They've been tolled too many times..
Dallas Morning News
Copyright 2005
The toll rate per mile for every Oklahoma toll road listed in the article is between 2.5 cents and 7.5 cents per mile (seven of 10 are under 4.5 cents per mile), which is significantly below the proposed 15 cents per mile rate the Texas Department of Transportation is recommending. Considering the nationwide average rate for urban toll roads is 9 cents per mile, the 15 cents per mile rate is an unjustifiable overreach.
TxDOT is pushing to collect an astronomical $4.3 billion over 40 years in State Highway 121 toll revenue (just for the 11.2 mile stretch between U.S. Highway 75 and the Dallas North Tollway) for a road official's estimate at costing $345 million to construct. TxDOT even wants to toll the portion between the Dallas North Tollway and Hillcrest, which is already paid for by state gas tax dollars.
Should Collin County leaders decide to toll Highway 121, several things should happen:
1) Collin County should create the legal entity required to collect and distribute all toll revenue. Collin County toll revenues should pay off State Highway 121 and only be used on other projects within our county, not throughout the state.
2) Reduce the rate per mile charged motorists. The proposed 15 cents-per-mile rate unjustly collects too much revenue over the cost of the project.
3) Request the North Texas Tollway Authority share the cost for the interchange at State Highway 121. The northern portion of the Dallas North Tollway is already charging about 12 cents per mile, significantly above the national urban average.
4) Push back on TxDOT to design simpler, more cost-effective interchanges than the two $105 million-plus interchanges proposed for State Highway 121.
Costly toll roads are quickly boxing in Collin County cities, and that is not the vision we should implement for our county. If State Highway 121 tolling passes, do we brace ourselves for Highway 380 tolls next?
Kevin Jerich, Frisco
To all those who believe the political propaganda about the toll roads, I direct your attention to Page One of The Dallas Morning News on July 19, 2001, with the article "Already time for change on turnpike," about how the tolls on the George Bush Turnpike increased by 50 percent in less than three years!
Once the tolls are in place the tolling authorities can raise them at will. A dollar per mile – not impossible!
Lon Schoenky, McKinney
In a July 17 editorial, "If We Are Going to Toll 121 ..." The editorial board said it could support making Highway 121 a toll road if:
• All the money is used on the highway itself and on connecting roads.
• The tolls are lowered when the construction is paid for to a level that covers maintenance.
• Planners are innovative, offering variable pricing for different drivers and different times of day.
The Texas Department of Transportation set an Aug. 15 deadline for county and city officials to decide whether to convert Highway 121 into a toll road. Frisco has delayed a decision until Aug. 16.
Dallas Morning News:
posted by Porkus Maximus Tex: at Tuesday, August 09, 2005
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