RSS FEEDSJANUARY 19, 2010
Five Alternatives to Tolling I-80
A recent Pocono Record article calls the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission's proposal to toll I-80 "a riddle with no easy answers" (HT GrassrootsPA). However, there are alternatives to that plan, which is little more than a tax on I-80 drivers, that would free up dollars to be spent appropriately on transportation infrastructure.
- Repeal prevailing wage laws. Prevailing wage laws drive up costs for construction. State mandated wages for government projects 40% higher, on average, than the private sector pays for the same work. Repealing these laws, and paying market wages, would free up hundred of millions, if not billions, for highway construction and repair.
- Stop redirecting highway and bridge money to other purposes. While the transportation community bemoans the need for additional funding, citing structurally deficient bridges and dilapidated roads, hundreds of millions of dollars each year are redirected from road maintenance to bike trails, beautification projects, and new roads named for politicians. Just recently, Rendell gave $7 million from a mysterious pot of money in PennDOT to give bonuses to SEPTA workers, rewarding them for striking on election day.
Furthermore, Act 44 - which includes tolls on I-80 and higher Turnpike tolls - promises $250 million annually for mass transit even if I-80 isn't tolled (and a ten-year average of $414 million to transit agencies if it is). These toll dollars should not be used to prop up inefficient transit agencies, but should be dedicated to bridge and highways - specifically those used by Turnpike drivers. - Enable public-private partnerships. Public-private partnerships (P3s) are the emerging paradigm in transportation funding. While the proposed Turnpike lease received the bulk of media attention, P3s are far more expansive than that. Using P3s on new construction - express lanes, high occupancy lanes, new highways, new bridges, and the like - are much less controversial, and could happen now. Len Gilroy of the Reason Foundation outlined the potential for P3 in Pennsylvania in a recent testimony.
- Eliminate the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC). Instead of giving the Turnpike Commission control over I-80, we should eliminate what is among the most corrupt and inefficient agencies in the country. Doing so, rolling the Turnpike Commission into PennDOT, and eliminating an unnecessary bureaucracy (e.g. the PTC employs one "manager" per mile of road) would offer substantial saving in transportation spending.
- Privatize rest stops. While the state spends taxpayer dollar to manage rest stops along its highways, they could make money by privatizing them, and leasing out the property to restaurants and service stations. While service plazas can be found along the Turnpike, federal law prohibits this amongst freeways. However, as Ronald Utt points out in a recent Heritage paper, this law was intended to protect existing businesses in the 1950s - most of which no longer exist - and there is little will to enforce it. In fact, Pennsylvania already has privatized several rest stops, but there is opportunity to do much more - for instance, along I-80.
The idea that we simply need to spend more money in transportation - and raise taxes or tolls to do so - is wrong-headed. Until the state starts spending current tax and toll dollars efficiently, and capitalizes on opportunities for private funding, lawmakers have no reason to ask taxpayers and drivers for more revenue.
posted by NATHAN BENEFIELD | 10:15 AM | 2 comments
DECEMBER 22, 2009
Gerlach Calls for End to Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission
Pennsylvania gubernatorial candidate Jim Gerlach has echoed calls for an end to the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission.
This comes a few days after the Commonwealth Foundation wrote Congressman Gerlach, along with the entire Pennsylvania Congressional delegation and the Federal Highway Administration, on the dangers of giving the Turnpike Commission power to toll and manage I-80 across Pennsylvania, and a few weeks after State Representative Mike Vereb and a number of other lawmakers proposed legislation to eliminate the Turnpike Commission.
posted by NATHAN BENEFIELD | 10:42 AM | 0 comment
DECEMBER 18, 2009
PA Highway System Ranked 38th in Nation
Tony Phyrillas highlights Pennsylvania standings in the Reason Foundation's 18th Annual Highway Report. PA ranks 38 among the most cost-effective state-owned highway systems. The top five include small government states like North Dakota, South Carolina, and Montana. The bottom five are characterized by large burdensome state governments including New York, California, and New Jersey.
While Rendell is quick to press for more infrastructure funding, he consistently directs generous amounts of state funds to failing mass transit systems. Additionally, the questionable spending practices of PennDot and the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission need to be addressed before we can significantly improve the cost-effectiveness of Pennsylvania highways.
posted by ELIZABETH STELLE | 08:03 AM | 0 comment
DECEMBER 17, 2009
CF Sends Letter to FHWA on I-80 Tolling
Today, Commonwealth Foundation president Matthew Brouillette sent a letter to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and Pennsylvania's members of Congress expressing concerns over the proposed tolling of Interstate 80 across Pennsylvania. The letter outlines concerns with giving the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission - an agency fraught with corruption and inefficiency - greater control over Pennsylvania's transportation infrastructure.
CF Letter to FHWA on I-80 Tolls
For more on I-80 tolling, read our commentary by Michael Nerozzi, and check out a recent study on I-80 tolling from Grove City Economist Tracy Miller.
posted by NATHAN BENEFIELD | 02:50 PM | 0 comment
DECEMBER 7, 2009
An End to the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission?
State Representative Mike Vereb will unveil legislation to eliminated the corrupt, patronage ridden Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission at a press conference tomorrow. Capitol Ideas has some notes on the bill.
Last week, former Congressman John Peterson also called on eliminating the Turnpike Commission in an op-ed.
posted by NATHAN BENEFIELD | 01:19 PM | 0 comment
NOVEMBER 19, 2009
New I-80 Tolling Study Lacks Credibility
The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission's ill-advised attempts to toll I-80 continues; yesterday, Brian Chase, an independent consultant, spoke to the House Republican Policy Committee (PLS Subscription) about the validity of a firm hired by the Turnpike Commission's to assess tolling I-80.
Major criticisms include:
- The PTC did not use an independent consultant, but one that was hand selected by the PTC.
- The consulting firm used, Provident Capital Advisors, lacked credibility. It did not exist as a firm until a few days before it was contracted by the Turnpike Commission consultant. In addition, it had no past experience performing these type assessments.
- The study had been "cherry picked to help reach a specific valuation result" ignoring certain examples of roads that are tolled.
- Chase further concluded he doubted I-80 would be tolled because of the ongoing criminal investigations within the PTC and because it is bad policy to use the money from tolls to fund urban mass transit.
A recent study from Grove City Economist Tracy Miller and an older PennDot study both recommended not tolling the interstate.
posted by KATRINA CURRIE | 02:35 PM | 0 comment
NOVEMBER 9, 2009
Alliance Still Fighting to Stop I-80 Tolling
If at first you don't succeed, try, try again - seems to be the motto of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission as they seek once again to Toll I-80. The federal Highway Administration has already denied the request by the PTC twice, because it is doesn't meet the legal requirements. The PTC wants to redistribute the funds from tolling I-80 to other road projects, and to fund mass transit in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, against federal law. The PTC is hoping they will have more luck getting approval Obama's administration, which could possibly interpret the federal law differently.
The Alliance to Stop I-80 Tolling released a detailed response to the PTC tolling I-80. The Alliance's response highlights how tolling I-80 would devastate local Pennsylvania businesses and communities, because it essentially taxes the rural areas around I-80 to fund the already inefficient and poorly managed mass transits in the cities.
The Alliance promises, "We will fight this proposal with a bipartisan approach from local state & federal officials as well as increased engagement from citizens and businesses who see this latest development for what it is, a blatant attempt by the Turnpike Commission, Governor Rendell and his Democrat administration to influence behind closed doors President Obama's new Democrat administration."
Congressman Glenn Thompson also has a critical response to the PTC's latest application.
This request by the PTC serves as another shining example of fiscally irresponsible legislation that discourages investment in Pennsylvania. Perhaps Pennsylvania's government officials wouldn't have to give large subsidies to bring in new development to the state if they weren't enacting so many policies to discourage it.
posted by KATRINA CURRIE | 11:30 AM | 0 comment
NOVEMBER 2, 2009
Turnpike Drama Continues
Turnpike Officials have admitted that a grand jury has been investigating the commission for at least five months. Although this investigation is separate from the shady dealings surrounding the Valley Forge expansion- for which the commission voluntarily requested the help of the FBI.
Brad Bumsted has more details and Reason comments on the Commission's poorly conceived deny-and-then-confirm PR game--further undermining their next to non-existent credibility.
posted by ELIZABETH STELLE | 00:00 PM | 1 comment
NOVEMBER 2, 2009
How Valuable is I-80 Tolling?
When the Federal Highway Administration rejected the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission's proposal to toll I-80, one of the numerous reasons was there had been no market valuation of the sweetheart deal - i.e. the Turnpike Commission promised to pay exactly what legislators wanted to get in new revenue.
So, to prepare for another application to the feds, the Turnpike Commission submitted an after-the-fact study showing that, yes, their plan was perfectly within reason.
But surely there is no reason to question that study is there. I'm sure it was done by a company with a long history of evaluating transportation projects or other major assets, not by a company that has no experience in that area until they took the Turnpike Commission's check. Right?
posted by NATHAN BENEFIELD | 08:21 AM | 1 comment
OCTOBER 28, 2009
Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission Raided by FBI?
Toll Roads News is reporting that the FBI has raided the PA Turnpike Commission, seizing computers and records (HT Capitol Ideas)
We're informed the FBI "raid" comprised three federal agents targeting three offices, one of which was the office of executive director Joe Brimmeier, while another was the Turnpike's legal department.
One of the hard drives taken belonged to Brimmeier's executive assistant April Moore. She was absent last week when the FBI came - off sick - and a temporary secretary for the executive director who arrived to help Brimmeier couldn't get their computer to work.
The IT department was summoned, and reported to Brimmeier's temporary that "There's no hard drive." The Feds had taken it. ...Our informants don't know what the FBI is investigating.
However there were many links between the Turnpike and the corruption case that put state senator Vincent Fumo in jail. Turnpike chairman Mitch Rubin was removed from his position by the Governor recently after he was named the target of a corruption investigation, and a number of those found at trial to have received no-work "contracts" with the state at the behest of the now-imprisoned Vincent Fumo also were at one time or another on the Turnpike payroll.
Just last week Michael Palermo, a Fumo associate pleaded guilty to billing thousands of hours as a "consultant" without any real work.
But hey, it's not your father's Turnpike Commission (despite the number of patronage hires). Rampant corruption is no reason not to give the Turnpike Commission greater authority and control over I-80.
UPDATE: Both the FBI and Turnpike Commission have denied that there was an FBI raid. We'll post more if any additional details emerge.
UPDATE 2: Toll Roads News writes: Wednesday morning a public affairs officer for the FBI denies FBI agents were at the Turnpike offices Thursday or Friday. Also a Turnpike spokesman calls our story "a total fabricaton," and adds "It never happened." He suggested we "take the story down." We are checking further - editor. 10:35
late Afternoon Update: A second source emerges for Toll Roads News: Bob Dietz, 55 of Lancaster PA, construction supervisor for a Turnpike widening project near Valley Forge says we can quote him as saying the FBI were at the Turnpike's head offices in Harrisburg Thursday afternoon and that they went away with computers and other materials.
Evening Update: John Micek reports that the Turnpike Commission does know of an investigation involving the FBI that Dietz referred to, but it is not as sweeping or targetting the leadership of the agency as the original story implied.
posted by NATHAN BENEFIELD | 09:14 AM | 1 comment
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