Toll roads (Forsyth, Dahlonega, Buckhead: real estate, 2014, costs)

[jsvh]

Originally Posted by fieldm

No tolls. Bring in heavy rail instead. Dont like heavy rail then just sit in traffic imo

I agree rail transit should be expanded. But there will still be some trips that need to be done by car plus busses, trucks, and emergency vehciles still need to be able to get around with out getting stuck in traffic. There should be toll roads to keep things flowing and cover the cost of roads.

[fieldm]

Originally Posted by jsvh

I agree rail transit should be expanded. But there will still be some trips that need to be done by car plus busses, trucks, and emergency vehciles still need to be able to get around with out getting stuck in traffic. There should be toll roads to keep things flowing and cover the cost of roads.

Build heavy rail first and then if traffic is still bad then try tolls but not the other way around.

[ccdscott]

Not wanting to start a new thread, but how bad was the traffic when GA 400 was tolled?

Before I moved here, I remember distinctly going through the toll to get to Lenox from Roswell where my grandmother was staying. Of course, I see where it used to be and I'm wondering how bad were the backups (North/South) during rush hour and such?

It already slows down from North Springs all the way to 85 in the morning, I can't imagine how bad that would be *with* a toll. I'm sure this underscores the need for more transit coming from N. Fulton.

[MattCW]

Frankly, at rush hour, it probably wasn't any slower. If the average speed through the toll plaza and its approaches is say 25mph during clear conditions, but during rush hour the whole road averages 15mph, it's not slowing much down.

[toll_booth]

Originally Posted by cqholt

Maybe Texas should be investing all the money spent on toll freeways on flood control instead?
Texas Is Spending Billions on Toll Roads When It Should Be Investing in Flood Infrastructure - CityLab

Now that Grand Parkway is open from I-45 to U.S. 59, see how big the tollway really is - Houston Chronicle

How stupid are the leaders of Texas?

Texas cares about just four things: Football, oil, God, and guns. If it doesn't fit into one of those for categories, it's not important.

[ElleKaye]

Originally Posted by ccdscott

Not wanting to start a new thread, but how bad was the traffic when GA 400 was tolled?

Before I moved here, I remember distinctly going through the toll to get to Lenox from Roswell where my grandmother was staying. Of course, I see where it used to be and I'm wondering how bad were the backups (North/South) during rush hour and such?

It already slows down from North Springs all the way to 85 in the morning, I can't imagine how bad that would be *with* a toll. I'm sure this underscores the need for more transit coming from N. Fulton.

Traffic on 400 was horrible. I didn't even know the toll was supposed to end after 400 was paid for and apparently a lot of other people did not know either because it took a few years for anyone to mention that the bill was paid so the toll had to stop.

[PKCorey]

Originally Posted by ElleKaye

Traffic on 400 was horrible. I didn't even know the toll was supposed to end after 400 was paid for and apparently a lot of other people did not know either because it took a few years for anyone to mention that the bill was paid so the toll had to stop.

That's not what happened at all. GADOT and SRTA knew that the toll was suppose to end in 2011 when the bonds were paid off. In 2010, Governor Purdue and SRTA voted to extend the length until 2020 to pay for all the various improvements needed along GA 400.

Gov. Deal kept his campaign promise to take down the tolls on GA 400.

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by ccdscott

Not wanting to start a new thread, but how bad was the traffic when GA 400 was tolled?

Before I moved here, I remember distinctly going through the toll to get to Lenox from Roswell where my grandmother was staying. Of course, I see where it used to be and I'm wondering how bad were the backups (North/South) during rush hour and such?

It already slows down from North Springs all the way to 85 in the morning, I can't imagine how bad that would be *with* a toll. I'm sure this underscores the need for more transit coming from N. Fulton.

Originally Posted by ElleKaye

Traffic on 400 was horrible. I didn't even know the toll was supposed to end after 400 was paid for and apparently a lot of other people did not know either because it took a few years for anyone to mention that the bill was paid so the toll had to stop.

There actually seems to be some evidence that traffic has increased significantly on Georgia 400 inside the I-285 Perimeter since the toll was removed from that section of road.....That's because motorists have been and continue to be much more motivated to use the road now that they don't have pay to drive on it anymore.

(Toll = "I don't want to drive on Georgia 400 because I will have to stop and pay the toll".

"Free" = "I'm going to get on Georgia 400 now that I don't have to stop and pay the toll anymore".

....The above lines are illustrative of the attitudes of tens-of-thousands of Northside motorists regarding Georgia 400 before and after the removal of the tolls from the road.)

There also was much public distain after the bonds to construct Georgia 400 were paid off but Georgia state government refused to remove the toll from the road as was promised when the construction of the road was first announced back in about 1989-1990 or so during the gubernatorial administration of former Georgia Governor Joe Frank Harris.

The refusal of Georgia state government to remove the tolls from Georgia 400 after the construction bonds were paid off was a pretty big deal during the late administration of former Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue and the early administration of current Georgia Governor Nathan Deal.....That's because many Georgia voters regarded Georgia state government's refusal to remove the tolls from the road after the bonds were paid off as was originally promised as an intentionally and blatantly broken promise that further eroded the public's trust of government and served as firm evidence of why government should not and cannot be trusted.

[ElleKaye]

Originally Posted by PKCorey

That's not what happened at all. GADOT and SRTA knew that the toll was suppose to end in 2011 when the bonds were paid off. In 2010, Governor Purdue and SRTA voted to extend the length until 2020 to pay for all the various improvements needed along GA 400.

Gov. Deal kept his campaign promise to take down the tolls on GA 400.

OK, let's roll back. I did not say the tolls did not get taken down. I said it was late.

Is it accurate that the original agreement was just to pay off 400 with the tolls? That should have been honored and not pretending that was not what said because somebody got a wild hair and decided they had a hissy fit and wanted to throw something else on the pile; that's actually worse.

[PKCorey]

Originally Posted by ElleKaye

OK, let's roll back. I did not say the tolls did not get taken down. I said it was late.

Is it accurate that the original agreement was just to pay off 400 with the tolls? That should have been honored and not pretending that was not what said because somebody got a wild hair and decided they had a hissy fit and wanted to throw something else on the pile; that's actually worse.

The tolls weren't late being taken down. I believe, the bond was for 20 years so 1991 until 2011. The issue was that the state had generated enough money from the tolls that the bonds could have been paid off early and the toll come down early as well.

The plan in 2010 with Governor Purdue and the rest of the SRTA board was to the start a new toll after the old bonds were paid off to pay for the other improvements.

People threw a hissy fit that they were lying about ending the tolls and Gov. Deal canceled it as soon as he came into office.