SH 130 toll road (Dallas, Austin, New Braunfels: credit, hotels, construction)

[TexasHorseLady]

No, the town doesn't have a major drug problem just because the roads don't suit you.

We also don't need to turn the entire area into a bunch of concrete just because some folks want to get places Really Really Fast.

It takes me, at the moment, an hour to get from my front door, 15 miles north of Georgetown, to the door of the house we own in Barton Hills. (Yes, I timed myself the other day just because of discussions like this - I thought it took about that long but I wanted to confirm.) That's using just the 45 over to Mopac from I35 part of a toll road - it would add 5 to 10 minutes to the drive to take the non-toll roads. Do we have rush hour problems? Yep, so does most every city of our size or larger. Have we grown way too fast? Yep, that causes growing pains, too. But it's still possible to get around in this town pretty easily, if you're not hooked on instant gratification.

[jobert]

Originally Posted by TexasHorseLady

No, the town doesn't have a major drug problem just because the roads don't suit you.

We also don't need to turn the entire area into a bunch of concrete just because some folks want to get places Really Really Fast.

It takes me, at the moment, an hour to get from my front door, 15 miles north of Georgetown, to the door of the house we own in Barton Hills. (Yes, I timed myself the other day just because of discussions like this - I thought it took about that long but I wanted to confirm.) That's using just the 45 over to Mopac from I35 part of a toll road - it would add 5 to 10 minutes to the drive to take the non-toll roads. Do we have rush hour problems? Yep, so does most every city of our size or larger. Have we grown way too fast? Yep, that causes growing pains, too. But it's still possible to get around in this town pretty easily, if you're not hooked on instant gratification.

Whoa, hold your horses..

This isn't about instant gratification. If anything, the solution will be anything but instant. It's about long term growth and managing this growth so that we all don't suffer. You and I. Dallas is reclaiming park space by covering the freeway downtown with green area a la "Big Dig". Improvements to roadways don't always involved paving over paradise. If we buck up and just do the inevitable: bury I-35, include a light rail underground with it, and cover the top with parks and trees, we might actual erase this I-35 stigma and unify the city as a result.

what a novel concept!

[TexasHorseLady]

Here's the thing. This is Texas. This isn't the Northeast, nor does it aspire to be. We do love our cars (and we need them, because we're spread out - Texans really don't like being stacked on top of one another all that much, either). So whatever we do has to keep that cultural difference, based on geographical and topographical differences, in mind or it won't fly here.

[mimimomx3]

Originally Posted by jobert

Whoa, hold your horses..

This isn't about instant gratification. If anything, the solution will be anything but instant. It's about long term growth and managing this growth so that we all don't suffer. You and I. Dallas is reclaiming park space by covering the freeway downtown with green area a la "Big Dig". Improvements to roadways don't always involved paving over paradise. If we buck up and just do the inevitable: bury I-35, include a light rail underground with it, and cover the top with parks and trees, we might actual erase this I-35 stigma and unify the city as a result.

what a novel concept!

Are you planning to harvest the money tree to pay for burying I35, lightrail and who knows what else? Read the paper: RECESSION. If we haven't learned anything else over the past year, it's that we can't HAVE IT ALL. I would say that new highways rank pretty low on our NEEDS list.

[jobert]

Last time I checked, the U.S. govt just approved nearly a trillion $'s worth of spending to be used to improve roads, bridges, healthcare, infrastructure, etc. That is the money tree I am referring to. You might realize that if you read anything else besides the Statesman.

(sorry, I couldn't resist)

[TexasHorseLady]

I rarely read the Statesman, as it happens.

[Austinitegirl]

Originally Posted by jobert

austinitegirl, you are suffering from a classic example of "east-of-35 inferiority complex" No one was calling you poor. I live east of 35 and I'm not poor either. In fact the word "poor" was never typed by anyone until you chimed in. Houses east of 35 can reach into the 500K in some places. The unfortunate fact is that Austin is expensive for a Texas city. But, you get what you pay for. This is a whole other topic in itself. Point in short: The richest people have the best means to pay tolls, therefore they should - not the other way around.

S-A-R-C-A-S-M my man - look it up.

If you read my post carefully, you will see that I was actually trying to make light of the fact that you started such a serious (and mildly uninformed) thread about northeast toll roads and their impact on the socio-economic politics of Austin.

I also think that if you carefully read all of the other posts - you'll see that almost everyone who said that they live in the area and drive on these roads are less concerned about the inequality of taxing the middle class and more concerned about how it affects their day-to-day driving lives.

If you don't live in the area and/or use the roads, why does it matter how much we're charged to drive on them? I mean, thanks for randomly taking up the cause (I guess), but I'm just not sure how it impacts your life.

I'm not saying we're all cheering every time we pass through a toll booth (especially in the current economic climate), and I'm also not saying that, at some point, there won't be a suburban uprising about it, but for now, I think we're all just so relieved to not be on 35.

And for the record - I think feeling superior OR inferior about what part of town you live in is silly... unless you live in Circle C Ranch - screw those guys.

[jobert]

It does affect me because I live around 35 - the highway that SH-130 was suppose to relieve. Still waiting for that relief.

Sarcasm does not translate over typed correspondence - everyone and their dog knows that.

[Austinitegirl]

Originally Posted by jobert

It does affect me because I live around 35 - the highway that SH-130 was suppose to relieve. Still waiting for that relief.

Sarcasm does not translate over typed correspondence - everyone and their dog knows that.

Unless they (and their dog) read the Statesman.

[jobert]

touche