to four years, finishing in 2011 instead of 2008, said officials with the Alamo Regional Mobility Authority, which picked up the Bandera Road project from TxDOT.

“Until the (study) is complete, no long-term improvements can be started on Bandera Road, regardless of funding, and we can expect traffic to continue to increase in this corridor,” authority Director Terry Brechtel said in a statement.

Leon Valley Mayor Chris Riley said she’s cautiously optimistic about the news.

“What are they going to study?” she said. “If it’s the toll-road option, then ehhh.”

Leon Valley, Helotes and Grey Forest have passed resolutions opposing the elevated toll lanes on Bandera Road.

Last July, many of the approximately 450 people who crowded into Marshall High School’s auditorium cheered more than two dozen speakers who opposed the proposal. Just one spoke in favor.

“There is ample evidence that the public is generally resistant to the use of tolling on projects of this type,” said Deocampo of the highway administration.

He cited possible loss of businesses, homes, parking and access; louder noises; worse views; and negative effects on O.P. Schnabel Park, the Onion House and a school.

“Our finding is that an environmental impact statement should be prepared,” he said.

The Bandera Road plan calls for building four toll lanes above 61/2 miles of the roadway from Loop 410 to Loop 1604. An early study projected a toll fee of 13 cents a mile, increasing with inflation, which would pay for less than half the costs.

The road handles 31,000 to 61,000 vehicles a day, which is expected to jump 50 percent by 2030, according to the mobility authority. Just 61/2 percent of drivers travel the full length between Loops 410 and 1604.

Toll critics have called for other options, including better synchronization of traffic lights, replacing signaled intersections with roundabouts, converting the road to a limited-access parkway, reversing traffic in one or more lanes during rush hour and implementing a rapid bus system with some of the comfort and convenience of light rail.

The mobility authority is studying 21 alternatives, but can raise funding only through tolls or by getting money from other entities such as TxDOT.

Meanwhile, lawmakers in Austin, feeling heat over state tolling policies, are considering bills to index the gas tax to annual inflation.

IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Terri Hall,
Founder/Executive Director
Texans Uniting for Reform & Freedom (TURF)
PHONE: (210) 275-0640
EMAIL:terri@texasturf.org
WEB: http://www.TexasTURF.org

San Antonio, TX, Thursday, April 12, 2007 – Concerned citizens across the state have formed a new coalition called Texans Uniting for Reform and Freedom (TURF), a non-profit organization whose mission is to educate the public on our government’s new shift to privatizing and tolling public highways. Their concerns range from using controversial financing methods called public-private partnerships (called Comprehensive Development Agreements or CDAs in Texas) and the tolling of existing corridors, to eminent domain abuse (confiscating private land to give to a private company for commercial gain) and security and economic concerns with foreign management of our public infrastructure.TURF is a grassroots group of Texans who are asking for reforms that require accountability and good public policy as well as promoting non-toll, sensible transportation solutions.

Terri Hall, who is also Founder and Director of the San Antonio Toll Party, Hank Gilbert, rancher and former candidate for Texas Agriculture Commissioner, and Gina Parker Ford, attorney and the Eagle Forum National Chairman for Judicial Reform serve on the Board of Directors. A long-time supporter of good government and this cause in particular, Dave Ramos of San Antonio, also serves on the TURF Board.

TURF has already been instrumental in working to gain a veto-proof majority in the Legislature for a two-year moratorium placed on private toll contracts.

“We’ve been a loosely knit group of concerned citizens for several years, and it’s time we advance to the next level forming a united, organized movement across the state,” says Hall. “The citizens of Texas want their voices heard and expect their government to act, NOW.”

“People of Texas value their land and it’s heritage more than politics. The TTC is an invasion of Texans’ private property rights for corporate and political gain; to provide better transportation avenues for international goods through Texas. Why should we sacrifice our lands to facilitate them?” asks Gilbert.

“Texas farmers gave up their land to create TxDOT and the Farm-to-market road system, and again to the federal government to create the Interstate highway system. Both were very important for transportation and U.S. commerce. The TTC is part of a national system designed to facilitate commerce for international companies so they can move their goods across the U.S. through Texas, thanks to NAFTA. We’ve done our part twice out of patriotism; we will not do it again to promote others’ greed,” Gilbert warns.

“Terri Hall, courageous and dynamic leader, is leading the battle for the voice of the people against foreign owned toll roads. Terri is a ‘David fighting the Goliath’ of corruption in big business and big government as she calls for transparency and accountability in government and exposes the back room deals that do not benefit Texans,” notes Parker Ford.