AUSTIN, Texas – Today, Texans for Traffic Relief (TTR) announced the Toll Payer Protection Act, a plan to address the ongoing concerns about statewide tolling.
Tolling in Texas is known to have a litany of problems including seemingly endless tolls, exorbitant administration fees, and toll roads that are constructed without input from the voters. Texas’ skyrocketing population has created an increasingly-heated discussion on tolling. However, people both for and against tolls have been denied a voice in the decision-making process.
For example, along 635E in Dallas and I-35 in Austin, local officials claim that taxpayers are demanding the addition of toll lanes to ease congestion, but feel TxDOT and statewide officeholders are not listening. On the other hand, residents in Montgomery County have opposed a toll project (SH 249), but feel they are not being heard by County officials, therefore demanding a public vote.
“Over the past year, we’ve spent a lot of time talking to Texans about their perspective on tolling and the changes they want to see,” said David White, spokesman for Texans for Traffic Relief. “This plan allows people to decide what is best for their community, while also supporting state infrastructure needs, protecting the interests of taxpayers, and most importantly, not raising taxes.”
The Toll Payer Protection Act requires that no new toll projects be constructed in the state of Texas without the following accountability measures firmly in place:
- No governmental entity should ever construct or fund construction of toll roads without voter approval.
- Toll billing, regardless of the entity responsible, must be transparent, accurate, and exorbitant administration fees must be capped.
- To avoid perpetual tolling, tolls should come off the road when the project costs are paid back.
- No tolling on existing lanes should ever be allowed.
- Proposition 1 and 7 funds should never be used to subsidize a toll lane.
Texans for Traffic Relief is a registered 501(c)(4) advocacy organization working on behalf of businesses, community leaders, and everyday Texans with the mission of raising awareness about the challenges facing Texas’ strained transportation system and advocating for commonsense solutions that will alleviate congestion, improve infrastructure, and protect the interests of taxpayers
For more information on The Toll Payer Protection Act, visit txtollpayerprotectionact.com or contact Elliott Griffin at (512) 970-9944.