[Homestead] The Texas corridor?
Barbara Lamar
blamar at satx.rr.com
Sat Dec 4 13:51:48 EST 2004
Rob wrote:
> This is really different and from what I saw at this web site (they
> are against it) not the best of ideas.
> http://corridorwatch.org/ttc/index.htm
>
[...]
>
> Anyone know any more about this? Right now it's just a Texas problem
> but it's a problem that could easily jump state lines if someone
> starts making money off it.
All I know is what's been made public. No doubt there's a lot of
wheeling and dealing going on behind closed doors. The one aspect of the
plan I like, at least in theory, is the separation of auto traffic from
commercial trucks. The concept of user payments (tolls) would appeal to
me if I thought there'd be sound financial planning such that the thing
would pay for itself. But of course the probability of this happening is
very, very close to zero. Oh sure, there will be payoffs, a few folks
are going to get rich off the deal -- but not Texans in general.
I do use the cuotas when I'm driving in Mexico and feel a lot safer than
when I'm dodging trucks and busses on the free roads, and Texas
highways, especially I-35 between Dallas and Laredo, have become so
congested with large-truck traffic that I find it terrifying to drive at
certain times of the day; so I'm prepared to believe some of the safety
claims made by the supporters of the corridor. Beyond that, it sounds
like a huge public rip-off that would have tragic consequences for the land.
My homestead is in the central part of Caldwell County, Texas, and the
proposed route of the corridor that runs roughly between San Antonio and
Houston passes through the southern tip of the county, about 16 miles
south of my place. Since no one knows exactly where the corridor would
pass (except that it would be designed to bypass urban areas), my
homestead could very well be in danger. I once had a nightmare of waking
up in my little house, walking out the front door and beholding the
concrete parking lof of a shopping mall. It's quite scary to think that
such a nightmare could end up being somehwhat prophetic.
With respect to land use, I see the corridor as "freeway" writ huge. Not
only would these titanics of highway engineering disrupt the flow of
human traffic from one side of each corridor to the other side --
imagine the effect on wildllife. In some respects I suppose it could be
interesting to observe whether subspecies would develop among
populations isolated by the corridor -- but a more likely outcome would
be that some of the species would simply die off due to inability to
access seasonal sources of food & water.
Barbara
More information about the Homestead
mailing list