FDOT Secretary to provide update on Outer Beltway

[jcjohnpaint]

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/oligarchy

[spuwho]

Well, tell the FDOT Secretary there are precedents for the people over riding an officials authority.

The Illinois Prairie Parkway http://www.prairie-parkway.com/ was just removed from federal funding after a concerted effort by Citizens Against Sprawlway http://www.sprawlway.org/ began to ring up the litigation costs of the highway to the point where they started challenging every land purchase.

It also didn't help that former House Speaker Dennis Hastert made a cool $2 Million after his last earmark paid for the route planning which just happen to place the road through his 138 acres. Hmmm.

While many agreed that the road will be needed in the next 30-40 years and that land acquisition today was a cost effective hedge for the future, the facts bore out that the road supported no indigenous industry, commercial development or municipality. It simply provided a way for trucks to bypass the toll based Chicago tollroads.

The Chicago Tribune reports:

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-08-23/news/ct-met-prairie-parkway-0824-20120824_1_prairie-parkway-sprawlway-transportation-projects
that it would have cost over 1 billion dollars (sounds familiar).

The Prairie Parkway:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prairie_Parkway

[Charles Hunter]

Saw a legal notice in today's TU (Metro section), that the Turnpike is holding a toll rate hearing for the Outer Beltway on October 1st.  Can't reproduce the ad, but there is a link:
http://www.floridasturnpike.com/tools_tollratenotices.cfm
Appears to be a web hearing.

[spuwho]

Saw a legal notice in today's TU (Metro section), that the Turnpike is holding a toll rate hearing for the Outer Beltway on October 1st.  Can't reproduce the ad, but there is a link:
http://www.floridasturnpike.com/tools_tollratenotices.cfm
Appears to be a web hearing.

Florida's Turnpike North Florida Toll Facilities
Toll Rates for SunPass and TOLL-BY-PLATE
Mile Post - Description
2 axle
3 axle
4 axle
5 axle
Add'l axles
2 axle
3 axle
4 axle
5 axle
Add'l axles
PLAZA (Between New World Avenue and Normandy Boulevard)
$0.20
$0.40
$0.60
$0.80
$0.20
$0.45
$0.90
$1.35
$1.80
$0.45
PLAZA (Between Normandy Boulevard and 103rd Street)
$0.20
$0.40
$0.60
$0.80
$0.20
$0.45
$0.90
$1.35
$1.80
$0.45
PLAZA (Between 103rd Street and Argyle Forest Boulevard )
$0.60
$1.20
$1.80
$2.40
$0.60
$0.85
$1.70
$2.55
$3.40
$0.85
PLAZA (Between Argyle Forest Boulevard and Oakleaf Plantation Parkway)
$0.60
$1.20
$1.80
$2.40
$0.60
$0.85
$1.70
$2.55
$3.40
$0.85
PLAZA (Between Oakleaf Plantation Parkway and Blanding Boulevard)
$0.60
$1.20
$1.80
$2.40
$0.60
$0.85
$1.70
$2.55
$3.40
$0.85
A minimum toll amount per trip will be $0.50 for SunPass and $0.75 for TOLL-BY-PLATE.
First Coast Expressway
SunPass Rate
TOLL-BY-PLATE Rate

[spuwho]

The meeting is twofold.

Amend the Florida Turnpike bylaws to be able to establish policies on the new North Florida Tollway

Set the rates on the North Florida Tollway.

The Bylaw Amendment that the hearing is on is below.



14
-
15.0081
Toll Facilities Description and Toll Rate Schedule
.
(1)
The Toll Facilities Description and Toll Rate Schedule,
https://www.flrules.org/gateway/reference.asp?NO=Ref
-
00731
,
effective
July 1, 2013
adopted November 15, 1987, and amended on February 8, 1988, August 1, 1988, February 2, 1989, May 10, 1989, July
1, 1991, August 1, 1991, November 6, 1991, July 11, 1993, November 28, 1993, September 18, 1994, June 6, 1995, July 9,
1995,
January 1, 1996, March 31, 1996, April 28, 1996, June 2, 1996, July 28, 1996, September 23, 1997, November 24, 1997, February
12, 1998, June 30, 1998, July 29, 1998, January 6, 1999, February 9, 1999, April 29, 1999, June 21, 1999, September 4, 2001
,
March 26, 2002, April 10, 2003, October 1, 2003, December 11, 2003, March 7, 2004, May 20, 2004, November 1, 2005, February
5, 2006, July 27, 2006, October 26, 2006, and January 15, 2007, May 17, 2010, and November 30, 2011
,
is hereby incorporated by
this rule and made a part of the rules of the Department. Copies of this Department of Transportation Toll Facilities Descrip
tion and
Toll Rate Schedule are available at no more than cost.
(2) Toll Indexing. Toll rate schedules for the Department toll faci
lities, including Florida Turnpike System toll facilities, are
subject to toll rate adjustments based on the annual Consumer Price Index (CPI).
(a) For the purposes of this rule, the index used is the CPI published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of
the United States
Department of Labor, which uses 1982
-
1984 as the base, and is the Annual Average for all expenditure items for all urban
consumers, U.S. city average.
(b) Toll rates on these facilities distinguish between transaction methods offered on
the various toll facilities, which are cash
transactions, SunPass pre
-
paid toll transactions, and TOLL
-
BY
-
PLATE video billing transactions. Not all transaction methods are
offered at each toll facility.
(c) Toll Facilities.
1. The Department toll fac
ilities, other than the Florida Turnpike System, affected by toll rate indexing will be Alligator Alley
(Everglades Parkway), Sunshine Skyway Bridge, Beachline East Expressway, and Pinellas Bayway System.
2. The Florida Turnpike System toll facilities a
ffected by toll rate indexing are Florida's Turnpike Mainline (Southern Coin,
Ticket, and Northern Coin Systems, the Homestead Extension of Florida's Turnpike (H.E.F.T.), and the Beachline West
Expressway), Polk Parkway, Sawgrass Expressway, Southern Conne
ctor Extension, Seminole Expressway, Suncoast Parkway,
Veterans Expressway, the Florida Turnpike System segment of the Western Beltway, Part C,
and
I
-
4/Selmon Expressway
Interchange (Connector)
, and First Coast
Expressway
.
(d) Base Toll Rates. The base
toll rate is the two
-
axle toll rate for each of the toll transaction methods. On the Beachline East
Expressway the base toll rate for the Department portion of the toll at the Beachline Main Plaza is $0.25.
(e) Multi
-
axle Toll Rate Calculations. On all t
he Department facilities, including Florida Turnpike System toll facilities, except
for the Turnpike Ticket System, the multi
-
axle toll rates equal the number of axles of each vehicle minus one, multiplied by the base
toll rate. On the Turnpike Ticket Sys
tem the multi
-
axle toll rates equal the base rate divided by two and multiplied by the number of
axles.
(f) Indexing of Toll Rates. Indexing of toll rates means adding to the toll rate in effect for the period immediately preced
ing the
indexing adjustme
nt the amount derived by multiplying the percentage change in the CPI times the toll rate in effect immediately
preceding the indexing adjustment. Toll rates for the Department toll facilities, including Florida Turnpike System toll faci
lities, are
subject
to indexing as prescribed below:
1. No later than June 30, 2012:
a. The base cash toll rate on all Department toll facilities, including Florida Turnpike System toll facilities, is being ini
tially
indexed using the percentage change between the CPI for y
ear ending December 31, 2010, and the CPI for year ending December
31, 2005, which is 11.7%.
The base cash toll rate will be adjusted to the next higher quarter ($0.25) on the Department toll facilities,
including Florida Turnpike System toll facilities, e
xcept the Turnpike Ticket System, which will be adjusted to the next higher dime
($0.10).
b. For all toll locations not having cash toll rates, the base TOLL
-
BY
-
PLATE toll rate for each of those locations on all
Department toll facilities, including Flori
da Turnpike System toll facilities, is being initially indexed using the percentage change
between the CPI for year ending December 31, 2010, and the CPI for year ending December 31, 2005, which is 11.7%. The base
TOLL
-
BY
-
PLATE toll rate will be adjusted t
o the next higher quarter ($0.25) on the Department toll facilities, including Florida
Turnpike System toll facilities, except the Turnpike Ticket System, which will be adjusted to the next higher dime ($0.10).
c. The base toll rates for SunPass transactio
ns on all Department toll facilities, including Florida Turnpike System toll facilities,
except the Turnpike Ticket System, will be a quarter ($0.25) less than the adjusted base cash toll rate for each toll locatio
n, and 25%
less than the adjusted base cas
h toll rate on the Turnpike Ticket System.
d. TOLL
-
BY
-
PLATE toll rates are set to equal the adjusted base cash toll rate.
2. Beginning on July 1, 2013 and on each subsequent July 1st thereafter:
a. Toll rates for SunPass transactions on all Department toll facilities, including Florida Turnpike System toll facilities,
will be
indexed annually using the base SunPass toll rate for the immediately preceding fiscal year multiplied by the percentage ch
ange of
the CPI for the immediately preceding year ended December 31st compared to the CPI for the second most recent year ended
December 31st. CPI adjustments to the base SunPass toll rate will be rounded to the nearest penny ($0.01).
b. Toll rates for
TOLL
-
BY
-
PLATE transactions on all Department toll facilities, including Florida Turnpike System toll
facilities, will be indexed annually using the base TOLL
-
BY
-
PLATE toll rate for the immediately preceding fiscal year multiplied
by the percentage change o
f the CPI for the immediately preceding year ended December 31st compared to the CPI for the second
most recent year ended December 31st. CPI adjustments to the base TOLL
-
BY
-
PLATE toll rate will be rounded to the nearest
penny ($0.01).
3. Beginning July 1
, 2017 and every fifth year thereafter, the base cash toll rate on all Department toll facilities, including
Florida Turnpike System toll facilities, will be indexed using the base cash toll rate for the immediately preceding fiscal y
ear
multiplied by the
percentage change of the CPI for the immediately preceding year ending December 31st compared to the CPI for
the sixth most recent year ending December 31st. For adjustments to the base cash toll rate, if the CPI adjustment would cau
se any
increase to the
toll rate, then the new base cash toll rate will be adjusted to the next higher quarter ($0.25) for all Department toll
facilities, including Florida Turnpike System toll facilities, except the Turnpike Ticke
t
System, which will be adjusted to the next
hi
gher dime ($0.10).
(g) If the resulting CPI ratio is negative, the CPI ratio for that year will be set to zero resulting in no toll rate increas
e that year.
(h) Adjustments to toll rates will be published on the Department website: www.floridasturnpike.com
/tools_tollrates.cfm.
Rulemaking Authority 334.044(2), 338.155(1), 338.231 FS. Law Implemented 334.044(16), 338.155, 338.165, 338.222, 338.2216,
338.231 FS. History
–

[Charles Hunter]

I think "toll by plate" is new ...