Public Square: Readers weigh in on halting of $5B ACCESS Expansion Plan and what it means
We asked readers to weigh in on halting of the $5B ACCESS Expansion Plan and what might happen next. Here's what some had to say:
Turnpike Authority should pay difference for displaced homeowners
Although the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority has suspended its push to expand turnpikes in Oklahoma, it is almost inevitable that they will renew that push sometime in the future. My opinion is that the "eminent domain process" that will eventually be used to displace people from their home is going to be insufficient in funds for those displaced to get back into the same size home or property as the one they were displaced from. Those agencies that use "eminent domain" never pay what the property is worth and cause people to go back into more debt to recover what they lost due to "eminent domain." The Turnpike Authority can be depended on using that process when the push to expand turnpikes is renewed, and to the detriment of those being displaced.
There should be a requirement that if the funds supplied to the people displaced were not sufficient to recover from their displacement, the Turnpike Authority should be required to pay the difference in what was originally paid and what it cost for those displaced to recover to where they were originally at when "eminent domain" was applied to their property.
— Andre Snodgrass, Norman
Bad economics, bad decisions
OTA needs to be reined in and prove that they can function as a fiscally and socially responsible entity. Their intent appears to be to bolster economic development by creating new “economic development” zones along their proposed turnpike through Norman. The ecological and personal costs of such a project far outweigh the benefit to whatever businesses would choose to build along the route. Fix the interchanges and much of the congestion along I-35 will be decreased.
Significantly increased oversight is required of OTA and their decision making. It appears to be a Ponzi scheme where new construction and associated bonds keep the existing system afloat. Bad economics, bad decisions, and harmful to the state.
— Cal Stoltenberg, Norman
Should turnpike bypassing OKC start at Pauls Valley?
Gov. Kevin Stitt and the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority are telling us that the proposed turnpike expansion in eastern Cleveland County is needed to relieve congestion on I-35. If that were the case, why is there no segment connecting the northern end of the Kickapoo Turnpike at I-44 back to I-35 north of Edmond?
The vast majority of the vehicles I see during the morning traffic peak appear to be local traffic; commuters, local delivery trucks, local service providers, etc. Very few trucks that I would consider thru-travelers or passenger vehicles with out-of-state tags. This proposed eastern turnpike will do nothing to relieve any of that traffic. If the transportation community wants to improve I-35 traffic flow, they should add more lanes to the existing highway. The engineers at the Oklahoma Department of Transportation that were able to figure out how to widen I-40 through the heart of downtown Oklahoma City could surely figure out how to add lanes to I-35.
The real purpose of this proposed turnpike is economic development. The (Greater Oklahoma City Chamber) has stated this.
If the governor and the turnpike authority really want to create a true bypass of the city, they should start a new, limited access road at Pauls Valley, pass east of Lake Thunderbird, connect to the Kickapoo Turnpike at I-40, and extend the Kickapoo north from I-44 back to I-35 north of Guthrie. This might pull some of that thru-traffic off I-35 but it will do nothing to reduce the rush hour traffic.
— Mark Harbaugh, Oklahoma City
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Your views: Readers weigh in on halted $5B turnpike and what's next
