musicman Posted June 19, 2007 Share Posted June 19, 2007 ch 13 news just reported that Harris County will vote tomorrow to raise toll road fees and if passed, will be enacted in the next 60 to 90 days. The story mentioned that the westpark tollway round trip could go from $6 to $12. I"m sure we'll all hear more about this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Houstonian in Iraq Posted June 19, 2007 Share Posted June 19, 2007 ch 13 news just reported that Harris County will vote tomorrow to raise toll road fees and if passed, will be enacted in the next 60 to 90 days. The story mentioned that the westpark tollway round trip could go from $6 to $12. I"m sure we'll all hear more about this.That sucks. I never drive on Westpark so it doesn't affect me. What about the other roads? If I paid I would really be ticked off.Is it greed? Or is it an actual just reason for the hike? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musicman Posted June 19, 2007 Author Share Posted June 19, 2007 That sucks. I never drive on Westpark so it doesn't affect me. What about the other roads? If I paid I would really be ticked off.Is it greed? Or is it an actual just reason for the hike?fees will be raised on all of them. i think they specifically mentioned westpark because it was going up quite a bit at peak times. i think the minimum increase will be at least $.25 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Houstonian in Iraq Posted June 19, 2007 Share Posted June 19, 2007 Anyone want to buy a slightly used spare military ID so thay can ride for free? Kidding I could never do that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CDeb Posted June 19, 2007 Share Posted June 19, 2007 At a higher price, less people will use the toll roads, meaning traffic will actually move on them, providing a time savings for the price that people pay to use them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KatieDidIt Posted June 19, 2007 Share Posted June 19, 2007 Whew. Hubby is already paying about 130 a month on tolls already, Beltwaying around to the West side of town. Another reason I'm glad to move back to H-Town.This is going to kill I-45. A 100 increase for most commuters will force them to use un- tolled roads therefore revenue will be LOST.Yeah, its greed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musicman Posted June 19, 2007 Author Share Posted June 19, 2007 Whew. Hubby is already paying about 130 a month on tolls already, Beltwaying around to the West side of town. Another reason I'm glad to move back to H-Town.This is going to kill I-45. A 100 increase for most commuters will force them to use un- tolled roads therefore revenue will be LOST.Yeah, its greed.the 100% increase on the westpark is supposedly isolated because of traffic numbers like CDeb mentioned. they said the minimum would be $.25/tollbooth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheNiche Posted June 19, 2007 Share Posted June 19, 2007 Is it greed? Or is it an actual just reason for the hike?Depends where the money goes. If the commissioners' salaries don't change and they aren't getting kickbacks from whereever the money is spent, then no. It isn't greed. Frankly, if all they do is use the money to build more toll roads and increase capacity, that'd be ideal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedScare Posted June 19, 2007 Share Posted June 19, 2007 So, a nice air conditioned 30 mile commute from Sugar Land will cost $15 roundtrip (including FB toll) in tolls and $12 in gas, plus $8 in parking fees downtown, for a total of $35...over the course of a month (22 work days) that comes to a sweet $770.Man, you really gotta love those leather seats in your Suburban to pay that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheNiche Posted June 19, 2007 Share Posted June 19, 2007 So, a nice air conditioned 30 mile commute from Sugar Land will cost $15 roundtrip (including FB toll) in tolls and $12 in gas, plus $8 in parking fees downtown, for a total of $35...over the course of a month (22 work days) that comes to a sweet $770.Man, you really gotta love those leather seats in your Suburban to pay that....ether that or you REALLY gotta love those leather seats NOT to pay it, and just take the feeder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westguy76 Posted June 19, 2007 Share Posted June 19, 2007 So, a nice air conditioned 30 mile commute from Sugar Land will cost $15 roundtrip (including FB toll) in tolls and $12 in gas, plus $8 in parking fees downtown, for a total of $35...over the course of a month (22 work days) that comes to a sweet $770.Man, you really gotta love those leather seats in your Suburban to pay that.And you need to get your gasoline leak fixed if you are getting that kind of gas mileage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MidtownCoog Posted June 19, 2007 Share Posted June 19, 2007 Anyone with a brain already takes the HOV or a Park and Ride bus downtown from the burbs. The daily drivers are the exception. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ssullivan Posted June 19, 2007 Share Posted June 19, 2007 I don't have a lot of sympathy for daily commuters who chose to live way out in the suburbs and work downtown (or anywhere else in the center of the city). It was your choice to live 25-30 miles from where you work, and nobody promised you gas would be cheap, that there would be no traffic, and that tolls would never go up. There are tradeoffs for everything, and while I realize that housing in the suburbs is cheaper and schools are often better, the tradeoff is a longer, more expensive commute. You can't have it both ways, unless you're willing to do something like carpool and get in the HOV lane, or take a Metro Park and Ride. Of course, for the people in Ft. Bend County, Metro isn't much help since most of that area has repeatedly opted to not be part of Metro's service area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Posted June 19, 2007 Share Posted June 19, 2007 Yeah, I just heard about it on 13 Eyewitness News at 11 also. I think it is rediculous. Was it a rumor that part of SH 249 was being converted to a tollway? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musicman Posted June 19, 2007 Author Share Posted June 19, 2007 Yeah, I just heard about it on 13 Eyewitness News at 11 also. I think it is rediculous. Was it a rumor that part of SH 249 was being converted to a tollway?i had heard something that they were thinking about it to help pay for it to be extended. rumor though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VelvetJ Posted June 19, 2007 Share Posted June 19, 2007 Just heard it has unanimously passed.Someone please correct me if I am wrong. The Westpark Tollway, QUICKLY became congested as some predicted. The answer to relieving traffic on the tollways is to continuously increase the toll fees until the desired congestion level is reached? Then repeat this action if it happens again? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musicman Posted June 19, 2007 Author Share Posted June 19, 2007 Just heard it has unanimously passed.Someone please correct me if I am wrong. The Westpark Tollway, QUICKLY became congested as some predicted. The answer to relieving traffic on the tollways is to continuously increase the toll fees until the desired congestion level is reached? Then repeat this action if it happens again?one temporary, albeit long problem, is the construction on i-10 which caused some commuters to use the westpark tollway instead. the i-10 construction is why it was finished so quickly in the first place. as i-10 opens, more relief should be provided as people move back to i-10 which will have hov and toll managed lanes. FYI, evidently the gulf freeway is next for toll managed lanes according to a report i heard 2 days ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VelvetJ Posted June 19, 2007 Share Posted June 19, 2007 one temporary, albeit long problem, is the construction on i-10 which caused some commuters to use the westpark tollway instead. the i-10 construction is why it was finished so quickly in the first place. as i-10 opens, more relief should be provided as people move back to i-10 which will have hov and toll managed lanes. FYI, evidently the gulf freeway is next for toll managed lanes according to a report i heard 2 days ago.Thanks for addressing the Westpark situation. Now what about other portions of the tollway system? Are my previous questions on target with regard to how tollway congestion is relieved? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musicman Posted June 19, 2007 Author Share Posted June 19, 2007 Thanks for addressing the Westpark situation. Now what about other portions of the tollway system? Are my previous questions on target with regard to how tollway congestion is relieved?they plan to expand most freeways into at least partial tolls. 290 45n, etc. the story just said that the gulf freeway was the next to be addressed. tollway relief is usually brought by increasing fares, which lessens the number of users. with the recent state proposal to change eminent domain rights, toll roads all over the state were worried because they felt it would limit their growth by defining what "public use" of property really is. i'll bet most lobbied the governor so he would veto it as he did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EatSleepMOD Posted June 19, 2007 Share Posted June 19, 2007 i had heard something that they were thinking about it to help pay for it to be extended. rumor though.I just moved back to the southeast side from Tomball. In 2006,TXDOT and HCTRA had meetings in Tomball with citizens on various datesabout the obvious expansion of SH 249, as well asmaking parts of it a toll road. http://www.txdot.gov/news/candidate_toll_projects.pdfhttp://www.txdot.gov/news/candidate_toll_projects.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pestofan Posted June 19, 2007 Share Posted June 19, 2007 http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metrop...an/4902488.html County Commissioner Steve ("Marie Antoinette") Radack said those who cannot afford the rush hour fees should use alternate roads. "Let them go down Richmond Road," he said. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VelvetJ Posted June 19, 2007 Share Posted June 19, 2007 http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metrop...an/4902488.htmlCounty Commissioner Steve ("Marie Antoinette") Radack said those who cannot afford the rush hour fees should use alternate roads. "Let them go down Richmond Road," he said. So who should be allowed to use the toll roads? Only the wealthy? Increase the toll fee to increase revenue to build more toll roads which will bring in more revenue? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MidtownCoog Posted June 19, 2007 Share Posted June 19, 2007 I can see it now:"When visting Houston, be sure to avoid the "poor roads". Not poor in quality per se, just filled to capacity with poor dumb bastards who can't afford the toll."Everybody follow the dancing ball and sing along, now:"Oh ye'll take the poor road and I'll take the rich road, An' I'll be to work before ye', ... " Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheNiche Posted June 19, 2007 Share Posted June 19, 2007 So who should be allowed to use the toll roads? Only the wealthy?No, just anyone willing to pay for the road they use.Increase the toll fee to increase revenue to build more toll roads which will bring in more revenue?That's exactly right. We should keep increasing prices and building more toll roads and added capacity until there is insufficient revenue (at any toll rate) to cover further expansion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N Judah Posted June 19, 2007 Share Posted June 19, 2007 Yep...Fulshear's going upscale. I knew it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westguy Posted June 19, 2007 Share Posted June 19, 2007 one temporary, albeit long problem, is the construction on i-10 which caused some commuters to use the westpark tollway instead. the i-10 construction is why it was finished so quickly in the first place. as i-10 opens, more relief should be provided as people move back to i-10 which will have hov and toll managed lanes. FYI, evidently the gulf freeway is next for toll managed lanes according to a report i heard 2 days ago.The traffic increase should've been more gradual, but congestion jumped markedly after August 2005. Therefore it would make sense for FBCTRA to raise their rates, since they are the ones feeding the mess. Maybe people are trying to avoid construction mess on I-10, but press releases like this do not give me much hope.That's exactly right. We should keep increasing prices and building more toll roads and added capacity until there is insufficient revenue (at any toll rate) to cover further expansion.That's just a dumb idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheNiche Posted June 19, 2007 Share Posted June 19, 2007 That's just a dumb idea.Care to explain why? I'm not proposing that we stop using any state or federal monies that come our way for free-access transportation projects either, btw. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pumapayam Posted June 19, 2007 Share Posted June 19, 2007 http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metrop...an/4902488.htmlCounty Commissioner Steve ("Marie Antoinette") Radack said those who cannot afford the rush hour fees should use alternate roads. "Let them go down Richmond Road," he said. I will if he is standing in the middle of the street. Who votes for these things, and how much are THEY being compensated! tollway relief is usually brought by increasing fares, which lessens the number of users. with the recent state proposal to change eminent domain rights, toll roads all over the state were worried because they felt it would limit their growth by defining what "public use" of property really is. i'll bet most lobbied the governor so he would veto it as he did. They will just go back to Richmond Ave. The same number of people have to go from point A to point B. What bastards we have in office. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdude Posted June 20, 2007 Share Posted June 20, 2007 People are angry (from the Chronicle)As Westpark tolls rise, so do tempersDrivers up in arms after officials double the fee at peak hours to ease congestionBy BILL MURPHYCopyright 2007 Houston Chronicle Harris County Commissioners Court's decision Tuesday to fight congestion on the three-year-old Westpark Tollway by forcing some drivers off the road with higher rush-hour fees drew the ire of cash-strapped commuters.And a dismissive response from Commissioner Steve Radack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musicman Posted June 20, 2007 Author Share Posted June 20, 2007 People are angry (from the Chronicle)just about every talk show this morning had this as the topic too. it would be interesting to see what rationale they used for doubling the cost vs. raising it less. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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