TX.,
D.O.T. PLAYS OPOSSUM OVER TTC
By
Tom DeWeese
January 17, 2009
NewsWithViews.com
On
January 6, 2009, The Dallas Morning News carried a headline
which read “Trans Texas Corridor is dead, TxDot says.” The
article went on to report, “The Texas Department of Transportation
announced this morning that it has officially killed the Trans Texas
Corridor, saying that despite the project’s visionary aspects,
it is clearly not the choice of Texans.”
The
fact that TxDot is taking this action to disown the Trans Texas Corridor
is testimony to the incredible job by grassroots activists who have
opposed the TTC and the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP). We
have made life miserable for these officials who have tried to force
such policy on us in virtual secrecy. They’ve been caught and
so they have bailed out.
The
“American Land Foundation” and “Stewards of the Range”,
two major opponents headed by Dan and Margaret Byfield, have been successful
in organizing 9 local commissions in communities directly in the path
of the TTC. Those commissions are largely responsible for delaying and
blocking TTC routes.
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Said
Byfield, “While their statement has largely been released for
political reasons, they are at least retreating and regrouping –
a major victory for the nine local government commissions formed in
Texas to fight the TTC…” Byfield went on to explain
that the TxDot pronouncement is a direct result of grassroots opposition
to the TTC. “Since the first local government commission was formed
and began using the coordination strategy developed by Fred Kelly Grant,
TXDOT has had to make several changes in their strategy to implement
the super corridor concept.” He went on to detail the way
TxDot has changed its strategy over the past year as opposition grew:
Opponents
to the TTC should be very proud of their accomplishment in forcing TxDots
very powerful and determined hand. It is a testament to the fact that
grassroots activity is a powerful force.
However,
we must also stay vigilant to TxDot’s next move. Just because
they are conceding defeat on their first effort, certainly does not
mean they are giving up. History has shown us that, when faced with
strong opposition, the perpetrators of these bad polices go underground
like the bugs they are and then resurface with a new plan – which
is just the old plan with a new name.
Key
to the real agenda is this quote from the news report: “Each
of the dozens of projects that were linked together under the rubric
of the TTC – including the Loop 9 project in Dallas and the I-69
project in the south – will remain as stand-alone projects.”
That’s an obvious smokescreen to make Texans think the TTC is
dead.
TTC
opponents are not falling for the TxDot claim of surrender. Terri Hall,
Founder/Director of “Texans Uniting for Reform & Freedom”
(TURF) and a major activist against the TTC said, “It's clear
from the TxDOT Director's speech, that it's only a name change and the
Trans Texas Corridor is, in reality, going underground. Hall cited a
quote from the Austin American Statesman newspaper which said “Those
'smaller projects' will apparently include the 300-plus miles of what
has been called TTC-35 from San Antonio to the Oklahoma border and the
I-69 project from the Rio Grande Valley to Texarkana. But they will
not be called the Trans-Texas Corridor."
As
The Houston Chronicle put it, "The renewed effort now
will operate under the name 'Innovative Connectivity Plan."
Said
Hall, “No law has been changed, no minute order rescinded, no
environmental document re-done (as is required by federal law), and
there are still two contracts signed giving two Spanish companies the
right of first refusal on segments of the corridor previously known
as TTC-35 & TTC-69. So by every real measure, the Trans Texas Corridor
goes on full steam ahead. What today's hype was about is a political
ploy to make the public go back to sleep while it gets built under a
different name. While we welcome genuine responsiveness from TxDOT and
a true repeal of the Trans Texas Corridor, this hardly qualifies.”
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Celebrate
this first victory and get ready to engage the enemy again. TxDot’s
action gives us one major message – we have them scared. We can
and will stop the Trans Texas Corridor.
� 2009 Tom DeWeese - All Rights Reserved
