AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT
This bill prohibits a toll project from being designed to discourage the use of the adjoining nontolled roads.
With recent toll roads being planned, constructed, and maintained throughout Texas, adjacent roads to toll roads are critical for Texans planning their daily commute, especially if they are on a personal budget that hinders toll road usage. When adjacent roads have intentionally slower speed limits, commuters have to make a choice between longer commute times or spending more money accessing toll roads.
This bill seeks to correct this and prohibits the Texas Department of Transportation from designing, constructing, or operating a toll road that incentivizes its use and discourages the use of adjoining nontolled roads by violating sound engineering judgment in applying traffic controls on any adjoining nontolled roads.
C.S.S.B. 1253 amends current law relating to the relationship between Texas Department of Transportation toll projects and adjoining nontolled roads.
RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
This bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, institution, or agency.
SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS
SECTION 1. Amends Subchapter A, Chapter 228, Transportation Code, by adding Section 228.014, as follows:
Sec. 228.014. PROHIBITION ON DISINCENTIVES FOR ADJOINING NONTOLLED ROAD USE. (a) Prohibits the Texas Department of Transportation from taking any action in designing, constructing, or operating a toll project under this chapter that incentivizes the use of the project and discourages the use of adjoining nontolled roads by violating sound engineering judgment in applying traffic controls on any adjoining nontolled roads, including by timing traffic signals to unnecessarily disrupt traffic flow on the adjoining nontolled roads.
(b) Provides that, if existing nontolled lanes are reconstructed and operated as an adjacent road to a toll facility under Section 228.201(a)(5) (relating to a toll facility being constructed so that the number of nontolled lanes on a converted highway or segment is greater than or equal to the number in existence before conversion to a toll project), the reconstructed nontolled lanes must have access, function, and traffic control devices similar to those the lanes had before being reconstructed.
SECTION 2. Effective date: September 1, 2013.