Over $400 million in road projects postponed (San Antonio, Anton: sales, sales tax, prices)

[tgannaway89]

Ouch! $419 million worth of projects planned through 2019 have been postponed. Projects at 1604, I-10, Wurzbach Pkwy, and SH-211 are all listed as postponed according to the news story:

News - San Antonio local news and shopping at ClickitSA.com

We can't even fund the highways we have and Perry wants to spend hundreds of billions to build TTC-35?

[Turtle_Mom]

Higher gas prices have led to more fuel-efficient vehicles, he said, which means less money has been coming in to fund transportation projects from federal and state gas taxes.

That doesn't make sense to me. If gas prices are going up, won't they be getting more taxes too? I really don't see that many more fuel-efficient vehicles on the road. And I don't see less cars on the road either. Wouldn't they WANT us to have better fuel-efficiency?

Oh and Wurzbach Parkway is one of the delayed projects? I don't think that is ever going to go up, it's just an urban legand.

[sapphire]

Originally Posted by Turtle_Mom

That doesn't make sense to me. If gas prices are going up, won't they be getting more taxes too? I really don't see that many more fuel-efficient vehicles on the road. And I don't see less cars on the road either. Wouldn't they WANT us to have better fuel-efficiency?

Oh and Wurzbach Parkway is one of the delayed projects? I don't think that is ever going to go up, it's just an urban legand.

$10 gas when it's at $2 a gallon vs $10 gas when it's at $4 a gallon. 5 gallons sold vs 2.5 gallons sold. And yes, there are folks that operate this way, not by choice, but they've only got $10.

In other words, less tax because less gallons are being sold.

[scuba steve]

Originally Posted by Turtle_Mom

That doesn't make sense to me. If gas prices are going up, won't they be getting more taxes too?

No. Gas taxes are a flat X cents on top of the price, no matter what it costs. This is unlike sales tax which is Y percent of whatever the item itself costs. Gas taxes have become a much smaller portion of the overall price than they were a few years ago.

[Turtle_Mom]

Ah ok that makes sense. It's per gallon, not total cost of the gas. Got it!

[Bowie]

I'm suspicious that this announcement is setting the table for the RMA to toll these projects.

[kmerian]

Originally Posted by tgannaway89

Ouch! $419 million worth of projects planned through 2019 have been postponed. Projects at 1604, I-10, Wurzbach Pkwy, and SH-211 are all listed as postponed according to the news story:

News - San Antonio local news and shopping at ClickitSA.com

We can't even fund the highways we have and Perry wants to spend hundreds of billions to build TTC-35?

There is a simple phrase for this: extortion.

Basically, Perry is saying that if we want these projects, we need to just quit opposing his plans to toll them, and quit opposing the TTC.

When will the people of Texas vote this guy out?

[tgannaway89]

Originally Posted by kmerian

There is a simple phrase for this: extortion.

Basically, Perry is saying that if we want these projects, we need to just quit opposing his plans to toll them, and quit opposing the TTC.

When will the people of Texas vote this guy out?

I wasn't legal to vote in the last election so don't blame me for putting him in office! He has even hinted that he may seek reelection. No 3rd term for Perry! Next month he will officially be the longest consecutive governor in Texas history .

[tgannaway89]

Originally Posted by Turtle_Mom

Oh and Wurzbach Parkway is one of the delayed projects? I don't think that is ever going to go up, it's just an urban legand.

In the '07 bond the city came up with some $12.5 million towards making it a reality. What will happen to that money if the project is postponed?

BTW TXDOT is looking at a budget of around $5 billion through 2019. That isn't a very big budget and speaks volumes as to why all major road projects in Texas will now seek a toll-option to fund them. What is with the massive shortfall of money? I know we have been pouring millions "preparing" for the Trans-Texas Corridor, so does the budget through 2019 fund part of TTC-35? At least the speed limit will be 85mph when it opens... in 50 years!

[ryneone]

Perry is not going anywhere. He has had some major transportation blunders but our state is leading the country or right at the top in job, population, and economic growth.