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Challenging the Wisdom of the Trans Texas Corridor.
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Issues & Concerns |
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Issues & Concerns: Public Safety
Issues & Concerns: Homeland Security
Issues & Concerns:
Questionable Assumptions
Issues & Concerns:
Comprehensive Development Agreements
Issues & Concerns:
Environmental Impact
Issues & Concerns:
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Private Property Rights
Issues & Concerns:
Tourism Industry
Issues & Concerns: Misplaced Transportation
Spending
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Misplaced Transportation Spending
Doesn't solve the traffic congestion problem.
The singular
focus of the Corridor plan is to build corridors that connect
regions of the state intentionally bypassing urban centers. Those
metropolitan areas are left to deal with their own traffic and
mobility problems, including access to the Corridor. Since
our large cities are the traffic generators and destination
points, the Corridor will
offer little if any relief for traffic congestion.
"We
support the concept of the Trans Texas Corridor, but we don't want it at
the expense of all the urban transportation improvement that are
needed."
— Lois Finkleman, Dallas City Councilwoman
[more]
It's designed to generate revenue first and
provide transportation second.
The Corridor plan is
designed to provide transportation funds, more than
transportation. Rather than identify specific transportation needs
and offer solutions, the Plan defines funding as the need and the
Corridor as the solution. Accordingly it's not important where the
Corridor is built, as long as it generates revenue.
"Governor
Perry and his friends
spent
a great deal of time researching ideas
to create
more revenue"
— Transportation Commissioner Ric Williamson
(March 25,
2003) [citation]
[full
text]
". . . concentrating on the four
primary routes first,
is the beginning of generating the cash flow . . ."
— Transportation Commissioner Ric Williamson
(June 27,
2002) [citation]
"...generating revenue, directly or indirectly, for use in constructing or operating the Trans-Texas Corridor from or for
ancillary facilities that directly benefit users of the Trans-Texas Corridor."
[Sec. 227.041(b)(5)]
Private Interests v. Public Interests.
Private investment and partnership sounds like a good idea until
you realize that 'their' goal is strictly profit driven (not
transportation). Private investment will involve bonds and
bondholders who naturally want to protect their money and will
insist on terms and conditions that can be contrary to the public
good. That leads
to the kind of 'bad' deals made in California necessary to keep
the private money interested. [more]
[privatization white paper]
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This Page Last
Updated:
Thursday December 14, 2006 |