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Follow TURFMiami toll board opines cut in toll rate INCREASE
Of course, big government threatens to cut needed road improvements if it cuts the planned INCREASE in toll rates that are already sky high and inhibiting freedom to travel. They say they'll collect less money, when the toll rate increase hasn't even been enacted yet. They basically spent the money before they ever collected the higher tax. Typical when you put unelected toll bureaucrats in charge of tax rates!
MDX may lower tolls on State Road 836, but other improvements may suffer
By Alfonso Chardy
Miami Herald
June 2, 2013
The Miami-Dade Expressway Authority (MDX) is organizing public presentations in coming weeks to advise drivers about the impact of a possible toll rate on State Road 836.
The agency board had proposed a higher toll rate on March 19, but reversed itself before voting on the measure and decided on a lower toll rate at its April 30 board meeting.
MDX board members initially voted to set a rate of 70 cents per collection point – in essence, a toll increase, because full-fledged electronic collection will be activated on 836 and cash no longer will be accepted.
Currently, the 836 tolls range from 25 cents to $1. Many drivers get on the expressway, but never pay because they exit before they reach a toll plaza. Under the changes, all motorists will pay a toll, no matter where they enter the roadway.
The issue barely passed by a majority vote on March 19.
But the MDX board got opposition to the higher rate prior to board members taking a final vote.
Also, board members promised to re-examine the issue at a later date.
At its April 30 meeting, Shelly Smith Fano, board vice chair, made a proposal to reduce the rate to 60 cents per collection point.
The majority of the board backed Smith Fano’s proposal for a lower rate.
The first presentation will be a June 10 webinar on the MDX’s Internet website -- http://mdxway.com/.
The second will be a June 11 open house at MDX headquarters, 3790 NW 21st St. Agency staffers will explain the proposal to anyone who drops in.
“This is an open-house type meeting where people can come in anytime it is convenient,” said Tere García, an MDX spokeswoman.
And on June 18, MDX will hold a public hearing giving the community a chance to speak on the new toll rate – which would bring in less money in tolls – and its consequences. MDX board members are expected to take a vote afterward.
MDX staff has sought help from civic groups, including chambers of commerce, Miami Dade College and Florida International University to spread the word about the meetings. In addition, SunPass will send an “e-mail blast” to about 350,000 customers.
The new toll rate takes effect next summer.
MDX had planned to make about $800 million in improvements on busy State Road 836 and other agency toll roads under the higher toll rate. Now, some major road projects would be delayed and the number and scale of projects would be reduced, said MDX executive director Javier Rodriguez.
MDX engineers had planned to rebuild interchanges and make other improvements on State Road 836 from 87th Avenue east to where the toll road intersects with Interstate 95. Also, the Gratigny Parkway was to be extended from the Palmetto Expressway west to Florida’s Turnpike.
Now, the Gratigny extension, the overhaul of the 87th Avenue interchange and portions of reconstruction projects near I-95 all would be delayed, Rodriguez said.
About $110 million in improvements likely will be delayed under the reduced toll rate, Rodriguez said.
“Since we don’t receive money from anywhere other than the tolls, we can only build a program that is supported by the tolls,” Rodríguez said.
The majority of the improvements is to improve traffic flow on the perennially congested expressway, which has left and right exit ramps that cause problems for motorists who scramble to cut across lanes at the last minute to exit.
Under the improvements, all exit ramps would be on the right, Rodriguez said.
Meanwhile, the lower toll rate and possible delay could affect increased truck traffic as a result of the opening of the PortMiami tunnel next year, and the dredging of the port’s cargo channel that is about to begin.
Residents and MDX board members should consider carefully whether they want a lower toll rate, Rodriguez said. If the board acts to delay funding some of the projects, construction costs will increase, he warns.