TURF, grassroots to say 'No' to tolls on Hwy 281Insist on complete non-toll expressway option
|
(San Antonio, TX) - The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) and the
Alamo Regional Mobility Authority (RMA) are soliciting public comment on its Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the US 281 expansion project at a public hearing Thursday, June 20, at the San Antonio Shrine Auditorium. The Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) currently has two HOV/transit toll lanes planned from Loop 1604 to Marshall Road and tolls on all six main lanes (including the 4 currently toll-free lanes) north of Marshall Road to the county line.
Texans Uniting for Reform and Freedom (TURF) is urging supporters to say 'No' to tolls on US 281 and demand the complete non-toll expressway option be advanced as the 'preferred alternative' for the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) that advances to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) for final approval in 2015. TURF has been proliferating fliers and robo calls throughout the Stone Oak area with information on the toll project and has updated its web site dedicated to the 281 toll project to give Texans additional information here: www.281overpassesnow.com.
WHAT: Public Hearing 281 Toll Project
WHEN: Thursday, June 20
WHERE: San Antonio Shrine Auditorium, (formerly Alzafar Shrine Auditorium), 901 North Loop 1604, San Antonio, TX 78232
SCHEDULE: 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM Open House, 7:00 - 9:00 PM TxDOT Presentation & Public Comment
What tolls mean to your wallet:
* Tolls could be 50 cents a mile!The published toll rate range is 17 cents a mile up to 50 cents a mile.* Tolls will be charged in perpetuityThe Alamo Regional Mobility Authority (RMA), or toll authority, has stated on the record since 2009 that it plans to charge tolls on 281 in perpetuity. So this will be a PERMANENT NEW TAX on driving. * Toll contracts limit expansion of free routesThe toll contracts also contain non-compete clauses that penalize or prohibit the expansion of free routes surrounding the tollway to guarantee congestion on free roads and force more Texans to pay tolls. * Tolls displace traffic onto neighborhood streetsPeople try to avoid paying tolls, so they find alternate routes to bypass the toll lanes. Studies show tolls displace traffic onto surrounding neighborhood streets and increase accidents and congestion on local streets.* Tolls existing lanes - DOUBLE TAXATIONAccording to MPO documents, all existing FREEway lanes north of Marshall Rd. will be converted to toll lanes with NO toll-free express lane option!* The numbers don't add up!A 10-mile stretch of Loop 1604 West is being expanded from 2 to 4 main lanes with 5 overpasses all non-toll right now for $200 million (or $20 million a mile). Yet on 281, they claim it cannot be expanded without tolls and that the cost for just a 7-mile project is $448 million (or over $60 million a mile). There's $168 million in non-toll funds allocated right now to 281. We can fix 281 with available funds and do it non-toll. Insist they do!* Don't fall for the 'HOV rides free' argumentIn order to get that free ride, you have to be a 'registered' carpool vehicle with an active TollTag account (which costs you money to keep open) and it usually requires at least 3 (not 2) people to be in your car. So just hopping into the HOV/toll lane to take relatives to the airport or to go to lunch with colleagues won't count as a qualified HOV 'free ride.' Moms in minivans shuttling kids to soccer practice also won't qualify either unless you register in advance and meet the qualifications as a 'registered, declared' carpool vehicle with the government.Plus, the HOV/transit toll lanes on 281 convert an existing FREE lane each direction into this toll lane, so it's a DOUBLE TAX to charge tolls to access a lane we use today toll-free!
|
 TURF is a non-partisan, grassroots, all-volunteer group defending citizens' concerns with toll road policy, public private partnerships, and eminent domain abuse. TURF promotes pro-taxpayer, pro-freedom, & non-toll transportation solutions. For more information or to support the work of TURF, please visit www.TexasTURF.org.
# # #
|
