Homestead mailing list

[Barbara Lamar <blamar AT satx.rr.com>]

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