CTRMA contractor tries to snuff out any opposing view within Alliance of Cities.

Why is Don Martin of Martin Salinas responding to an internal Alliance of Cities email within hours?

At the time Martin Salinas had a NO BID contract with the CTRMA. Martin Salinas is a public affairs consulting firm that provides media relations, governmental affairs, and lobbying.

Has the Alliance of Cities received a balanced education on the freeway tolls?

Sal
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Dear Alliance Mayors,

The City of Sunset Valley recognizes the need to greatly improve our area transportation systems. We are opposed to the original and amended Mobility Plan for the following reasons:

1. The toll option should be used to create NEW roads only. Sunset Valley is in opposition to tolling any existing public roads or public roads already under construction.

2. No toll road should be implemented (on an existing road) where the non-toll alternative is not qualitatively and quantitatively equal in terms of traffic and congestion. Under this approach, a toll road could not be implemented where the proposed alternative is an access or frontage road where there are more traffic stoppages due to lights, etc., on the frontage road.

3. No toll roads of any type should be approved unless there is a irrevocable provision requiring a toll road to cease being a toll road on the date when public funds would have paid for the project. A toll road that continues to be a toll road after it would have been built as a public road is simply a back-door increase in government taxes or an unfair economic windfall for private toll road investors.

4. A toll road is a regressive tax whose burden is felt most heavily by citizens who can least afford to pay it. Non toll alternatives that burdens those who can least afford to pay with longer commutes unfairly gives "those with means" a benefit over those "without means". This is simply wrong and contradicts strongly held American values of fairness and equal treatment.

5. Ancillary transportation systems such as mass transit and pedestrian/bicycle pathways need to be fully provided in transportation planning and implementation.

We urge other Alliance Members to oppose the current plan.

Respectfully submitted,

Mayor Terry Cowan
City of Sunset Valley
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Response to Mayor Cowan
Date:	Wed, 7 Jul 2004 22:10:31 -0500
From:	"Don Martin"
To:	john.hrncir@ci.austin.tx.us, "Gary Nelon" , biff@ci.leander.tx.us, "Richard Arellano" , "Will Bozeman" , "Wynn Chapman" , Dwightmobile@aol.com, "Karen Thompson" , "Nyle Maxwell" , sigo@tml.org, bob.young@3county.com, citysec@westlakehills.org, trube22@hotmail.com, cityofrollingwood@austin.rr.com, jamesp@admin.stedwards.edu, mayor@georgetowntx.org, mary.neely@lcra.org, jfoley@sunsetvalley.org, mayor@cityoflakeway.com, lagomgr@lago-vista.org, linda@jonestown.org, "Mayor Nyle Maxwell" , loretta.janota@stdavids.com, citysecretary@ci.leander.tx.us, cityofkyle@cityofkyle.com, fjones6@austin.rr.com, JoDnns@aol.com, pci@jonestown.org, billrollingwood@austin.rr.com, "Phil Duprey" , mayor@jonestown.org, "Caroline Murphy" , smashburn@ci.bee-cave.tx.us, "Peggy Smith Croslin" , "Will Wynn"
CC:	trcowan@wapeap.com

Dear Alliance Mayors:

With all due respect to Mayor Cowan, I would like to respond to some of the comments from the Sunset Valley email opposing the proposed toll road plan. There are in fact numerous important reasons why the Alliance of Mayors, and the region's mayors individually, should be in strong support of the toll plan.

1. The toll road plan only calls for tolls in cases where additional capacity is being added. Sunset Valley's comments opposing tolling "roads that are already under construction" undoubtedly relates to their specific localized concern about South Loop 1. While it is true that portions of South Loop 1 (namely the bridge over William Cannon) is already under construction, there is far more to the cost of South Loop 1 that is not funded: such as the direct connect ramps to Hwy 290 / 71, additional capacity improvements to Loop 1 that will benefit South Austin residents as they drive into and out of downtown, and of course the long-term maintenance of the roads. Simply finishing this one main-lane bridge is not the end of needed construction for this area.

2. Residents using South Loop 1 WILL have the very same free, non-tolled alternative that they have now -- namely to use the Loop 1 existing frontage roads (with their existing signals) without paying a toll. In addition, these frontage roads should be considerably less congested once those motorists using the new "toll express lanes" are taken off the frontage roads and moved into the express lanes.

3. The toll road concept is nothing more than a funding mechanism for roads already approved in the CAMPO plan. The use of tolls creates an "economic engine" for our area to fund these and other future projects that otherwise have no source of funding. The money raised by tolls stays in our area, and is not taken by the state to be re-distributed elsewhere.

4. Blanket provisions to cease tolls once a road's capital costs are paid ignore the economic reality that construction is only one part of the true cost of roads. Roads are built in a few years, and yet then are maintained forever. The cost for maintenance of existing roads is taking an increasing portion of our limited state gas tax funds, leaving less and less for new capacity at the very same time that road capacity needs are increasing.

5. Tolls are essentially user fees paid by those who use the roads. Given that significant increases in the gasoline tax are not likely politically (or economically), the alternative would be to raise taxes in some other manner. What would you propose as an alternative? Property taxes?! Tolls are a way to have those who choose to use the convenience of express lanes to share the cost of such lanes. There will still be non-tolled alternatives for those who do not wish to pay.

6. Toll fees will pay not only for roads construction and maintenance, but also for the ROW costs that otherwise would need to be paid by local cities and counties. The financial windfall for cities NOT to have to fund ROW (through local taxes) is a huge benefit to local government. Again, only those who chose to use the convenience pay for the convenience under a toll system.

7. It is easy to be against toll roads when one fails to propose a viable, feasible, realistic alternative.

8. Taking out tolls for South Austin leave the rest of the greater Austin area to shoulder the burden for these localized residents. An important feature of the toll road plan is that everyone shares in the costs community-wide. No one gets a free ride, and no one gets to benefit from the greatly added capacity community-wide while not paying their share. Already residents along North Loop 1 and Round Rock will be paying tolls for the north extension of Loop 1 and SH 45. Why is it that South Austin then should NOT have to share equally in the burden?

These and many other reasons are why the business community in Austin has taken a leadership role to help educate the public and provide support for this system-wide plan. Groups who have endorsed the toll plan represent a wide range of interests and include groups such as the Austin Chamber of Commerce, Austin Area Research Organization (AARO), Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the Real Estate Council of Austin (RECA), Associated General Contractors, the Capital Cities Chamber of Commerce, the Black Chamber of Commerce, Downtown Austin Association, Austin Commercial Real Estate Society, the Austin American-Statesman, and many, many others.

Both individually and through the Alliance of Mayors, I hope you will strongly consider supporting this critically important plan.

Don Martin

Citizens For Mobility

www.congestionrelief.com

-----------

-----Original Message-----
From: Terry Cowan [mailto:trcowan@wapeap.com]
Sent: Thursday, July 08, 2004 8:03 AM
To: john.hrncir@ci.austin.tx.us; Gary Nelon; biff@ci.leander.tx.us; Richard Arellano; Will Bozeman; Wynn Chapman; Dwightmobile@aol.com; Karen Thompson; Nyle Maxwell; sigo@tml.org; bob.young@3county.com; citysec@westlakehills.org; trube22@hotmail.com; cityofrollingwood@austin.rr.com; jamesp@admin.stedwards.edu; mayor@georgetowntx.org; mary.neely@lcra.org; jfoley@sunsetvalley.org; mayor@cityoflakeway.com; lagomgr@lago-vista.org; linda@jonestown.org; Mayor Nyle Maxwell; loretta.janota@stdavids.com; citysecretary@ci.leander.tx.us; cityofkyle@cityofkyle.com; fjones6@austin.rr.com; JoDnns@aol.com; pci@jonestown.org; billrollingwood@austin.rr.com; Phil Duprey; mayor@jonestown.org; Caroline Murphy; smashburn@ci.bee-cave.tx.us; Peggy Smith Croslin; Will Wynn; Don Martin

Cc: gonzalo barrientos; bdaigh; sam biscoe; dawnna dukes; gboatright; jtrevino; mike krusee; karen sonleitner; Scott Draker; Cat Quintanilla; Katy Phillips; Doug Young; Jeff Mills; Charles Goyette III; Mary Black; Daryl Slusher; Raul Alvarez; Danny Thomas; Jackie Goodman; doggett@hr.house.gov

Subject: Re: Response to Mayor Cowan

Dear Alliance Mayors,

With all due respect to Don Martin and the special interest group he represents, he didn't take the responsible step to ask me (or any other elected official in Sunset Valley) a single question about what our concerns are. Therefore, any representations he made about the position of Sunset Valley are uninformed speculations, to say the least. The public record clearly shows that we are looking at the highway problems (Loop 360, Hwy 290, Loop 1, etc.) regionally rather than locally.

Sunset Valley is concerned that the plan opens up a new "back-door" government tax or unfair profits for private firms. The current plan does not protect us from these possibilities. The simplest way to protect us is to put an irrevocable deadline when toll roads must become free, public roads. Demand that this be a part of the plan, or at the minimum require that the voters approve that they want a new permanent tax or if they approve indefinitely paying private vendors to drive on some of our roads.

It is disingenuous to say that everyone has a choice whether to use a toll road or not. A significant number of people in Central Texas will not be able to "choose" whether to use the toll roads or not because they will not be able to afford to add the cost of the tolls into their budget. Government should not ignore the needs of the working poor and struggling middle class; the plan does not address their needs.

Any mobility plan that does not vigorously incorporate mass transit and walking/bicycle options is not a mobility plan--it is a highway plan. This is the 21st century; we can do better than that.

The plan really does need more work. Please do not approve the proposed plan. Instead, ask CAMPO to make needed improvements to the plan so that all groups can benefit, all available transportation technology is incorporated, and either put a deadline on the tolls or give people an opportunity to vote on permanently paying new "optional" taxes to government or new fees to the private sector.

Respectfully,

Terry

Mayor Terry Cowan
City of Sunset Valley