Research update 12/27/07

Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority FAQs
Frequently asked questions about toll roads
Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority

On Dec. 31, It's Official: Boston's Big Dig Done
The end of one of the most tumultuous eras in the city's history: The Big Dig, the nation's most complex and costliest highway project
Steve LeBlanc, Washington Post, 12/26/07

Contracting team is picked for Missouri bridge work
First in nation, to repair and maintain 802 of Missouri's worst bridges (350 ready to be shut down of over 10,000 bridges total) within 5 years. $400-$600 million, one-third from feds.
Crouch, St. Louis Today, 12/21/07

Financial close on 80 year concession for $1.52b of toll lanes on Capital Beltway N Virginia
Virginia DOT, Transurban and Fluor have signed the contracts and gone to financial close for the construction of four toll lanes plus direct connector ramps on 14 miles of the Capital Beltway (I-495) in northern Virginia
Tollraodsnews, 12/20/07

Priorities should drive transportation policy
List of GA projects to cost $67 billion with out $46 billion to be available, no priorities set for relieving congestion, improving safety, comply with Clean Air Act.
Ron Sifen, Georgia Public Policy Institute, 12/21/07

Spending Bills Still Stuffed With Earmarks
Twice in the past two years, Alaska lawmakers lost congressional earmarks to build two "bridges to nowhere" costing hundreds of millions of dollars after Congress was embarrassed by public complaints over the pet projects hidden in annual spending bills.
Elizabeth Williamson, Washington Post, 12/21/07

New TRAX passenger tracking system shows ridership lower than thought
A new infrared tracking system on TRAX trains shows that the Utah Transit Authority overestimated rail ridership since its late-1999 opening, perhaps by nearly a third on the most extreme days last year.
Brandon Loomis, Salt Lake Tribune, 12/20/07

NY's MTA in-fraction to cost riders
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has yet to plan how it will encourage the public not to discard MetroCards carrying fractional fares.
Patrick Gallahue, NY Post, 12/20/07

Scots vote to scrap bridge tolls
The SNP promised to abolish the last remaining bridge tolls in Scotland as part of its election campaign.
BBC News, 12/20/07

More questions after MAX ride
Milwaukee City Councilors touring Portland's MAX rail line, see good and bad. Art features deter graffiti, good street lighting and walk signals. Poor security, ticket machines don't work. Needs more police due to car breakins and theft at parking lots.
Graham, 12/19/07

Attorneys: Pike ticket target illegal
Prominent Boston lawyers say the Pike's plan to prod state police to collect $1.2 million more from speeders - half of that near the city - in the coming year to help balance the budget depleted by the Big Dig is unconstitutional
Dwinell, Boston Herald, 12/19/07

Analysis for Turnpike shows tolling PA/I-80 as cash cow making it ineligible for fed OK
The Citigroup spreadsheets however show I-80 being envisioned as an enormous cash cow for projects elsewhere in the state - making it impossible for the feds to approve the Turnpike's application to toll.
TollRoadsNews, 12/19/07

AAA Predicts Small Increase in Travel During Holiday Season
65.2 million Americans (81% of holiday travel) will travel 50+ miles during Christmas-NY season, 0.7 percent above last year's 64.7 million. . 8.9 million (13.7% of holiday travel) travel by airplane, 3.3 million by rail, bus or other mode of transportation.
AAA, Yahoo, 12/17/07

Cianbro Corp Considers Building $1-Billion Maine Toll Road
220-mile EW toll road as transportation utility corridor across Central Maine proposed by group of business corporations to build the road, led by Peter Vigue, President & CEO of Cianbro, construction company to spur economic development in northern Maine.
ENR.com, 12/12/2007

Behind the Wheel: Who Drives Into the Proposed NYC Congestion Zone?
Some people contend that tolls would disproportionately affect low- and moderate-income residents. But IBO study finds that majority of commuters in proposed congestion zone come from outside NYC, have median annual earnings exceeding 30% of other commuters.
NYC Independent Budget Office Number 154, 12/11/07

Drivers could pay extra for life in fast lane
After 1.8 million drivers voted against road pricing, tolls would be added only where extra capacity is added instead of converting existing roads to tolling. Drivers to have a choice, no-one would be forced to pay to use the toll lane.
Ben Webster, London Times, 12/10/07

Congestion Pricing in NYC May Lead To Big Parking Problem
Congestion pricing is still only a possibility but already steps are being taken by the city to deal with the ripple effects of the program.
Sean Hennessey, WCBSTV, 12/5/07

New Report Fuels Congestion Pricing Debate
Advocates of congestion pricing, who say that the traffic fees, which would apply to motorists south of 86th Street, would work much like a commuter tax - raising money from wealthier car-owning commuters for much-needed mass-transit improvements.
Sewell Chan, NY Times, 12/11/07

Congestion 'as bad as before the charge'
Congestion in central London is nearly as bad as it was before the C-charge was introduced, according to new figures.
David Williams, Evening Standard, 11/22/07

Boom in green cars could 'damage' Congestion charge
Popular small cars exempt from toll from February, to save £2000 yearly. "Gas-guzzlers" to pay £25 day to enter congestion zone next August.
David Williams, Evening Standard, 11/12/07

Businesses split on tollway benefits in San Antonio
Who's pushing for this is the business community and people who want to be able to get to work on time and who want to get home on time and who want to get their kids to school on time." "I just can't wait for them to do something," Realtor Diane Craig said. "They just need to free up the traffic it's killing stuff out here."
Patrick Driscoll, San Antonio Express News, 11/11/07

The London Congestion Charge 5th Report
The key point is that congestion in the original central London zone is spiraling out of control. They admit that congestion has increased by 15% since 2005/061, and the congestion rate has increased from 3.5 min/km to 4 min/km since 20032.
Alex Crowley, London Assembly Conservatives Briefing Note, 11/07/07

London Rush-hour is slower than before C-charge
Traffic in the morning rush-hour is now slower than before Ken Livingstone brought in the congestion charge.
Crerar, Evening Standard, 11/6/07

Study Shows 183A Toll Road Benefits all Drivers
Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority: significant reduction in traffic on non-tolled roads. On U.S. 183, traffic has been reduced by as much as 27% since 183A opened March 2007. On Parmer Lane/Ronald Reagan Boulevard, traffic has decreased by as much as 29%. More than 25,000 vehicles each day have switched from those previously traveled roadways to the 183A toll road, improving mobility for everyone in the region.
KLBJ, 10/8/07

Toll roads save time, fuel: study
A survey carried out by Australia's National Roads & Motorists Association has found that drivers who pay tolls to use Sydney motorways spend up to 75 per cent less time in the car, compared to drivers who take other roads.
ABC News, 9/17/07

Denver's I-25 HOT Lanes
The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) and the Colorado Tolling Enterprise (CTE) changed the operation of the I-25 high occupancy vehicle (HOV) facility in the Denver area to high occupancy toll (HOT) lanes on June 1, 2006. Elements of the project.
Institute of Transportation Engineers Dist. 6, Jul-Aug 2007, Vol. 61 No. 4

How failings in transport hold back prosperity for billions
A global look...
Robert Wright, Financial Times UK, 3/12/07