Are we being asked to vote against tollroads because it is bad for cavers or caving or caves?
Are there any proposed tollroads that are going to destroy a cave more so than a regular highway project would? Are there any tollway benefits to cavers? Tollroads may not work in some areas, but here in the suburbs of Houston, most of us don't see any way, but the tollway. I could easily spend $ 360 a month on the tollways I take to work. I am doing everything I can to avoid them and stay on the backroads, but that burns gas and puts unnecessary miles on my car. And the time I spend sitting in traffic, is time I could be bouncing my toddler on my knee, or reading them a bed-time story. Does anybody in West Texas want their tax-dollars spent on building more roads in Houston, so that I can get to work faster? I don't think so. So the user fee system is the only choice. My concern is that the toll-roads seem to be owned or to be potentially owned by non-Texans or even people who live out-side of Texas. Are the profits being used to build the tower of Dubai? How many of you take the tollroad to Columbia to save time on the trip to Bustamante? I like that tollway. But what does the money really go to and is it being used properly? Another problem I have with tollways is that a large part of the money goes to paying employees and for enforcement of tolls. This money wouldn't be necessary on a regular highway project. And tollbooths are inconvenient and create bottlenecks. One tollway in Houston goes from a rich suburb towards the medical center. It cuts right thru a poor minority section of town. They put no ramps for miles thru there, so these people would not be able to access the tollway. This would never be allowed on a regular highway project. Please vote for the extension of The Grand Parkway ( 99 ) thru Ft. Bend County to Hwy. 6 ( as a tollway). I will be able to go to Mexico down Hwy 59, and save maybe 30 minutes or more off the drive-time, by by-passing several cities like Sugarland, and it will be a huge help in my deliveries for my business. I want it built now - not tommorow, but there is much opposition. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Bend_Parkway_Toll_Road http://blogs.chron.com/fortbend/archives/2007/09/is_a_new_tolled_4.html If you look at some of the population forecast ( and worse case scenarios ), we are going to have a frickin lot of people living in Texas someday. How are they going to get to work, where are they going to get the fuel for their SUV's? Who is going to pay for the roads to be built and maintained. Have any of you seen the width of the Katy Freeway in west Houston? 20 lanes in some places if not more. Imagine thousands of big SUV's idling their V-8's bumper-to-bumper in both directions during rush hour? If we ever do really really run out of oil, all of these super highways are going to look kind of funny. What will the super-highways look like when gas hits $ 6 a gallon. Sooner or later, the masses are going to realize that they can no longer afford the luxury of a Suburban or a Ford Excursion. Oil is going to hit $ 130 a barrel within the next 20 years if not much sooner. I am going with the year 2021. I saw gas last week for $ 2.48 a gallon at the Racetrack. I doubt we will ever see it dip below $ 2.50 again in our lifetime, especially during peak times like when we like to go on summer vacation. Someday Texas is going to have a population of 40 million people whether we build tollroads or not. The social problems we will face will be much more problematic than the issues concerning tollways. On a related subject, I would like to turn your attention to an interesting article written in "The Texas Monthly" magazine. It is entitled - "Mexican Immigration - the problem we must face sooner or later." Can you guess what year it was published? Try 1929. David Locklear Ref: The Texas Monthly magazine I am refering to is not related to Texas Monthly being published these days. http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/TT/edtmx.html --------------------------------------------------------------------- Visit our website: http://texascavers.com To unsubscribe, e-mail: texascavers-unsubscr...@texascavers.com For additional commands, e-mail: texascavers-h...@texascavers.com
