For Whom the Toll Road Tolls

Did you ever wonder where people got the idea that toll roads are inherently good things?

Did you ever wonder how toll roads have become so numerous around these parts?

I have, and so have the Fort Bend County voters in Precinct 1 who came out and voted against a toll road authority candidate and for a Democratic candidate, Richard Morrison, whose call to battle was “No Toll Roads.” At the time, it was Section C that created the hue and cry. Section C, also known as the Toll Road to Nowhere. Section C would have created a ribbon of concrete through a quiet development known as Greatwood. Then onward to the south over a treeless plain.

That issued was settled with the voters in 2008. But now another toll road has reared its ugly head.

Section D.

Section D is a stretch of the Grand Parkway that has already been built between the Westpark Tollway and US 59. It’s free. The proposal is to finish the project by building a tollway in addition to the existing 4 lane artery currently handling the traffic.

Then charge commuters money to drive on it.

According to Bob Hebert, “Ph.D.” it is completely fitting and necessary to build the thing.

From The Chron:

“County Judge Bob Hebert said tolling would be the only option to build the
road as taxpayers would be opposed to county using their tax money for the
project.”

As if that is the only option.

There is another option.

Don’t expand it.

And who said the taxpayers will object to their tax money funding the project? Where does he get his facts? The funny papers? If memory serves, the taxpayers in Fort Bend County overwhelmingly approved a county bond issue to expand existing county roads all over the place. It was Fort Bend County Proposition 1 on the May 2007 Ballot.

Take a look. It’s here 79.21% of the voters voted in favor of selling millions of dollars in bonds to improve the county road system.

That’s 12,932 votes, by the way.

Now my point is twofold.

One, what the H-E-Double-Hockey-Sticks are we doing listening to this guy talk about expanding the Grand Parkway by having it paid for in tolls when the county road expansion project has yet to show any results? If congestion is such an issue, or prevention of it, where are the road expansions that were meant to alleviate the situation?

Two, what is this about taxpayers will oppose having their taxes go to expanding the Grand Parkway. Has he asked any of them yet? I can count 12,932 voters out there who will vote for anything that Judge Hebert and his cronies want to buy. All he needs is another off-off year election in May to get another bond issue passed.

2011 sounds like a very good year for something like that.

Face it. Until the voters catch on about these guys and their construction company cronies we will continue to have these ribbons of pavement foisted on us and there isn’t a thing we can do about it until the voters wake up and smell the concrete.

Paraphrasing John Donne who said it best when he wrote in his Devotions:

“…never send to know for whom the toll road tolls; it tolls for thee."