Bergstrom Expressway - community opinion? (Austin, Georgetown: houses, law, transportation)

[10scoachrick]

Originally Posted by sojourner77

^^^We all know what the problem is (local single-occupant vehicle traffic), we need to talk about what the tollroad solution WILL BE (creating an incentive to carpool, make fewer vehicle trips, increase bus ridership, etc). A lot of the people I see on I-35 are driving by themselves, and they could care less that they are. Tollroads would fix that problem real quick.

Tee hee...snicker

[sojourner77]

Originally Posted by 10scoachrick

Tee hee...snicker

Pardon? I don't follow.

[10scoachrick]

Originally Posted by sojourner77

^^^We all know what the problem is (local single-occupant vehicle traffic), we need to talk about what the tollroad solution WILL BE (creating an incentive to carpool, make fewer vehicle trips, increase bus ridership, etc). A lot of the people I see on I-35 are driving by themselves, and they could care less that they are. Tollroads would fix that problem real quick.

Let us know how that works out.

[sojourner77]

Originally Posted by 10scoachrick

Tee hee...snicker

okay I think I know what you're implying. A tollroad won't work for wealthier parts of town unless it added capacity. The locals brush it off and consider it a nuisance. A road like I-35 will see immediate impact because a majority of the people respond to financial incentive.

[10scoachrick]

Originally Posted by sojourner77

okay I think I know what you're implying. A tollroad won't work for wealthier parts of town unless it added capacity. The locals brush it off and consider it a nuisance. A road like I-35 will see immediate impact because a majority of the people respond to financial incentive.

A majority of whom?
Will respond by doing what, exactly?...drive on already overcrowded surface roads and through neighborhoods?

[scm53]

Originally Posted by sojourner77

the tolls from I-35 would cover it, probably 10X faster than SH130 would, too.

Except that tolls on existing interstate highways are barred by federal law.

[sojourner77]

Originally Posted by 10scoachrick

A majority of whom?
Will respond by doing what, exactly?...drive on already overcrowded surface roads and through neighborhoods?

jeebus crunch, let me spell it out - The people who use I-35 tend to be blue-collar. If they had to start paying to use it, their behavior would change drastically compared to others who could easily afford tolls. When I'm on I-35, I see a LOT of single occupant vehicles belonging to poor people. They don't seem to care that they are stuck in traffic, either. There is an air of complacency, much like you would find in a place like San Antonio.

[sojourner77]

Originally Posted by scm53

Except that tolls on existing interstate highways are barred by federal law.

It would no longer be an interstate highway. Please reread the thread - the idea is to SWAP the freeways.

[TexasHorseLady]

Originally Posted by 10scoachrick

A majority of whom?
Will respond by doing what, exactly?...drive on already overcrowded surface roads and through neighborhoods?

Exactly. But don't you know that all of those NAUGHTY people who use I35 and need to be forced to change their behavior to fit what we think is right for them to do have loads of extra money in their pocket to pay daily tolls to get to and from work and the other places they need to go?

Or drive way out of their way to 130 and back to get to work, at the cost of additional fuel.

Or change their behavior and all plan their job and errand and kid life around each other's job and errand and kid life all so that they can accommodate someone else they don't even know's idea of what their lives SHOULD be.

Yeah, right.

Snicker, indeed.

[Rynldsbr]

Sojourner - you have the problem identified correctly. Unfortunately your solution is based on the assumption that the tolls will be a deterrant. That is not correct based on history in many other cities. Chicago, DC, Denver, NYC and others (including Austin) have all added tolls to raise revenue based on the fact that ridership does not go down significantly on the highways when the tolls go in.

The American love affair with our cars and our individual freedom to get where we want to go when we want to go there is far too strong to be inhibited by a mere few dollars a day. Barring cultural change OR a mass transit that is quick, convenient, cost effective, and has the capacity to move people faster than the current traffic flow occurs in the immdiate future - Austin traffic is going to remain a problem for generations.

Since such a mass transit system requires large infrastructure investments (more than highways at this point) AND a paradigm shift in commuter mentality I suggest everyone get the car detailed and cleaned up so it looks and smells new and enjoy the ride. You're gonna be in traffic for awhile.