The Traffic Goes on Forever, and the Construction Never Ends

Bill Hammond wrote this article October 18th in the statesman.com about the awful traffic situation here in Austin. Mr. Hammond makes the very agreeable point that Austin traffic essentially sucks. Anybody who lives in Austin can easily identify with this reality. Mr. Hammond's audience appears to be that of car-owning Austinites who might disagree with toll roads. Being that our infrastructure is primarily centered around automobiles, Mr. Hammond sets us up by metaphorically backing us into a tight spot. Mr. Hammond accurately uses the obvious examples of growth, aging roads, and a "if you think it is bad now, just wait" tactic of emotional agreement to make his stand.

Mr. Hammond happens to be the president and CEO of TAB, the Texas Association of Business (www.txbiz.org). While first glance might make one realize he is a supporter of small business, further examination shows good reason to believe that Mr. Hammond is simply a lobbyist for private transportation-management companies. This is evidenced by a quick Google search revealing that Mr. Hammond is a current registered lobbyist (go figure) for said industry. Mr. Hammond's other resume highlights include a former 8 year stint in the Texas House of Representatives. So, we have an individual with an intimate understanding of the legislative system who is now a lobbyist. Hmm....

So the question begs, what is the aim of this piece? Quite simply, it is to rally support for toll roads. It starts with:

A. We have a big problem that is only going to get worse.
B. It got this way because the current status quo has failed and lastly,
C. We have a magic bullet!

The magic bullet is Mr. Hammond's proposition to support those who have the solution to the status quo failure - no doubt Mr. Hammond's employer. The solution is a lovely, eloquent, win-for-all approach - a "public-private" partnership! Mr. Hammond's solution of a public-private partnership boasts jobs, economic growth, and getting us back on the road to being back on the road! Sounds awesome! Sign me up!

Oh wait, the last time we had a public-private partnership for transportation was the contract with the state of Texas with Central Texas Mobility Regional Authority. CTRMA is a private company but it sounds pretty official. It does say "authority" in it after all. Here is the problem I see: The basic theory in toll roads is the tolls end after the road has paid for itself. So far, not a single toll has been lifted in central Texas. Moreover, how many private property owners had to sell their land for fear of eminent domain?

I hate to sound like a conspiracy theorist, but I would challenge you to prove me wrong. I will save you the time - don't. It is much harder to disprove a negative; what I am saying is just like my argument, Mr. Hammond's argument for toll roads is suspect. At least I can admit my shortcomings.

Why do I say Mr. Hammond's argument is suspect? Let me present certain quantifiable information to enter for consideration. Here is a link to the txbiz.org website. On the bottom of the page it says all the things I feel are the dark underside of Mr. Hammond's plan: initial funding by the tax payer to pay for the road, then management and ultimately, ownership and profiteering by private companies. All the dough with no upfront ownership costs... I mean, there are upfront costs by the ones who use the roads, i.e. the same ones that paid for the road.

Further reading shows TAB's stance on transportation includes local input for "pass-thru financing" and "help fund local needs"; nevermind that, how about the motor fuel tax provision, stipulating future taxes may only be spent on road projects only. This seems like an earmark to guarantee to certainty of funding private corporations on public dollars to me. Lastly, Mr. Hammond expresses increasing vehicle registration by $50 per vehicle. That will be approximately a 40% increase on an already ridiculous tariff. I didn't sell my vehicle to anybody else therefore the registration did not change but I still have to pay it.

While I feel that Mr. Hammond is absolutely on point with the opinion that Austin traffic is atrocious, we should be careful about bedding with the first good-looking, slick-talking thing that comes along. We might just get ourselves into a situation that we have to live with for the rest of our lives - privately-managed road monopolies. I call them road herpes.