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Blackland Prairie Concerned Citizens Association....BPCCA.....www.BlacklandPrairie.org Article published in the Manor Messenger 11-27-08 written by Jim Lutz, Manor Can you afford to drive the 290East Tollway? If you are an Austin resident wanting to slip away out of Austin to the east you have the option of driving on a "freeway" that is Highway 71 East or the planned 290E tolled "Manor Expressway". An occasional toll of $1.25 one way should not be bothersome to pay for the infrequent user. Alternatively if you are an east Travis County resident who must use 290East twice daily to drive to and from work into Austin, a two way daily $2.50 fee adds up to $12.50 weekly or $50 every month. Additional weekend trips into a grocery store are other activities increase this monthly expense. In 2013 dollars at the proposed opening of the Manor Tollway the tollrate may have increased to approximately $3.28 daily or $64.00 monthly based on the average CPI (Consumer Price Index) for the past ten years. The Manor Tollway is the only central Texas tollway to automatically increase the toll rate based either on the CPI (Consumer Price Index) or GSP (Gross State Products) formula, whichever is larger. The CPI averaged an increase of 4.9% the past ten years. Comparing the Driver's Cost of the 290 "Tollroad" With Other Area Tollroads Four existing area tollroads are managed by TxDot (Texas Department of Transportation) and are approximately half the toll rate of the CTRMA (Central Texas Regional Metropolitan Authority) managed tollroad. The CTRMA is currently only responsible for managing the 183A tollroad northwest of Austin but will have the added responsibility of building and managing the Manor "Tollway" Expressway. The CTRMA exists to execute the plans of CAMPO (Capital Area Mobility Planning Organization), a 20 member group of mainly elected officials in Hays, Travis and Williamson counties. TxDot manages and is responsible for tollroads, 130, 45N, Loop 1 and 45S which will be open soon from 130 to I35 near Kyle. These roadways cost the tollpayer from 11.5 cents to 15 cents per mile to use. The 49 mile length of 130 cost 12.2 cents per mile according to figures supplied by TxDot. Tolls on these roads are designed to pay for these roads only rather than as income producers to build other roads. Alternatively 183A and the Manor Expressway are designed by the CAMPO/CTRMA to produce additional income for future projects. The per mile cost on the half completed 183A is 27 cents per mile. Manor Expressway and 183A Designed to make a Profit The Manor Expressway and 183A are designed to make a profit for future projects of CAMPO/CTRMA in the 3 county area of their jurisdiction. The Manor Tollway with the "built in"annual cost increases will reach the cost of the 183A toll approximately at the time construction is completed. It is the goal of CAMPO/CTRMA to have all the tolls in their system the same per mile cost. CAMPO/CTRMA's recent hearing in Manor involved the legal process required to authorize creating a "system" of tollroads beginning with the joining of 183A with the Manor Tollway as a system. This maneuver will make more feasible their ability to borrow sufficient funds to go ahead with the building of the Manor Expressway. CAMPO/CTRMA have not made available to the public the preliminary studies which have indicated that traffic on the Manor Tollway does not justify the costs of financing the construction of this project. By creating the "system" the thought is that funds can more easily be borrowed at a reasonable enough rate to make the project feasible. No Representation of the Manor Community on the 20 member Transportation Board Perhaps the reason no local, state or federal funds are included in the funding for the Manor "Tollway" Expressway is that there is no local representation on the 20 member CAMPO board demanding fairness on our behalf. The board is made up of elected officials, none of whom directly represent the Manor area except State Senator Kirk Watson who as chairman of the CAMPO board and due to a conflict of interest does not vote on the Manor tollroad having a fiduciary interest in it's construction. There are 5 mayors on the CAMPO board from the 3 county area but not the Mayor of Manor. There are 5 county commissioners or elected county officials on the CAMPO board but not the county commissioner for the Manor area. Economic Advantage to Manor If and when the Manor "Tollway" Expressway comes our way it may prove to be beneficial in many respects and ultimately enhance our economic future. It may as well represent a financial burden born solely by the east Travis county residents who daily have no alternative but to pay the daily toll while still paying gas taxes for infrastructure in other areas. The creation of a Manor Tollway rather than address the problems of the Manor bottleneck of rush hour traffic to and from daily commutes to Austin will instead exacerbate this problem. Manor is guaranteed to have a permanent "Oak Hill intersection" where the bulk of traffic congests at the entry and exit to Manor coming in both directions. The central complaint by Manor area residents that we have no supermarket within a reasonable distance will continue to be a focus of complaints. Not until the permanent right of way of the Manor section of 290E is resolved will a large HEB or other supermarket commit to building in Manor. Have your say… Campo will vote on creating this "system" on their 6:30 pm December 1st meeting at the Joe C. Thompson Conference Center located next to the LBJ school on the UT campus. The public is welcome to attend and comment on the issue. You can as well visit the CAMPO website at……http://www.campotexas.org/ Comments can be made to CAMPO/CTRMA officials by mail or email at…..campo@campotexas.org The public was discouraged from adding comment during the recent Manor hearings because comments had to be mailed in within one week to be listed in the hearing documents. By the time the Manor Messenger was published that week, the deadline for comments had passed. It is beneficial however to contact the various members of the CAMPO board on this issue prior to their vote on Dec. 1st. Jim Lutz
MM11-27-08issue.doc
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