North Texans: Are they really Okie Wannabes?
Tulsa tolls could set example for N. Texas
With growing toll road network, area could follow a similar path
By LEE POWELL
The Dallas Morning News
Copyright 2005
TULSA, Okla. – Getting around Green Country takes its toll.
This region's nickname plays off its lush vegetation (for Oklahoma), but it could just as well be talking about toll road cash.
Go any distance here, and it costs. Freeways morph into turnpikes, toll booths fill out the roadside landscape. Seven pay-as-you-go thoroughfares snake through the region, making it tough to leave Tulsa without tossing quarters.
Courtesy Oklahoma Turnpike Authority
Oklahoma's first turnpike, the Turner, opened in 1953. Click to hear more.
North Texas could soon take a similar route. Collin County entities are deciding whether to bless plans rebuilding State Highway 121 as a toll road. Elected officials in Plano vote on the matter tonight; the city of Allen and county commissioners consider it Tuesday.
In addition, two other toll roads are proposed: the Southwest Parkway is slated for Fort Worth, and downtown Dallas will get the Trinity Parkway. There are already two toll roads in the area north of Dallas.
Charging tolls means roads like State Highway 121 get a makeover more quickly, transportation officials say.
But many motorists grumble. If Highway 121 turns to tolls, Plano could be surrounded on three sides by such routes.
Tulsa has lived with turnpikes for decades: the route to Oklahoma City opened in 1953.
Voters soon endorsed more. The state now has more than 600 miles of toll roads, second-highest in the nation after New York. They're as much a part of the Sooner State as wicked springtime weather or a Garth Brooks tune.
Folks just passing through do not seem to mind the fees. They rack it up as just another travel expense, like regular unleaded or a gulp of soda.
"Easy on, easy off. You pay for what you get," said Craig Cantrill from Phoenix, visiting the Oklahoma Aquarium in Jenks with family. "They should do the same thing with sports stadiums. Have a toll."
JOHN CLANTON
TULSA WORLD
Among locals, turnpikes are cursed for their limited on and off ramps, for promises broken long ago about tolls disappearing after concrete was paid for. Still, the pricey paths have found acceptance – more than 124 million transactions last year.
"I'm a firm believer in them," said Jerry Naifeh, CEO of a Sapulpa distributing company whose trucks rack up the miles. "I feel like we would not have decent roads if not for tolls."
For all the costly miles around Tulsa, community backers say turnpikes have not deadened economic development prospects. The once-proclaimed Oil Capital of the World has diversified; American Airlines is the largest employer, with a big maintenance base.
Inner-city throughways are still free, except for one urban turnpike. South of the city, the Creek Turnpike runs along a growth arc, from Sapulpa through Jenks to Broken Arrow.
Rooftops rise, and big box retail marks some intersections. Jenks, more than 10,000 people and growing, is fashioning itself into a tourist draw. Sharks swim at the Oklahoma Aquarium; a clutch of restaurants and shops line the Arkansas River nearby. All sit within the shadow of the Creek Turnpike, providing an easy off-ramp.
"The turnpike didn't hurt," Jenks Mayor Vic Vreeland said.
The aquarium opened in 2003 and is averaging 500,000 visitors a year. It located here knowing the Creek Turnpike would become a major thoroughfare around Tulsa, said Susan Bramsch of the aquarium.
"People don't really mind paying," she said. "Very rarely do I hear people complain."
A little ways down the Creek Turnpike, development thins out. At times, traveling down the road at speed is lonely, with not a vehicle in sight. The route is a bypass for travelers going from Oklahoma City toward Missouri; most truck traffic has stayed on the free interstates through Tulsa.
STEPHEN HOLMAN / TULSA WORLD
The Oklahoma Aquarium is among new construction near Jenks, along the Creek Turnpike. Click to hear more.
The Oklahoma Transportation Authority oversees the turnpike system. It is a creation of the Legislature, overseen by a six-member board.
Toll collections cover maintenance, operations and construction debt; revenue is rising, with last year's haul at $186 million. There is a state fuel tax, which will increase if voters give their OK this fall. But it goes toward state highways and bridges; turnpikes get none of it. The system is self-supporting.
"The reality being a majority of these roads, if not all these roads, would not be in place without the toll system we have in Oklahoma," said Tim Stewart, the transportation authority's deputy director. "We believe the state would not have adequate funds to construct those."
Plans call for widening portions of the Creek and Turner turnpikes near Tulsa. Come 2028, Oklahoma could go without toll roads after they're paid off, according to its legislation.
Tulsa lawyer Gary Richardson made banishing turnpikes part of his platform for governor in 2002. He even put up billboards – on the Turner Turnpike – promising toll freedom. The independent candidate lost, but he struck a political nerve.
"Like I said during the campaign, it's a cancer on the state; it's a scam," Mr. Richardson said. "A lot of people are making a lot of money, but it's not the people in the state of Oklahoma."
Turnpikes have hit rural Oklahoma hard, reducing land values that then reduce the tax base, Mr. Richardson says.
For some road warriors, Tulsa travels are all about plotting routes avoiding the pikes. It might take longer, burn more gas, but beating the system brings satisfaction.
"Tell me a place to get to with a toll road, I'll tell you a way around it," said trucker Jon Lancaster of Tulsa, before offering detailed directions to Joplin, Mo. ("It takes 12 minutes more.")
When toll rates rose, some trucking outfits vowed to drive around Oklahoma. Big rigs ring up toll charges: travel is constant, and axle count (determining the toll) is high. All of this significantly adds to the cost of doing business, the Oklahoma Trucking Association says.
"What we want to see is fair tolls," executive director Dan Case said. "We really think the tolls are too high here."
Ernest Salcido of Claremore, Okla., delivers bread. As an independent operator, he pays tolls out of his pocket. He can almost do all his traveling without paying. He considers the turnpikes one of Oklahoma's shames, wondering why the landscaping is not better for all the dollars collected.
"Every time you get on them, ca-ching!" Mr. Salcido said while gassing up his delivery truck just off Interstate 44 on Tulsa's east side.
E-mail lkpowell@dallasnews.com
TOLL OR NO?
It is decision time for State Highway 121 toll road plans. These Collin County entities must decide whether they endorse converting the road into a paying one, probably limiting toll collections to merely covering costs. Transportation authorities would like a decision by Aug. 15. Here is a breakdown of when elected officials are to vote:
Allen: Tuesday
Collin County commissioners: Tuesday
Frisco: Aug. 16
McKinney: Endorsed tolls on Aug. 1
Plano: Tonight
Dallas Morning News: www.dallasnews.com
With growing toll road network, area could follow a similar path
By LEE POWELL
The Dallas Morning News
Copyright 2005
TULSA, Okla. – Getting around Green Country takes its toll.
This region's nickname plays off its lush vegetation (for Oklahoma), but it could just as well be talking about toll road cash.
Go any distance here, and it costs. Freeways morph into turnpikes, toll booths fill out the roadside landscape. Seven pay-as-you-go thoroughfares snake through the region, making it tough to leave Tulsa without tossing quarters.
Courtesy Oklahoma Turnpike Authority
Oklahoma's first turnpike, the Turner, opened in 1953. Click to hear more.
North Texas could soon take a similar route. Collin County entities are deciding whether to bless plans rebuilding State Highway 121 as a toll road. Elected officials in Plano vote on the matter tonight; the city of Allen and county commissioners consider it Tuesday.
In addition, two other toll roads are proposed: the Southwest Parkway is slated for Fort Worth, and downtown Dallas will get the Trinity Parkway. There are already two toll roads in the area north of Dallas.
Charging tolls means roads like State Highway 121 get a makeover more quickly, transportation officials say.
But many motorists grumble. If Highway 121 turns to tolls, Plano could be surrounded on three sides by such routes.
Tulsa has lived with turnpikes for decades: the route to Oklahoma City opened in 1953.
Voters soon endorsed more. The state now has more than 600 miles of toll roads, second-highest in the nation after New York. They're as much a part of the Sooner State as wicked springtime weather or a Garth Brooks tune.
Folks just passing through do not seem to mind the fees. They rack it up as just another travel expense, like regular unleaded or a gulp of soda.
"Easy on, easy off. You pay for what you get," said Craig Cantrill from Phoenix, visiting the Oklahoma Aquarium in Jenks with family. "They should do the same thing with sports stadiums. Have a toll."
JOHN CLANTON
TULSA WORLD
Among locals, turnpikes are cursed for their limited on and off ramps, for promises broken long ago about tolls disappearing after concrete was paid for. Still, the pricey paths have found acceptance – more than 124 million transactions last year.
"I'm a firm believer in them," said Jerry Naifeh, CEO of a Sapulpa distributing company whose trucks rack up the miles. "I feel like we would not have decent roads if not for tolls."
For all the costly miles around Tulsa, community backers say turnpikes have not deadened economic development prospects. The once-proclaimed Oil Capital of the World has diversified; American Airlines is the largest employer, with a big maintenance base.
Inner-city throughways are still free, except for one urban turnpike. South of the city, the Creek Turnpike runs along a growth arc, from Sapulpa through Jenks to Broken Arrow.
Rooftops rise, and big box retail marks some intersections. Jenks, more than 10,000 people and growing, is fashioning itself into a tourist draw. Sharks swim at the Oklahoma Aquarium; a clutch of restaurants and shops line the Arkansas River nearby. All sit within the shadow of the Creek Turnpike, providing an easy off-ramp.
"The turnpike didn't hurt," Jenks Mayor Vic Vreeland said.
The aquarium opened in 2003 and is averaging 500,000 visitors a year. It located here knowing the Creek Turnpike would become a major thoroughfare around Tulsa, said Susan Bramsch of the aquarium.
"People don't really mind paying," she said. "Very rarely do I hear people complain."
A little ways down the Creek Turnpike, development thins out. At times, traveling down the road at speed is lonely, with not a vehicle in sight. The route is a bypass for travelers going from Oklahoma City toward Missouri; most truck traffic has stayed on the free interstates through Tulsa.
STEPHEN HOLMAN / TULSA WORLD
The Oklahoma Aquarium is among new construction near Jenks, along the Creek Turnpike. Click to hear more.
The Oklahoma Transportation Authority oversees the turnpike system. It is a creation of the Legislature, overseen by a six-member board.
Toll collections cover maintenance, operations and construction debt; revenue is rising, with last year's haul at $186 million. There is a state fuel tax, which will increase if voters give their OK this fall. But it goes toward state highways and bridges; turnpikes get none of it. The system is self-supporting.
"The reality being a majority of these roads, if not all these roads, would not be in place without the toll system we have in Oklahoma," said Tim Stewart, the transportation authority's deputy director. "We believe the state would not have adequate funds to construct those."
Plans call for widening portions of the Creek and Turner turnpikes near Tulsa. Come 2028, Oklahoma could go without toll roads after they're paid off, according to its legislation.
Tulsa lawyer Gary Richardson made banishing turnpikes part of his platform for governor in 2002. He even put up billboards – on the Turner Turnpike – promising toll freedom. The independent candidate lost, but he struck a political nerve.
"Like I said during the campaign, it's a cancer on the state; it's a scam," Mr. Richardson said. "A lot of people are making a lot of money, but it's not the people in the state of Oklahoma."
Turnpikes have hit rural Oklahoma hard, reducing land values that then reduce the tax base, Mr. Richardson says.
For some road warriors, Tulsa travels are all about plotting routes avoiding the pikes. It might take longer, burn more gas, but beating the system brings satisfaction.
"Tell me a place to get to with a toll road, I'll tell you a way around it," said trucker Jon Lancaster of Tulsa, before offering detailed directions to Joplin, Mo. ("It takes 12 minutes more.")
When toll rates rose, some trucking outfits vowed to drive around Oklahoma. Big rigs ring up toll charges: travel is constant, and axle count (determining the toll) is high. All of this significantly adds to the cost of doing business, the Oklahoma Trucking Association says.
"What we want to see is fair tolls," executive director Dan Case said. "We really think the tolls are too high here."
Ernest Salcido of Claremore, Okla., delivers bread. As an independent operator, he pays tolls out of his pocket. He can almost do all his traveling without paying. He considers the turnpikes one of Oklahoma's shames, wondering why the landscaping is not better for all the dollars collected.
"Every time you get on them, ca-ching!" Mr. Salcido said while gassing up his delivery truck just off Interstate 44 on Tulsa's east side.
E-mail lkpowell@dallasnews.com
TOLL OR NO?
It is decision time for State Highway 121 toll road plans. These Collin County entities must decide whether they endorse converting the road into a paying one, probably limiting toll collections to merely covering costs. Transportation authorities would like a decision by Aug. 15. Here is a breakdown of when elected officials are to vote:
Allen: Tuesday
Collin County commissioners: Tuesday
Frisco: Aug. 16
McKinney: Endorsed tolls on Aug. 1
Plano: Tonight
Dallas Morning News:
posted by Porkus Maximus Tex: at Monday, August 08, 2005
<< Home