Highway funding constraints in recent years have resulted in the financing of new roads and the modernization of existing roads through investments that will be recovered by toll charges. In Texas, toll equity and Regional Mobility Authorities (RMAs) are voter-approved financial tools to leverage limited state transportation funds. Potential benefits for the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) include savings as RMAs take responsibility for developing infrastructure projects, reduced maintenance expenditures associated with reduced traffic on department facilities, and additional revenue sources (TxDOT, Regional Mobility Authorities: Proposed Preamble). On December 16, 2003, the Texas Transportation Commission thus unanimously approved a policy that directed the TxDOT, RMAs, private developers, counties, and regional toll authorities to evaluate the feasibility of tolling all controlled-access mobility projects in any phase of development or construction (TxDOT, 2004). This directive applied to the following: new facilities, increased capacity (for example, adding frontage roads to existing main lanes), the conversion of existing non-toll roads to toll roads, and the conversion of planned non-toll roads to toll roads. This action fulfills the requirements of Texas House Bill 3588 passed during the 78th Legislature in May of 2003 (Krusee, 2003), but it has also raised some questions about environmental justice (EJ) and how that relates to tolling. Toll roads aiming at ensuring mobility, accessibility, and increased travel times may have unintended consequences.


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    Title :

    Guidebook for Identifying, Measuring, and Mitigating Environmental Justice Impacts of Toll Roads


    Contributors:
    J. Prozzi (author) / I. Victoria (author) / G. Torres (author) / C. M. Walton (author)

    Publication date :

    2006


    Size :

    58 pages


    Type of media :

    Report


    Type of material :

    No indication


    Language :

    English




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