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U.S. PIRG Study of Private Roads Shows Signs for Caution A major new report released today identifies problems in a national trend toward private toll roads. The study entitled Public Roads, Private Costs: The Facts About Toll Road Privatization and How to Protect the Public examines 15 completed private road projects and 79 others that are proposed or underway. “How we fund, finance, and choose our transportation investments is top-of-mind for many policymakers throughout the nation,” said Robert Puentes at the Brookings Institution. “This report is a major contribution to that important discussion and will be valuable for those sorting through the right mix of public and private investments and partnerships.” A growing number of states are considering arrangements in which a private operator provides an up-front payoff or builds a new road in return for decades of escalating toll receipts. The report assesses these deals and identifies a number of problems with private toll roads: Typically require greater toll hikes to generate the same upfront payment that could be generated without privation. “Public officials need to consider the full range of potential problems,” said Phineas Baxandall, Senior Analyst for Tax and Budget Policy at the U.S. Public Interest Research Group. “No matter how desperate they are for short-term cash, states shouldn’t sign bad deals that will hurt the public over the long term.” Some states have seen a backlash against this trend. Strong public resistance in New Jersey and Pennsylvania turned back proposed privatization deals in 2007 and 2008. In Texas, where Governor Perry has aggressively for private toll roads, a bipartisan bill advancing in both houses of the legislature would place strong public safeguards against bad deals. As Texas state Rep. Jim Dunnam, chair of the Select Committee on Federal Economic Stabilization Funding said, "Private toll road projects can have long-term, negative affects on the public and often result in private entities unfairly driving the process. This means Texans will have to foot the bill of the roads they use at a far higher cost than is reasonable." One of the most outspoken legislators on toll roads, Texas Rep. Garnet Coleman, similarly said, "Private toll roads are raking in billions in profits on the backs of hardworking Texans. It is bad public policy to allow corporations, who are accountable to their shareholders and not the public, to control our roads." This issue will likely become more heated in coming months as Congress considers how to finance reauthorization of the six-year transportation bill which expires in September. “Many of the same banks and investment firms responsible for the mortgage market meltdown are lobbying hard for deals to finance America’s infrastructure,” said Baxandall. U.S. PIRG’s report can be found at http://www.uspirg.org/road-report A message from Rob Medina, CINQ President Unnecessary and poorly conceived toll roads are being built all across America. This new study, Public Roads, Private Costs: The Facts about Toll Road Privatization and How to Protect the Public by Phineas Baxandall, Ph.D., U.S. PIRG provides interesting insight into the “hidden costs” of private toll roads. I’ve heard elected officials say that the proposed private toll road in north Jefferson County (Arvada) is a great deal…only those who drive it will pay – this is absolutely wrong. There are many costs to the public as documented by this study. As an example in our own backyard, Broomfield residents are beholden to a foreign company for a 99 year lease on the Northwest Parkway toll road. They cannot improve their own public roads near the toll road -- a sad situation for Broomfield property owners. The proposed toll road through north Jefferson County is repeating the same mistake. This proposed toll road has little transportation value, promotes sprawl, pollutes our air and water, and threatens open space wildlife. This toll road threatens to our home values and financial security. Contact Jefferson County Commissioners and tell them to STOP the Jeffco toll road. The U.S. PIRG report also documents numerous public opinion surveys showing strong and consistent public opposition to private toll roads. U.S. PIRG’s report can be found at http://www.uspirg.org/road-report |
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The following organizations endorse CINQ’s position: Colorado Environmental Coalition, Jeffco League of Women Voters, Plan Jeffco, Friends of the Foothills, former Colorado Gov. Dick Lamm, Canyon Area Residents for the Environment (CARE), Blue Mountain Land & Homeowners Association, Apple Meadows Homeowners Association, Village at Mountain Ridge Homeowners Association, Meadow Run Homeowners Association, and Harmony Village Community Association. |