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(E-mail ALL the OCTA Board Members by clicking HERE.)
The Voice of OC has published a long and extremely significant Community Editorial by Jack Eidt on the proposed Toll Lanes for the 405.
That article goes into great detail about just how badly the 73 San Joaquin Hills toll road has failed, and gives ammunition to the comments that Council Member Gary Monahan and Mayor Eric Bever made before Costa Mesa voted to oppose the proposed conversion of the 405 from a Freeway to a Toll Road. Both Monahan and Bever questioned the motivations of county leaders and the Directors of the San Joaquin Hills Transportation Corridor Agency, who voted to support the Toll Lanes on the 405 to feed new customers into their insolvent experiment.
The biggest beneficiaries of the proposed Toll lanes on the 405 will be the bondholders who own the $2.1 billion in toll road debt, a debt that keeps growing every single year as the 73 fails to generate enough revenue to pay back that debt. The second biggest beneficiaries will be the developer and ideologue who sold us this boondoggle and refuse to admit that their 15-year experiment has failed dramatically.
The proposed toll lanes on the 405 deliver new customers to the 73 toll lanes so that drivers who can pay a $20 peak hour toll will be able to cruise at high speeds from the 605 all the way to San Clemente, while taxpayer who funded the toll lanes watch from the grid-locked freeway.
Here’s an extended excerpt from the piece at the Voice of OC, which continues to lead while the dead tree media misses the underlying story.
73 Toll Road: Developer-Politician Created, Empty and Insolvent
Look at the financial statements for the 73 toll road and you will see that total debt continues to grow as the toll road fails to come anywhere close to the projected usage.
By the middle of 2011, traffic on the toll roads was only 42.5% of the projected volume, which had anticipated almost 60 million annual trips, and instead was stagnating below 25 million annual trips. As tolls have continued to rise, drivers have chosen to return to the freeways, so we have 5.5 million fewer trips per year on this failed experiment than in 2007.
In 2003, total debt was $1.69 billion, with all bonds scheduled to be paid off by 2036. By June 2011, the total debt had increased by $390 million, with a total debt now close to $2.1 billion.
Because of the number of cars using the road and the below-projections revenue, the toll road agency has been unable to meet its bond payment schedules. Instead it keeps refinancing, increasing and extending the debt. Now the bonds are not scheduled to be paid off for another six years until 2042.
Also the bleeding 73 toll road received a cash transfusion of $30 million a year for four years for a total of $120 million in a dubious transfer from the Foothill/Eastern toll roads, which have not been hemorrhaging cash as badly as the 73.
That money was called a prepayment for future losses that the 73 would allegedly suffer to its revenue when the State Route 241 Foothill south extension was completed. Now that the 241 South is, for now, dead, that $120 million is another obligation that needs to be repaid some day in the distant future.
Meanwhile, debt still piles up, as the San Joaquin toll road agency plunges further into the red every year instead of paying down the bonds.
The 2012 agency budget pays $32 million of principal on existing debt but adds $55.7 million in new, additional debt.
It more resembles a Ponzi scheme than “creative” transportation financing, with the driving public left with the tab.
Will new toll lanes on the 405 be more like the 91 express lanes, where some evidence exists that toll lanes actually increase throughput? Or will they be closer to the dismal failure of the 73 toll road?
Do Orange County Taxpayers really want to see $1.3 billion in Measure M funds, over $400 in sales taxes for every man, woman, and child in Orange County, diverted from the promised Freeway lanes to a plan that bails out the failed South County toll road experiment?
If OCTA wants to take this case for changing Measure M to the voters, instead of hiding behind an elaborate, fake PR campaign, let’s start talking about the relationship between the new toll lanes and the existing toll roads.
As Deepthroat whispered, “Follow the money.
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Our Coverage Thus Far:
- “Lexus Lanes” on the 405? Help Stop the Latest Toll Road Outrage!
- Perfect Circularity: A 405 Toll Lane for the Sole Purpose of Funding a 405 Toll Lane?
- OCTA’s Will Kempton to Betray OC Voters?
- Proposal Unites Enemies in Costa Mesa, against HB Mayor Don Hansen.
- 405 Toll-Gate For Dummies: How the proposed toll lanes are illegal.
- My Modest Proposal to build “Expensiveways” on the 405
- A Taxpayer Bailout for the Failed 73 San Joaquin Hills Toll Road?
- Seal Beach and Westminster to Join Costa Mesa in opposing 405 tolls
- OCTA expects BILLIONS in revenue from 405 Tolls!
- 405 Toll Projection – $2.95 for Three Miles!
- Cooking the Books with Two VERY different sets of numbers…
- How We Can Defeat the 405 Toll Lanes! And … Meet Your OCTA Board!
- Huntington Beach Mayor Hansen Rebuffed by his own City Council
AND NOW, somebody has created the excellent…
No 405 Tolls.Com!
E-mail ALL the OCTA Board Members by clicking HERE.
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I’m not entirely familiar with the history of the 73 Toll Road, Mayor Q, and I’m sure that some of our other readers aren’t either. I do seem to remember that Rep. Gary Miller (whose district still goes down into Mission Viejo and RSM for the next half-year) was involved in making it happen. Can you give us some background?
And what elected members of the relevant commissions are the problem here?
*Aw yes…the grand and wonderful 73! Remember this one…..the private company that initially owned it used inferior asphalt and cement. They had to replace over 80% of the surface of the roadway. Then they wanted to double up on Toll Fee. Then the County of Orange bought it up along with the Toll Lanes on the 91 Fwy. Why? Because the county felt that the Private Ownership couldn’t run an efficient or affordable roadway. Then they put someone in charge that doesn’t listen so well and refused to use the Reason Foundation Demand Pricing Model. We hate the Reason Foundation and all that they stand for…..but this ONE idea actually had some merit.
Goes to show that even a broken clock can be right “twice a day”.
The 73 Toll Way…….should advertise the current rate on that big sign on the 405. When folks are sitting in traffic on the 405……..and they see “Blue…excuse us Green Light Special” $3 Bucks…..to use the 73…..at low use times…….they would get more
than enough traffic. Forget anything over $3 bucks…..these are hard times OCTA Great Thinkers! Install “fast cash” Credit Card Toll Booths……as options. Leave just
one Booth for a manned booth. Place Emergency Phone numbers along the Freeway in the event of accident or other emergency. Make things convenient and affordable.
No…..probably better to leave the dupe in charge that gets paid six figures plus perks.
What Toll Road Citizens Advisiory Committee? Who gets those jobs?
i drive the free part of the toll road i love the lower traffic, but i must say -they were foolish to make it free past Jamboree ( for free access to Fascist lsland)- at MacArthur ,University and Bison.
So are you saying there is financial incentive to have it developed/designed and kept that way – to fail?
The smart option would be to turn all carpool lanes into metro rail….. But who wants smart, usable mass transit in OC?
Not the car dealers.
Not these people who profit off failures..
The “Freeways” are not FREE. It does cost dollars to own, operate, maintain & build freeways (and the other roads) Currently the gas and sales tax on gas contribute about 15 cent for each dollar spent.
Why should the people, through our elected representatives be forced to underwrite the profits of the auto, oil & insurance companies?
Even the governor in the early 70’s recognized the unsustainability of the spending on state freeways without recoupment of the costs and cut the funding off.
Time to have those who profit from the roadways, pay their way. That being the private auto owner and mostly the auto, oil and insurance companies.
DCM – “i drive the free part of the toll road i love the lower traffic, but i must say -they were foolish to make it free past Jamboree ( for free access to Fascist lsland)- at MacArthur ,University and Bison.”
We should have answered this a while back….sorry we missed your initial comment.
The City of Newport Beach, the County and the Irvine Company made a deal: Build out Fascist Island and in return the Irvine Company would in return provide a by-way
known as the Newport Coast Road which would circulate “FREE Access” up and around from the 73……there was never supposed to be any Toll Road Fees to access the Newport Coast Road. Well, it was a pure bait and switch…..and the Irvine Company complained that the Private Company building the 73 needed a toll fee in spite of the deal with the City of Newport Beach. Well, the rest is history. Now we have to get off on Bison or San Joaquin and ……and……
Before he died Gil Ferguson had fought relentlessly to make the Irvine Company and the County stick to their initial deal. He had to deal with Tom Reilly and Harriet Weider and the rest of the worst……that we believe included some serious luminaries like Gaddy Vasquez. It was deep, dark and much the same way that El Morro Trailer Park was traded in exchange for the beach access of the horse ranch for the Pelican Hills Golf and Development (where Kobe and Vanessa live now)……things happen.
Hard to “Bend it like Beckham” on these issues……especially when so-many side deals have been included in the process. Much like Newport Beach finally acquiring the Newport Coast…..that was not easy either. Irvine wanted the property and their access to the sea…..and Laquna was using their threats of “Sphere of Influence” issues to get other concessions from a variety of political sources.
Let’s just say – Toll Roads suck…..especially when they are being poorly administered.
I thought that Newport Coast was still unincorporated. That’s what the maps say. Is it a colony of Newport Beach now, like Newport Beach’s Puerto Rico?
*Dr. D., get with the times dear friend. In 1986, we asked the President of the Irvine Company why they just didn’t give the land to Newport Beach then. He responded that it would eventually happen, but they were not going to pay off electeds twice. Meaning, that they didn’t have any of the restrictions for development at the County Level. When Newport Beach finally had the election to takeover Newport Coast….the graves had already been dug – long time in the window. That land had Mello-Roos fees and unlimited height and expansion exemption issues. When the City of Newport Beach took it over……along with Santa Ana Heights……(remember that one too?) from the County, it was strictly as an “As is – with of course the addition of a Fire Station and Community Center provided by NB. Warts and all. Heck, we even got Marriot Time Shares in the mess. NB Planning Commissioners…hey, we got some folks from NC too!
So are they actually part of the City of Newport Beach now? I looked up maps when I was doing redistricting and they all show Newport Coast as a separate and unincorporated area. I’m happy to get with the program, but if you’re right I’m surprised that so many maps must be wrong.
*Yep Dr. D., “Annexation is next to Godliness!” Just ask Huntington Beach about their recent acquisition of Sunset Beach! At least that’s what Dr. Moorlach would have you believe.
Sunset Beach was ripe for the plucking. BWAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!
*Dr. D., We rabidly opposed the Sunset Beach Annexation. Huntington Beach had to make a bunch of “side promises” to keep those folks quiet. There is still a seething undertow in Sunset Beach (no pun intended!). Hopefully, the final result will be that HB takes over the PD and FD duties and leaves it at that. They are in a partial box due to Sunset Beach includes a very busy arterial highway(PCH) that needs constant upkeep and the help of Cal-Trans.
It has been a hoot to watch the challenge of the County going after those Grey-Blue Haired Golf Cart Folks in Los Alimitos – to JOIN UP! They have been holding the line and before that battle is over – it may finally look like the Battle of Midway! Those Golf Carters are not to be easily triffled with….let us tell you!
Great article!
Taxes on taxes. Who amongst us elected anyone for OCTA? Nobody. That’s taxation without representation. We voted for various local officials, but nobody has ever voted for OCTA anything. Abolish the agency, cut its lobbyist and lawyer parasite sycophants and tell the OC Board of Supervisors and Caltrans to start making the call in a transparent fashion. This is a useless, and intrinsically undemocratic, group that needs to go. NOW!
I’m not surprised to hear that those toll roads were a disaster. Frankly, they are an obnoxious and undemocratic institution.