"The unity of Collin County leaders is starting to crack"
Hoagland: Don't let NTTA build toll road
1/20/06
By Amy Morenz
Frisco Enterprise
Copyrith 2006
The unity of Collin County leaders is starting to crack concerning the North Texas Tollway Authority's prospective role for State Highway 121.
Precinct 2 Commissioner Jerry Hoagland wants colleagues to consider endorsing the NTTA to manage - but not build - toll lanes on SH 121.
Hoagland wants to deny NTTA the construction contract because of the agency's recent decision to provide a 55-percent subsidy for the planned Southwest Parkway in Tarrant County. The commissioner wants one of the private companies vying to build the project build the toll lanes.
County Judge Ron Harris and Precinct 4 Commissioner Jack Hatchell, though, said Collin County still wants the NTTA to handle every aspect. Representatives of Collin County and its four largest cities have been negotiating for months for the NTTA, instead of a private company, to build and manage the toll lanes.
"I'm disappointed because I thought we had been moving forward as a committee after it was presented to the commissioner's court," said Hatchell.
Hoagland believes Collin County should reconsider its stance because of the NTTA's recent decision to provide a 55-percent subsidy to build the Southwest Parkway, instead of the 31-percent subsidy preferred by Collin County.
"By choosing to align ourselves with the NTTA regional financing approach, we have a mess on our hands," Hoagland wrote in a recent column for Star Community Newspapers.
Hoagland's comments come as the decision-process winds its way through steps needed to decide who builds and manages SH 121's toll roads and interchanges. The Regional Transportation Council is expected to decide how to distribute state funds on Feb 9. The Texas Department of Transportation, which controls the project's right-of-way, is also considering four private companies hoping to build and manage the project.
Under the plan approved by the NTTA board on a 4-3 vote in December, tolls on the Dallas North Tollway and the President George Bush Turnpike would increase to 11 cents per mile in 2007 and grow to 12 cents per mile by 2010, a 1.5-percent annual rate change. The eastern extension of the Bush from SH 78 in Garland to Interstate 30 in Rowlett would open with a 12-cents-per-mile toll, and Southwest Parkway - basically an extension of SH 121 from downtown Fort Worth to Cleburne - would open with a 16-cents-per-mile rate, with 1.5 percent annual increases.
Some 75 percent of NTTA's drivers come from Dallas and Collin counties, and 23 percent come from Denton, Tarrant and Johnson counties, NTTA statistics show. Collin and Dallas county representatives, including Collin County NTTA board member Paul Wageman voted against the 55-percent subsidy. Some have called the higher subsidy a "Robin Hood" move.
But Wageman said he doesn't see why that vote should have anything to do with the SH 121 endeavor.
"I really don't see how that subsidy for Southwest Parkway impacts our ability to do the project in Collin County because it's such a strong project," he said.
It's critical for the NTTA to obtain the right to build and manage SH 121 toll lanes, said Wageman. The prospective toll lines intersect with the Dallas North Parkway in the heart of the NTTA's service area.
"We're the culture of the people and the local authority," he said.
Hoagland said that despite promises made by Harris and Hatchell, SH 121 toll revenues wouldn't necessarily stay in Collin County and could end up subsidizing projects such as the Southwest Parkway.
"There's not a lot of drivers that want to continue to pour money into the NTTA so they can pay for a toll road that should not be built and won't stand on its own hind legs," Hoagland said.
The Texas Department of Transportation could set a maximum amount or profit a private company could generate, Hoagland said.
Neither Harris nor Hatchell want a private company to build SH 121 toll roads. Additional revenues from SH 121 would pay for Dallas North Tollway's expansion and repair projects in the county, Harris said.
"We don't want another company to finance it because they have to make a profit," said Harris. "Why not plow that money into the NTTA and keep the tolls down in Collin County."
Under Collin County's proposal, SH 121 tolls would be set at 12 cents a mile in 2010, while Southwest Parkway's would be 16 cents a mile to pay for additional amenities, Hatchell said.
"Any action at this time would be premature because we are about to embark on a strategic planning process that will, in part, better position us to meet the challenges," said NTTA chair Dave Blair in a written statement.
©Star Community Newspapers 2006 www.zwire.com
1/20/06
By Amy Morenz
Frisco Enterprise
Copyrith 2006
The unity of Collin County leaders is starting to crack concerning the North Texas Tollway Authority's prospective role for State Highway 121.
Precinct 2 Commissioner Jerry Hoagland wants colleagues to consider endorsing the NTTA to manage - but not build - toll lanes on SH 121.
Hoagland wants to deny NTTA the construction contract because of the agency's recent decision to provide a 55-percent subsidy for the planned Southwest Parkway in Tarrant County. The commissioner wants one of the private companies vying to build the project build the toll lanes.
County Judge Ron Harris and Precinct 4 Commissioner Jack Hatchell, though, said Collin County still wants the NTTA to handle every aspect. Representatives of Collin County and its four largest cities have been negotiating for months for the NTTA, instead of a private company, to build and manage the toll lanes.
"I'm disappointed because I thought we had been moving forward as a committee after it was presented to the commissioner's court," said Hatchell.
Hoagland believes Collin County should reconsider its stance because of the NTTA's recent decision to provide a 55-percent subsidy to build the Southwest Parkway, instead of the 31-percent subsidy preferred by Collin County.
"By choosing to align ourselves with the NTTA regional financing approach, we have a mess on our hands," Hoagland wrote in a recent column for Star Community Newspapers.
Hoagland's comments come as the decision-process winds its way through steps needed to decide who builds and manages SH 121's toll roads and interchanges. The Regional Transportation Council is expected to decide how to distribute state funds on Feb 9. The Texas Department of Transportation, which controls the project's right-of-way, is also considering four private companies hoping to build and manage the project.
Under the plan approved by the NTTA board on a 4-3 vote in December, tolls on the Dallas North Tollway and the President George Bush Turnpike would increase to 11 cents per mile in 2007 and grow to 12 cents per mile by 2010, a 1.5-percent annual rate change. The eastern extension of the Bush from SH 78 in Garland to Interstate 30 in Rowlett would open with a 12-cents-per-mile toll, and Southwest Parkway - basically an extension of SH 121 from downtown Fort Worth to Cleburne - would open with a 16-cents-per-mile rate, with 1.5 percent annual increases.
Some 75 percent of NTTA's drivers come from Dallas and Collin counties, and 23 percent come from Denton, Tarrant and Johnson counties, NTTA statistics show. Collin and Dallas county representatives, including Collin County NTTA board member Paul Wageman voted against the 55-percent subsidy. Some have called the higher subsidy a "Robin Hood" move.
But Wageman said he doesn't see why that vote should have anything to do with the SH 121 endeavor.
"I really don't see how that subsidy for Southwest Parkway impacts our ability to do the project in Collin County because it's such a strong project," he said.
It's critical for the NTTA to obtain the right to build and manage SH 121 toll lanes, said Wageman. The prospective toll lines intersect with the Dallas North Parkway in the heart of the NTTA's service area.
"We're the culture of the people and the local authority," he said.
Hoagland said that despite promises made by Harris and Hatchell, SH 121 toll revenues wouldn't necessarily stay in Collin County and could end up subsidizing projects such as the Southwest Parkway.
"There's not a lot of drivers that want to continue to pour money into the NTTA so they can pay for a toll road that should not be built and won't stand on its own hind legs," Hoagland said.
The Texas Department of Transportation could set a maximum amount or profit a private company could generate, Hoagland said.
Neither Harris nor Hatchell want a private company to build SH 121 toll roads. Additional revenues from SH 121 would pay for Dallas North Tollway's expansion and repair projects in the county, Harris said.
"We don't want another company to finance it because they have to make a profit," said Harris. "Why not plow that money into the NTTA and keep the tolls down in Collin County."
Under Collin County's proposal, SH 121 tolls would be set at 12 cents a mile in 2010, while Southwest Parkway's would be 16 cents a mile to pay for additional amenities, Hatchell said.
"Any action at this time would be premature because we are about to embark on a strategic planning process that will, in part, better position us to meet the challenges," said NTTA chair Dave Blair in a written statement.
©Star Community Newspapers 2006
posted by Porkus Maximus Tex: at Friday, January 20, 2006
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