195 replies to this topic

[renamerusk]

The good news is that now there are some legislators in Austin who will be introducing a bill to end naming or renaming state and federal highways for politicians and friends.  I hope that this will apply to donors too. 

 

Who is Kylde Warren and why should an honorary be bestowed upon him?

 

Keep Fort Worth folksy

[Fort Worthology]

 

 

Who is Kylde Warren and why should an honorary be bestowed upon him?

 

 

"The park is named for the 9-year-old son of billionaire Kelcy Warren." - http://en.wikipedia....yde_Warren_Park

[renamerusk]

 

 

 

Who is Kylde Warren and why should an honorary be bestowed upon him?

 

 

"The park is named for the 9-year-old son of billionaire Kelcy Warren." - http://en.wikipedia....yde_Warren_Park

 

 

Now the why? Could be a lot of life long pressure for the kid to live up or down to! 

 

The United States Postal Services stipulates that any honorary be deceased by a minimum of 5-10 years to allow for vetting of any potentially adverse notoriety.

[Funkutown Retro Retro]

Finally Construction On i35!!!!! yeeeeeeeeeees!!!!!

[Brian Luenser]

Great for construction on I-35.  The only reasonable solution to the fix we are in.   And naming a highway should always be done by the person that paid the most tax in that area. Nothing wrong with being fair. (I buy, I name)

[mmmdan]

So, in the case of buying a highway, it would be the person that has the least efficient vehicle that drives the most miles.

[renamerusk]

......And naming a highway should always be done by the person that paid the most tax in that area. Nothing wrong with being fair. (I buy, I name)

 

"Not knowing what to make of that!"

[Brian Luenser]

 

......And naming a highway should always be done by the person that paid the most tax in that area. Nothing wrong with being fair. (I buy, I name)

 

"Not knowing what to make of that!"

 

Make with it what it is, of course.  Fairness.

[renamerusk]

......And naming a highway should always be done by the person that paid the most tax in that area. Nothing wrong with being fair. (I buy, I name)

 

"Not knowing what to make of that!"

 

Make with it what it is, of course.  Fairness.

 

 

Fairness is difficult to define.

 

Which is fairer: “To just go shopping and to pay taxes”; or “for the working class to go to Iraq and to return in flag draped coffins?”

 

Money is a shallow barometer to determine fairness, greatness or heroism.

[cberen1]

 

Fairness is difficult to define.

 

Which is fairer: “To just go shopping and to pay taxes”; or “for the working class to go to Iraq and to return in flag draped coffins?”

 

Money is a shallow barometer to determine fairness, greatness or heroism.

 

 

Well, I agree with that.  But it seems to be the prevailing sentiment at the moment.  "It's not fair that Wall Street executives get paid so much."  "The 1% should pay their fair share." and so on.  Money seesm to the currency of fairness.

 

There are going to be a million perspectives on this, and I can only really share mine.  Three years ago next month my business partners and I started a new company.  I took every dollar I had and plowed it into the company.  It has, by most accounts, done well.  We've created close to 100 new jobs in DFW and before we're done we'll probably get that number up to 250.  What's fair in this situation?  Is it fair that on top of paying substantially higher taxes than most folks (both in effective rate and absolute dollars) and all the personal risk I take on (which is a lot) that I get villified for not paying more even more?  I don't get better roads, fire protection, public schools, or other government services.

 

Personally I think the system is reasonably fair right now, however flawed it may also be.  I don't have an opinion on whether money that is taxed instead of donated willingly is somehow not still deserving of some gratitude.  I can see it both ways.  The truth is that if the Basses pay some millions in local taxes every year we're still fortunate to have them around.

[renamerusk]

Well, I agree with that.  But it seems to be the prevailing sentiment at the moment. .... Three years ago next month my business partners and I started a new company.  I took every dollar I had and plowed it into the company.  It has, by most accounts, done well.  We've created close to 100 new jobs in DFW and before we're done we'll probably get that number up to 250.....The truth is that if the Basses pay some millions in local taxes every year we're still fortunate to have them around.

 

 Excellent points. 

 

Only thing to add is my respect and admiration for what you have achieved and what your efforts have done to make the lives of 100 families better and secure.  I add the Basses too.

[youngalum]

Great for construction on I-35.  The only reasonable solution to the fix we are in.   And naming a highway should always be done by the person that paid the most tax in that area. Nothing wrong with being fair. (I buy, I name)

 

 

 

 

......And naming a highway should always be done by the person that paid the most tax in that area. Nothing wrong with being fair. (I buy, I name)

 

"Not knowing what to make of that!"

 

Make with it what it is, of course.  Fairness.

 

You sir are a piece of work.  

[cberen1]

I've always wondered who really wants a stretch of congested highway named after them?  The name "LBJ" is now synonymous with "stuck in traffic".

[BlueMound]

Funding on way for I-35W project

http://fwbusinesspre...5W-project.aspx

 

Funding for the $1.4 billion project is secured.

[Dylan]

It sure would be nice if TEX Rail could get funding as easily as the North Tarrant Express freeway projects are.

[Austin55]

Damn that is a lot of money. That would have funded TexRail 1.8 times. Streetcar around 16 times.

[RenaissanceMan]

Damn that is a lot of money. That would have funded TexRail 1.8 times. Streetcar around 16 times.

And how many people will even raise an eyebrow over this?

[Jeriat]

Damn that is a lot of money. That would have funded TexRail 1.8 times. Streetcar around 16 times.

Funny, isn't it? 

[Volare]

Today in north Fort Worth on I-35W northbound approaching the 287 split, traffic was reduced to a single lane northbound. And then this single lane was further metered by a flag man with a stop sign. Traffic is basically stopped from I-30 downtown all the way to 287.

 

You have got to be kidding me.

 

If this is the genius in action with regards to the I-35W expansion, then we are in for an awfully long and miserable time with this construction. As bad as their airport freeway construction has been, I've never seen it closed down to a single metered lane in the middle of the day.

[Not Sure]

Today in north Fort Worth on I-35W northbound approaching the 287 split, traffic was reduced to a single lane northbound. And then this single lane was further metered by a flag man with a stop sign. Traffic is basically stopped from I-30 downtown all the way to 287.

 

You have got to be kidding me.

 

If this is the genius in action with regards to the I-35W expansion, then we are in for an awfully long and miserable time with this construction. As bad as their airport freeway construction has been, I've never seen it closed down to a single metered lane in the middle of the day.

 

That was during the day? That's crazy. I have weird hours so I get to join in the good times during the rolling closures on 820 pretty regularly. I'm not looking forward to the same thing happening on I-35W.

[Volare]

Yep, it still that way right now, but it's been like that since at least 2 pm, maybe longer. Pull up the google traffic map. It's red all the way from downtown to 287

[Austin55]

It was very bad. Still is. Hearing several hour delays from FB freinds.

[JBB]

During the morning rush hour, it was backed up to Berry St.

 

The Star Telegram reported that it was an emergency pot hole repair near 287.  It had every north/south street running parallel to 35 a mess as well.  I use Beach to bypass 35 and get to 121 everyday and it was backed up past the entrance to Gateway Park.  It took one of my coworkers an hour and 45 minutes to get from 30 and University to his house near Alliance Town Center.

[RD Milhollin]

The billboards along the I-35W expansion north of downtown are potentially holding up the construction project. The city council approved a compromise allowing firms owning the billboards (ClearChannel) to relocate a sign along the North Freeway/Tollway if they removed four others in more "scenic" areas of the city. 

 

http://www.star-tele...billboards.html

 

I suppose there are objective standards for what constitutes a "more scenic" part of town, and that no politics are involved, but I didn't see any reference made to the safety aspect of large objects scientifically designed to distract drivers' attention placed at strategic locations along stretches of high-speed roadways populated by drivers texting, talking, drinking coffee, putting on makeup, shaving, yelling at kids, etc. The new signs are likely to be the electronic ones that change messages and images just when the driver/reader has finished absorbing the previous one, assuring that attention is diverted more or less continually while the sign is in view. 

 

It seems to me that the money saved on emergency services and damage to infrastructure due to collisions caused by distracted drivers over the life of the new roadway would more than offset the cost to the city and the construction companies involved of removing these signs through existing legal means. This is surely about more than aesthetics.

[RenaissanceMan]

It's not going to hold up construction. The process at TXDOT is set up in a way that prevents that. The claim otherwise was just a negotiating tactic by Clearchannel.

[Volare]

In the coverage of this issue they talked about how TXDOT is responsible for paying for the removal of the signs. In the case of the CTP, they removed 20 or so signs at the cost to TXDOT of about a million dollars a piece. I find it amazing that TXDOT gets stuck paying the bill so a for-profit tollway can have right away for their road. Why doen't NTTA pay the cost instead? At least in the case of I-35W there are still existing free lanes being rebuilt, but in the case of CTP this certainly struck me as bizarre.

[JBB]

Toll road/lane backlash being blamed for delay in funding for phase of I-35 expansion from 287 to Eagle Pkwy:

http://www.star-tele...e196144154.html

Long story short, TXDOT must bless the private and federally backed loans used to pay for the bulk of the project, but won't because they've adopted a policy to not push state money (there's a small amount of state money paying for a portion) towards projects with a toll element. And for all of the assumed "backlash" against tolls, the Texpress lanes on Airport Fwy. through Hurst and Bedford are just as congested as the main lanes when I drive through on a daily basis.

[Doohickie]

I personally have zero problems with toll lanes (toll roads are a little different).  With toll lanes, you can choose to pay not and be delayed or not accordingly.

 

Toll roads are different in that there isn't a free alternative along the same path.  That said, the notable toll road in my area, Chisholm Trail Parkway, is fine.  I use it with some frequency.  If I don't I have to take an entirely different route.  But I like having that choice.  My only gripe is I wish they would build the rest of the transition lanes from EB I20 and 183 to SB CTP (and vice versa).  I would probably use it more if those lanes were there.

[JBB]

I think the backlash is more about the foreign investment money backing these toll projects (They took er jerbs!).

[txbornviking]

#NotMoreLanesMoreTrains

[Doohickie]

I think the backlash is more about the foreign investment money backing these toll projects (They took er jerbs!).

 

ERMIGERD!

[Jeriat]

I honest-to-God thought there were going to be 3-4 lanes on each side with tolls... not basically just taking what we had and just putting a toll in the middle of it. 

[bclaridge]

I honest-to-God thought there were going to be 3-4 lanes on each side with tolls... not basically just taking what we had and just putting a toll in the middle of it. 

 

I guess there is an upside to that in that the suburbanites will have to pay to commute to the denser areas of town, whether that be with their time or money.  But Fort Worth is such a sprawled city that a lot of the jobs and residents are in the suburbs and not the central city.  That said, this should be an opportunity to invest in alternate forms of transit, even if it is just an express bus line that utilizes the TEXpress Lanes.

 

Also we should note that Houston's gargantuan Katy Freeway expansion did not get rid of congestion there; the previous freeway had a 3-1-3 configuration (three lanes per direction with one reversible HOV), and it now has 5-2-2-5 in most areas (five lanes per direction with two tolled managed lanes per direction).  The Katy expansion did relieve congestion for a couple of years, but then the congestion came back as more people filled the capacity of the freeway, whether that be because of new development or because people shifted their driving from adjacent arterials to the widened freeway.  Look up "induced demand" to see what I'm talking about; as long as gas prices stay reasonably inexpensive I'd expect the principle of induced demand to hold true with regards to road widenings.

 

Another complaint I have about the 35W expansion involves the interchange at 820, where traffic going from 820 to 35W (in any direction) merges into 35W on the left-hand side of the main lanes instead of the right side.  This means that through traffic on 35W's general purpose lanes behaves more like an on-ramp rather than through lanes where the traffic merging from 820 enters 35W.  If TxDOT had stuck with the original design for this interchange, this merging issue wouldn't have been a problem, though if there is more traffic coming from 820 rather than through traffic on 35W (which I doubt is the case) this design could have been beneficial.

[johnfwd]

I personally have zero problems with toll lanes (toll roads are a little different).  With toll lanes, you can choose to pay not and be delayed or not accordingly.

 

Toll roads are different in that there isn't a free alternative along the same path.  That said, the notable toll road in my area, Chisholm Trail Parkway, is fine.  I use it with some frequency.  If I don't I have to take an entirely different route.  But I like having that choice.  My only gripe is I wish they would build the rest of the transition lanes from EB I20 and 183 to SB CTP (and vice versa).  I would probably use it more if those lanes were there.

I wish the toll road designers would give the careless motorist (like me) a "grace period" zone.  What I mean by that, for example, is that I mistakenly got on the Chisholm Trail Parkway exit while going west toward I-30 from the Macon Street ramp.  I got off CTP at the first possible exit only to find days later a $4.00 charge in my mailbox.  I know from having lived in Dallas a few years that the North Dallas Toll expressway has non-pay frontage roads at many points along the way.  I'm not a free rider but I've never been a fan of toll roads.  We should find adequate revenue sources, not toll fees, to finance public highways such as I-35W.

[Doohickie]

 

I personally have zero problems with toll lanes (toll roads are a little different).  With toll lanes, you can choose to pay not and be delayed or not accordingly.

 

Toll roads are different in that there isn't a free alternative along the same path.  That said, the notable toll road in my area, Chisholm Trail Parkway, is fine.  I use it with some frequency.  If I don't I have to take an entirely different route.  But I like having that choice.  My only gripe is I wish they would build the rest of the transition lanes from EB I20 and 183 to SB CTP (and vice versa).  I would probably use it more if those lanes were there.

I wish the toll road designers would give the careless motorist (like me) a "grace period" zone.  What I mean by that, for example, is that I mistakenly got on the Chisholm Trail Parkway exit while going west toward I-30 from the Macon Street ramp.  I got off CTP at the first possible exit only to find days later a $4.00 charge in my mailbox.  I know from having lived in Dallas a few years that the North Dallas Toll expressway has non-pay frontage roads at many points along the way.  I'm not a free rider but I've never been a fan of toll roads.  We should find adequate revenue sources, not toll fees, to finance public highways such as I-35W.

 

 

You do get a grace period.  If I remember right (Google street view hasn't caught up yet), there's a great big sign at University saying LAST EXIT BEFORE TOLL.

[JBB]

That is correct.  I use that exit every day to get to work.

[johnfwd]

Evidently in my panic to get off the CTP I must have missed that "last chance" to exit sign.  And I considered the $4.00 charge more as a penalty for making that mistake rather than a bona fide usage fee.   

[Volare]

I honest-to-God thought there were going to be 3-4 lanes on each side with tolls... not basically just taking what we had and just putting a toll in the middle of it. 

 

If there were 3-4 lanes on each side, they wouldn't need the toll lanes. The road is being built back exactly as it was (with double bottlenecks northbound on 35W) in order to drive demand for the toll lanes. The problem with 35W wasn't the lack of capacity, it was that the capacity was artificially constrained from 3 lanes to 2 at 28th, back to 3 at 820, then back to 2 at Basswood. This idiotic presentation is now being rebuilt. Unbelievable.

[hannerhan]

I personally have zero problems with toll lanes (toll roads are a little different).  With toll lanes, you can choose to pay not and be delayed or not accordingly.

 

 

 

This is my thought as well. 

 

The problem is that we have a gas tax which hasn't been adjusted in decades, and unless we are willing to raise that tax to pay for roads, there is no money to pay for roads.  The new toll lanes within existing roads makes for a perfect compromise in my opinion.  The added bonus, for those of us who like rules that encourage urban living, is that the toll lanes make life more expensive for people who choose to live way out in the suburbs (and not for us).  As a resident of central FW, I'm not really interested in my tax dollars paying for far-flung suburban freeway expansion built for commuters.

 

More specifically to the recent news, I think the backlash to this particular project is nonsense.  Cintra has proven itself to be a very capable toll road partner.  Compare the new sections of 183 or 635 with the traditional stuff built overseen by TXDOT (161, 121 for instance).  The Cintra/Texpress roads are WAY better...well-designed and not bumpy like a roller coaster.  There is no reason that I-35W shouldn't be finished off by the same partner that is already doing it from downtown to 287.  If I lived up toward Denton and was on I-35 daily, I'd be very annoyed right now at this turn of events.

[txbornviking]

#InducedDemand

[Doohickie]

Evidently in my panic to get off the CTP I must have missed that "last chance" to exit sign.  And I considered the $4.00 charge more as a penalty for making that mistake rather than a bona fide usage fee.   

 

Kind of a cheap lesson in experience, if you ask me.

[Volare]

The backlash is a curious thing. The same people control the legislature and TxDOT as controlled it 10 or 20 years ago when this scheme was dreamed up. So I'm not really sure the source of such concern.

[Doohickie]

I think Tea Party/far right politics created the backlash because foreigners are making money off of us!

[bclaridge]

The new toll lanes within existing roads makes for a perfect compromise in my opinion.  The added bonus, for those of us who like rules that encourage urban living, is that the toll lanes make life more expensive for people who choose to live way out in the suburbs (and not for us).  As a resident of central FW, I'm not really interested in my tax dollars paying for far-flung suburban freeway expansion built for commuters.

 

I agree with this statement completely, and this is one reason why I am a proponent of tolled managed lanes and/or HOV lanes for freeway expansions.  Though I think free lanes can and should be added to address bottlenecks.  I do think that 35W should have a 3-2-2-3 configuration between 820 and 287 sooner than later (especially given that northbound 35W through traffic behaves as an on-ramp where traffic merges in from 820), and this should be done once 35W is widened from 287 to Eagle Parkway in my opinion. Elsewhere on the North Tarrant Express, a third lane should be added on westbound 820 in North Richland Hills from Holiday Lane to the TEXpress Lanes entrance at Rufe Snow.

 

I've made some other statements regarding my arguments (some of which are re-hashed in my previous post above) in favor of managed lanes in another thread I posted in the Ideas and Suggestions for Projects forum: http://www.fortworth...?showtopic=6502

[elpingüino]

Texpress Lanes are now open on 35W between Loop 820 and Northside. http://www.star-tele...e207795819.html

[Now in Denton]

So with the news about Fort Worth moving to 15th largest city in the U.S. I was dismayed in reading Mayor Price facebook page. One guy said we need more "freeways" another said we need more "roads" with many agreeing with him and gave a facebook thumbs up. UGH ! Now I am not as gung ho about adding bike lanes to streets. I know I am a minority on this topic. I am more of a runner walker not a bike rider. 

 

But thinking we need MORE freeways and roads ? I think those in favor of rail system need to do a better job of selling rail and public transportation to the people of Fort Worth. I mean what is it that those more freeways more road people want ? Roads and freeways over our homes,schools and businesses ? 

[Now in Denton]

Star-Telegram ask why 1.6 billion  spent on I-35 and still slogged with traffic ? https://twitter.com/...017342871597057

[txbornviking]

Star-Telegram ask why 1.6 billion  spent on I-35 and still slogged with traffic ? https://twitter.com/...017342871597057

two words:
Induced Demand

[Volare]

 

Star-Telegram ask why 1.6 billion  spent on I-35 and still slogged with traffic ? https://twitter.com/...017342871597057

two words:
Induced Demand

 

It's not even that fancy. They recreated the pre-existing bottlenecks while making other problems worse (like having a single exit lane for both directions of 820 when southbound.) Unbelievable incompetence for all involved. 

[John T Roberts]

Here's my I-35W traffic nightmare from yesterday.  I am currently working on a couple of FWISD schools.  One is Kirkpatrick Middle School and the other is Riverside Middle School.  I am visiting these campuses after school is out and I need to be there about 4:20.  My office is in the old Levitz Warehouse on Camp Bowie and the easiest way to get to Riverside before the construction was to get to I-30, take I-35W north to 121, and then exit on Riverside and turn left.  Yesterday, the traffic to get on I-35W both north and southbound was backed up on to I-30.  The exit to Lancaster/US 287 was also backed up, so I couldn't take my alternative of Lancaster then north on Riverside, so I had to go all the way over to Beach, head north, and then go back west on Yucca.  I turned right (northbound) on Eagle Drive and that put me on the north side of the Riverside Middle School campus.  Not a bad detour.

 

I left the school at 6:30 and was going to catch 121 into town and then cut through Downtown to get to South Fort Worth.  I-35W was backed up onto 121, and everyone was detouring through Downtown.  I got caught up in traffic in Downtown and it took me a long time to make it through.  I should have stayed on Belknap and headed south down Forest Park.  I feel there would have been less traffic further west.  Anyway, I caught backups coming and going from Riverside.