'Tollus ad nauseam."
Heavy tollway news traffic ahead.
September 18, 2006
Ben Wear
Austin American-Statesman
Copyright 2006
So now we know, officially. The toll road era in Austin Etc. will begin Nov. 1.
Well, kind of. The three roads and half-a-roads — a MoPac Boulevard (Loop 1) extension and parts of the new Texas 45 North and Texas 130, about 26 miles worth — will actually open at no charge. Drivers won't have to pay tolls for a few weeks, longer if they have an electronic toll tag.
Given all that, the Austin American-Statesman (well, mostly me, actually) will be hitting you with a ton of toll road stuff over the next six weeks or so in the run-up to the opening of the three tollways. Stories about other cities' experience with toll roads, about how you can get a toll tag and what it might cost you if you don't, about how the state plans to sell the concept to you, about what the toll charges will be, and what effect these new roads might have on commuting patterns.
And much more. Don't say I didn't warn you.
Of course, it's not like the Statesman has been asleep at the switch up to now. There have been more than 250 stories in the paper about toll roads over the past three-plus years, more than one per week. Ergo, tollus ad nauseam.
Not that you would know that from some of the e-mails I get.
Periodically, people — people who really ought to get out more — will see construction on one of the toll roads, seemingly for the first time, even though the earthmovers have been moving earth since early 2003, and alert me to this breaking news. When am I going to begin writing something about it, they'll demand.
Or people will breathlessly tip me about something I wrote about six months ago.
But that's OK. I don't read every word in the Statesman every day, either. People get busy, and they miss stuff. Or, possibly, they see "toll roads" in the headline or first sentence and decide to move on.
But maybe over the next few weeks, you ought to resist that urge. Because this really is a big change for the area, and there are many more miles of toll roads on the way. Another 15 miles of Texas 130, connecting it north to Interstate 35, should open before Christmas, and then still another 30 miles of three roads will come on line by the end of 2007. And policymakers are fighting over five more possible toll roads.
We're literally going from a totally free highway network to a full-fledged toll road system in the space of 14 months, an instant transition no other American city has ever seen.
It's going to give you some financial choices and daily options you didn't have before. It will speed your trips in many places and perhaps slow you down in others because of ripple effects further down the commuting chain. Construction snarls that you've grown used to will disappear.
And you may find yourself, unless you read up on the subject, blundering onto a toll road without a toll tag and getting a bill in the mail.
The last time we had a transportation change this big, when the new airport opened in 1999, travelers still showed up at the old, empty airport with their luggage for months. You don't want that to be you this time around.
Getting There appears Mondays. For questions, tips or story ideas, contact Getting There at 445-3698 or bwear@statesman.com.
© 2006 Austin American-Statesman: www. statesman.com
September 18, 2006
Ben Wear
Austin American-Statesman
Copyright 2006
So now we know, officially. The toll road era in Austin Etc. will begin Nov. 1.
Well, kind of. The three roads and half-a-roads — a MoPac Boulevard (Loop 1) extension and parts of the new Texas 45 North and Texas 130, about 26 miles worth — will actually open at no charge. Drivers won't have to pay tolls for a few weeks, longer if they have an electronic toll tag.
Given all that, the Austin American-Statesman (well, mostly me, actually) will be hitting you with a ton of toll road stuff over the next six weeks or so in the run-up to the opening of the three tollways. Stories about other cities' experience with toll roads, about how you can get a toll tag and what it might cost you if you don't, about how the state plans to sell the concept to you, about what the toll charges will be, and what effect these new roads might have on commuting patterns.
And much more. Don't say I didn't warn you.
Of course, it's not like the Statesman has been asleep at the switch up to now. There have been more than 250 stories in the paper about toll roads over the past three-plus years, more than one per week. Ergo, tollus ad nauseam.
Not that you would know that from some of the e-mails I get.
Periodically, people — people who really ought to get out more — will see construction on one of the toll roads, seemingly for the first time, even though the earthmovers have been moving earth since early 2003, and alert me to this breaking news. When am I going to begin writing something about it, they'll demand.
Or people will breathlessly tip me about something I wrote about six months ago.
But that's OK. I don't read every word in the Statesman every day, either. People get busy, and they miss stuff. Or, possibly, they see "toll roads" in the headline or first sentence and decide to move on.
But maybe over the next few weeks, you ought to resist that urge. Because this really is a big change for the area, and there are many more miles of toll roads on the way. Another 15 miles of Texas 130, connecting it north to Interstate 35, should open before Christmas, and then still another 30 miles of three roads will come on line by the end of 2007. And policymakers are fighting over five more possible toll roads.
We're literally going from a totally free highway network to a full-fledged toll road system in the space of 14 months, an instant transition no other American city has ever seen.
It's going to give you some financial choices and daily options you didn't have before. It will speed your trips in many places and perhaps slow you down in others because of ripple effects further down the commuting chain. Construction snarls that you've grown used to will disappear.
And you may find yourself, unless you read up on the subject, blundering onto a toll road without a toll tag and getting a bill in the mail.
The last time we had a transportation change this big, when the new airport opened in 1999, travelers still showed up at the old, empty airport with their luggage for months. You don't want that to be you this time around.
Getting There appears Mondays. For questions, tips or story ideas, contact Getting There at 445-3698 or bwear@statesman.com.
© 2006 Austin American-Statesman:
posted by Porkus Maximus Tex: at Monday, September 18, 2006
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