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Challenging the Wisdom of the Trans Texas Corridor.
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Quiet death for toll-road injunction December 17, 2007 Pat Driscoll, San Antonio Express-News A last-ditch effort by toll critics to scuttle a decisive vote on U.S. 281 toll lanes, which took the form of a requested court injunction, died quietly without any of the sparks that marked its filing. Metropolitan Planning Organization, which approves area tollway and highway projects, voted Dec. 3 to set toll rates for 8 miles of U.S. 281, the very day its reply to the injunction request was due in federal court. The MPO's reply was actually filed the Friday before the Monday meeting. But federal Judge Fred Biery said it didn't reach his chambers until Monday afternoon, as the agency's hot and grueling meeting was under way. Because he was presiding over a criminal trial, and the Dec. 3 drop-dead date wasn't mentioned in the 10-page request until the last paragraph, Biery said he didn't get around to reviewing the matter until two days later. He dismissed the request, saying it was moot. But that wasn't all. The judge also took time to go over the request, as well as the reply, and said toll critics hadn't met several burdens of proof. Biery specifically noted that the MPO chairwoman hadn't erred by removing a board member's proposed resolution, which criticized a state ad campaign for toll roads, from an agenda last September. That's because the item was stricken before the agenda was legally posted three days before the meeting, the judge wrote. "Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Plaintiff's Motion for Preliminary Injunction be DISMISSED in part as moot, and DENIED in part," he concluded.
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This Page Last Updated: Monday December 17, 2007