- Tennessee Governor's Proposal To Authorize P3 Construction Faces Opposition
- USDOT Awards $800 Million In Traffic Safety Grants
- Recent Rate Hikes Haven't Reduced Detroit-Windsor Tunnel Traffic
- Despite Ban, New York City Stores Continue To Sell Illegal License Plate Covers
- These are just some of the toll industry developments TRN is following.
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Tennessee Governor's Proposal To Authorize P3 Construction Faces Opposition
WZTV reports, getting the Tennessee legislature to authorize public-private partnership projects is central to Governor Bill Lee’s plan to build tolled express lanes, which is one component of his comprehensive proposal to expand and improve of transportation infrastructure. However, P3 is a sticking point for some lawmakers, such as State Representative John Ray Clemmons (D-55). He tells WZTV, “The state needs to manage and operate [express lanes] so that the state is held accountable for what those rates are. We do not need a private company profiting off of traffic congestion. That is that is simply unacceptable as a proposal.” Clemmons has amendments ready to offer when the governor’s proposed Transportation Modernization Act of 2023 is introduced.
Express Lanes P3 & Privatization Tennessee Tennessee DOTUSDOT Awards $800 Million In Traffic Safety Grants
USDOT yesterday awarded $800 million to state, local and tribal governments through the new Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) Grant Program, as Reuters reports. The grants to fund 510 projects come following the recent, widely reported decline in traffic safety. “Traffic deaths jumped 10.5% to 42,915 in 2021, the highest number killed on American roads since 2005,” Reuters notes. That spike was even more dramatic for pedestrians, with a 13 percent increase in traffic deaths. Cyclist deaths rose by 5 percent.
A “Fast Company” report on the traffic safety grants includes an interview with USDOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who emphasized that statistics on US traffic deaths are out of proportion to fatality rates reported by most other developed countries. “We’re trying to start . . . just getting Americans used to the idea that this is a preventable crisis, and that we don’t have to accept it, or think it’s just part of modernity or the cost of doing business,” he said.
A complete list of yesterday’s SS4A grants is available on the USDOT website. Another $1.1 billion in funding will be released in April. Today, the Federal Highway Administration announced that it is awarding $21 million in grants from the Tribal Transportation Program Safety Fund to support traffic safety improvements on tribal lands.
Highway and Bridge Safety (Including COVID-19 Impacts) Infrastructure Investment Trends US Department of Transportation (USDOT) US Gov't Transportation Funding US Infrastructure Funding And Financing InitiativesRecent Rate Hikes Haven't Reduced Detroit-Windsor Tunnel Traffic
CBC News reports, “Traffic volumes at the Windsor-Detroit tunnel last month are nearing pre-pandemic levels despite a toll increase of 25 [Canadian] cents for Detroit-bound traffic. . . . According to Carolyn Brown, chief executive officer of Windsor-Detroit Borderlink, the operator of the Windsor half of the tunnel, it handled 309,000 vehicles in January 2019, and last month, 274,000 vehicles made the trip both ways.” Although the operator of the facility’s US side also increased tolls (by US$1.00 on January 15) “Brown doesn’t see the toll increases as a deterrent to travel.” Brown notes that the tunnel is still the least expensive option for crossing the Detroit River, and motorists from both sides of the border can obtain significant discounts by opening a Nexpress electronic toll payment account.
American Roads LLC Canada Detroit & Canada Tunnel Corporation (Detroit-Windsor Tunnel) Michigan Toll Rate Changes Windsor Detroit Borderlink LTDDespite Ban, New York City Stores Continue To Sell Illegal License Plate Covers
An investigation by NBC News New York found that stores are still selling license plate covers in New York City, despite a ban instituted last April in an effort to crack down on toll evasion. “On a shopping trip for vehicle accessories, the I-Team found clear and even tinted plate covers openly sold at city retailers including AutoZone, Advance Auto Parts, and AutoPlus, the company that stocks shelves at Pep Boys.” Advanced Auto Parts pledged to immediately remove all the products from stores in the city. City Council Member Robert Holden (D-Maspeth), who wrote the law banning license plate covers, said he’d like to increase the allowable fine for stores that illegally sell the products. He’s also calling on police to step up enforcement of drivers with covers on their plates. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has estimated that it lost approximately $50 million in toll revenue last year due to motorists’ use of obscured, altered or defaced license plates.
ETC Systems Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) New Jersey New York New York City ScofflawsThese are just some of the toll industry developments TRN is following.
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