No-Competition Deal Is Bad News for Commuters

Has there ever been a more selfish or arrogant public agency in Orange County than the San Joaquin Hills Transportation Corridor Agency?

How else does one describe a public agency that is working to narrow future transportation improvements in Orange County, such as new rail or highway projects, out of fear these projects would compete with the TCA’s proposed $1-billion toll road?

This so-called “no-competition zone,” proposed by the TCA to prevent Caltrans from coming up with new plans for competing rail and highway projects over the next 35 years, is a direct assault on the average commuter.

How can the public swallow the TCA party line about relieving traffic congestion in Orange County when the toll road agency is actively working to stifle competition of new transportation projects?

In effect, the TCA is trying to guarantee ridership on its toll roads by narrowing future competition from potential Caltrans projects. Pay or walk seems to be the prevailing attitude.

And under the most galling provision of this proposed agreement, Caltrans would agree to pay back the TCA (with taxpayers’ money) if it violates the agreement to make up for lost toll revenue.

This avaricious maneuver of the TCA reminds me of those early century political cartoons depicting monopolistic corporations as a giant octopus, with its tentacles reaching out to snare everything within its reach.

MICHAEL PHILLIPS

Laguna Beach