Editor:
Among the bad ideas of note: A toll road in Brownsville. We are the poorest county in the nation and some bright chaps want to put in a toll road.
After years of waiting to get the rail track removed, now we will have a new obstacle. Please join me in advising the Texas Department of Transportation, "No, thanks."
Bill Hudson
Brownsville
Friday, September 19, 2008
I would have gone on a bit, but.....
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15 comments:
I'm against toll roads like the next person, but are they putting one alittle too near to Hudson's developments?
I don't think so. It is my belief that he just thinks they are a bad idea and would be bad for business.
M.
Hudson must know FM 802 construction near his developments and MUDs/PIDs are done by the regional mobility district. Is he against those too?
I with political outsider. Hudson must have ties or developments brewing where tolls would go. It's bad for business alright, Hudson business.
Will Hudson put his money where his mouth (letter) is? If he is against toll roads, Ernie must be too, right?
Wes Blackmum
Meros right. I'm probably alittle suspicious of Hudson's motives, though Mr. Blackmum makes a good point.
I may have to alter slightly my perception of Bill Hudson's problem. I drove by Paseo Plaza and now that the UNNECESSARY construction on FM802 in now UNNECESSARILY moving to the other side of the street, he is facing months of limited access to Paseo Plaza and its many rent paying tenets.
M.
Maybe he is worried that his upcoming development projects north of paredes line rd are going to be affected? The plans are huge, big money.
Things that make you go ummm?
Hudson sold off all of his commercial centers. I think he just thinks toll roads are bad for business. I don't think there are any motives outside of that. I think the west loop is a good idea. When my grandmother passed away, I had a chance to buy her house, but it was "all the way over there" by Sam's stadium. There simply is not a good way to get to the west side. For that same reason, I no longer go to St. Joseph Church. I think a new highway will revitalize that area. Look at the North Dallas Tollway area. Look at the land along Beltway 8 in Houston. I don't think that this highway will make real money until 77/83 is in an everyday rushhour gridlock. But folks, those times are coming, and now is the time to be planning alternatives. As for the opponents of the tollway. I don't see any other viable alternatives. I don't think a rails to trails park project would fly down there. It's simply too dangerous to jog there at this time. Look at what's happened with the old railroad right-of-way behind sams stadium.. It's an unkept, overgrown trash dump. The neigbors who oppose the highway are worried about noise. A toll road will generate much less noise, due to less traffic, than an at grade free road. The toll road will give those residents more access than they currently have with the tracks there. Instead of looking at their neighborhoods being isolated as a bad thing, they should consider the security aspects of being isolated from some of those other neighborhoods.
As for the opponents of the tollway. I don't see any other viable alternatives.
Then please stop drinking Perry flavored Kool-Aid. It dulls the senses.
TxDOT is going to widen 77/83 by one more lane the minute that they finish the present stupidly handled expansion of 83. They didn't add two lanes at the same time due to McAllen's objection that it would have disrupted that city's traffic too much. I am not joking, this is a fact.
If the road is needed, get it built. We have always done that in Texas. The Texas Constitution frowns heavily on toll roads and toll bridges. There is a reason for that, but Perry and his ilk pay little heed to that.
Governor Goodhair's RMAs are a blatant attempt to circumvent the constitutional constraints on Texas toll roads. This was done because putting them on the ballot for amendment would be suicidal.
A toll road will generate much less noise, due to less traffic, than an at grade free road.
Then why build the thing as a toll road? If the objective was to move traffic off the free road, it is doomed to ineffectiveness if it will admittedly be a low traffic road.
M.
I think a toll road is a terrible idea.
I hope that the rails to trails projects that have started could be expanded to include the "west loop" that would actually make some kind of loop. This type of loop could also include the section of former rails behind Sams Stadium.
If all of the rail right of ways are converted to trails - then the people of Brownsville could use them to get around on foot and bike.
(Mero, I don't know where to put this. But I need to say it.)
Traditionally, after such events we see our president, governor, Congress members and a host of others hit the skies and fly over the damage; often they drop in to meet with local officials and a few select residents. Admittedly these visits do little tangible, but they do show those affected that the officials are aware of their plight. That alone can raise residents' spirits and motivate them to start rebuilding. That didn't happen in the Rio Grande Valley, the longtime stepchild of Texas.
What kind of shit is the Herald pulling with this Sunday Editorial? Did Marcia or Daniel write this imprudent column?
I remember Laura Martinez’s story detailing a conference call with Senator John Cornyn immediately after Hurricane Dolly. Governor Goodhair Perry and Cornyn took part in a flyover with the county judges of Cameron and Hidalgo counties together with media and other local dignitaries.
Does the Herald have a complex? Are they jealous that the storm wasn’t as bit as Gustav or Ike?
Are they trying to help local Democrats rally to vote in November? They must know that voters are staying home. The state doesn’t matter in the presidential election. And let’s face it, older Hispanic voters are not voting for a black man.
So what if the President didn’t visit the “disaster.” For Brownsville, it wasn’t as big a deal as other storms. Did he visit the Fay victims in Florida? It’s raining outside. Do you want him to visit us tomorrow? Do you want him to hold our hands?
Wes Blackmum
“That’s my view. And it happens to be correct.”
Hudson may have sold off all his commercial centers, but how about those new residential subdv. coming north of B'ville?
Just saying
how about those new residential subdv. coming north of B'ville?
Unfortunately we have further to go in this economic downturn for that to be a concern for the next few years, longer if Congress tries to "help".
M.
Wes Blackmum
“That’s my view. And it happens to be correct.”
Like the sig.
M.
I hoped you'd approve the sig Mero.
As for the anon's comment on the residential subdivisions, I say they're owned by a conglomerate of political bigwigs, hacks, and wannabes. That's the scary part. It begs to be asked: Who is behind the transportation modifications, i.e. toll, Morrison Road, and traffic lights?
Wes Blackmum
"That's my view. And it happens to be correct."
The traffic lights are simple, abject stupidity.
On my way home today, I designed a fairly simple to implement traffic control master system that runs the control system wirelessly, would maybe cost 3~5 million to do the whole city and would maximize traffic through-put. The system would not replace the traffic light timers, it would dynamically update their existing programing on a clock basis as if they were manually programmed correctly.
Once the system has "learned" the traffic flow pattern and timings, the main control system could probably be off-line for a month before anyone noticed the lack of the former smoothness of traffic flow.
Now the question is: Which generates a higher quality of life for the citizens of Brownsville, an affordable traffic control system, or a $50 million Sports Park?
"Of course I know. It is my business to know." -The Merovingian
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