Secrecy, Cronyism and Graft - Right Here In River City! - *With Update*
I had a unique experience Saturday morning at Ancira Jeep on 281 North. A group of citizens joined together over a common issue: Toll Roads. Terri Hall of the Texas Toll Party chaired the event and was a delightful and energetic host. A number of candidates spoke about toll roads from a variety of perspectives, including Carole Strayhorn, Chris Bell, David Van Os, Tommy Adkisson and others. The legal issues, the economic effects, and general impact of toll roads on our lives were addressed very well by these fine candidates. Terri Hall graciously introduced me as the candidate running in HD 122 against toller Franke Corte. My own observations were these:
1. There are some hospitals, and many doctor offices and pharmacies located on the 281-1604 corridor. If Perry, Corte and their TXDOT buddies have their way, a resident of district 122 would have to pay a toll tax to take a family member to the doctor or to fill a prescription; or, even worse, pay the tax and waste precious time entering and exiting the toll system to get someone seriously sick or injured to the emergency room.
2. There are many churches located on 1604 and several others sit on or are near 281. Literally thousands of us drive these roads to pray on the Sabbath. Do you want to pay a tax to pray?
This issue of toll roads, brought to you by secrecy, cronyism and graft, just may well be the issue that really starts bringing Texans together again. Yup - secrecy, cronyism and graft are the common enemy of the Common Good.
C'mon y'all, let's rumble.
**Update**
My wife went to the Metropolitan Planning Organization's Transporation Policy Board meeting yesterday. She was very interested in two particular questions brought up by 2 different commissioner's court judges - Mr. Adkisson from Precinct 4 and Mr. Larson from Precicnt 3. They both seem to have their fingers on the pulse of the community regarding this issue, and they both addressed it, in different ways. Mr. Adkisson ruminated on the very makeup on the board, noting that it was made up of many more appointed officials and community members than elected members. He suggested it may be difficult to hold the Board accountable with so many appointed positions on the Board, and hoped that the Board itself could visit the issue of its own makeup in the near future.
Mr. Larson was more direct - he asked if the synchronization of the traffic lights on 281 north of 1604 may have been altered recently, as he noticed a change in how they operated during peak traffic hours, and noted this traffic flow pattern had changed rather recently. A city official was asked about the issue (sorry we don't have her name) who was not direct in her answer, stating that different lights were on different systems. After some discussion in which Mr. Larson noted that this sort of questions feeds community conspiracy theories, the Board agreed to request the city check on the synchronization of the lights in question and report back to the Board at the next meeting. It was all very civilized, even the clapping from the audience when Mr. Larson mentioned the apparent lack of synchronicity at peak hours; but there was definitely an undercurrent of emotion on both sides of the room. Could it be that the traffic light patterns were altered recently to cause more congestion on 281 at peak hours to enhance TXDOT's claims about the need for toll roads?
Stay tuned, sisters and brothers. This issue is getting legs, and fast.
1. There are some hospitals, and many doctor offices and pharmacies located on the 281-1604 corridor. If Perry, Corte and their TXDOT buddies have their way, a resident of district 122 would have to pay a toll tax to take a family member to the doctor or to fill a prescription; or, even worse, pay the tax and waste precious time entering and exiting the toll system to get someone seriously sick or injured to the emergency room.
2. There are many churches located on 1604 and several others sit on or are near 281. Literally thousands of us drive these roads to pray on the Sabbath. Do you want to pay a tax to pray?
This issue of toll roads, brought to you by secrecy, cronyism and graft, just may well be the issue that really starts bringing Texans together again. Yup - secrecy, cronyism and graft are the common enemy of the Common Good.
C'mon y'all, let's rumble.
**Update**
My wife went to the Metropolitan Planning Organization's Transporation Policy Board meeting yesterday. She was very interested in two particular questions brought up by 2 different commissioner's court judges - Mr. Adkisson from Precinct 4 and Mr. Larson from Precicnt 3. They both seem to have their fingers on the pulse of the community regarding this issue, and they both addressed it, in different ways. Mr. Adkisson ruminated on the very makeup on the board, noting that it was made up of many more appointed officials and community members than elected members. He suggested it may be difficult to hold the Board accountable with so many appointed positions on the Board, and hoped that the Board itself could visit the issue of its own makeup in the near future.
Mr. Larson was more direct - he asked if the synchronization of the traffic lights on 281 north of 1604 may have been altered recently, as he noticed a change in how they operated during peak traffic hours, and noted this traffic flow pattern had changed rather recently. A city official was asked about the issue (sorry we don't have her name) who was not direct in her answer, stating that different lights were on different systems. After some discussion in which Mr. Larson noted that this sort of questions feeds community conspiracy theories, the Board agreed to request the city check on the synchronization of the lights in question and report back to the Board at the next meeting. It was all very civilized, even the clapping from the audience when Mr. Larson mentioned the apparent lack of synchronicity at peak hours; but there was definitely an undercurrent of emotion on both sides of the room. Could it be that the traffic light patterns were altered recently to cause more congestion on 281 at peak hours to enhance TXDOT's claims about the need for toll roads?
Stay tuned, sisters and brothers. This issue is getting legs, and fast.
posted by bulldogdem at 12:14 PM
1 Comments:
You go, Larry! In fact, once they convert 281 to a 16 lane highway, TDOT will have eaten up those churches and doctors's offices -- and natural habitat and who knows what else. And it will NEVER EVER solve our problems.
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