HOT Lanes on I-77

1. HOT Lanes on I-77 An imminent calamity Jan 14, 2013

2. What is a HOT Lane? High Occupancy Toll Lane Vehicles meeting occupancy requirements use for free, others pay toll Toll varies based on congestion Offers drivers a choice Manages congestion Source: MUMPO I-77 FAQs April 17, 2012

3. How will the I-77 HOT lanes work? Lanes monitored with electronic and video Users with transponders have tolls deducted from pre-paid account (no toll booths) Non-transponder users photographed and mailed bill Source: MUMPO I-77 FAQs April 17, 2012

4. The Problem Phase 2: Single GP lane in both directions from exit 28 to exit 36: ~$75M Phase 1: Single GP lane in both directions from I-485 to exit 28: ~$50M Source: Meeting with Bill Coxe, Sept 20, 2012; “I-77 HOT Discussion with Cornelius Town Board”, email from Bill Coxe to Andrew Grant, Oct. 10, 2012

5. The Initial Solution Source: “I-77 Feasibility Study HOV-HOT Lanes Conversion”, Parsons- Brinkerhoff, May 6, 2010

6. Current Funding Now that $27M + $15M have materialized, what if… Source: MUMPO 2012- 2018 TIP, Adopted

7. We Used It For GP Lanes? A $13M Gap Keeps Us From a General Purpose Lane, Phase 1

8. The Initial Proposal – TIP 5405 HOT Add HOT Lanes But the initial proposal did not have enough toll paying miles in it, so… Convert HOV to HOT Lanes Source: “I-77 Feasibility Study HOV-HOT Lanes Conversion”, Parsons- Brinkerhoff, May 6, 2010

9. The Current Proposal 27.5 Miles of HOT Lanes Cost: $550M Let’s look at the projects in Mecklenburg… 5405 & 3311C Source: “I-77 HOT Lanes Project Overview NCSITE Lunch N’ Learn”, August 21, 2012; “I-77 Widening Update”, MUMPO (Bill Coxe), Sept 19, 2012; “Billions invested in Roads”, Charlotte Observer, Jan 14, 2013

10. 5405 HOV–HOT Lane $7M 2nd HOT Lane $50M Source: MUMPO 2012- 2018 TIP (Adopted); KRN Analysis

11. 3311C Issue Cost I-277 Connector $$$$M Widen Lanes $16.5M Environmental $$$ Source: I- 3311E; “I-77 Local Officials Meeting”, August 1, 2012

12. The Current Proposal ?

13. The Real Cost of HOT Lanes The HOT Lane Financial Model Requires Substantial Additional Investments Items in Red- No benefit to LKN HOT Lanes Require $300M+ Investment- 6X GP Lanes Source: ibid, I-77 HOV- HOT Lane Conversion Fact Sheet, Mar 10, 2010

14. The Real Cost of HOT Lanes- 2 Paying for the whole pizza but getting only a slice

15. About That $50M GP Lane… $37M Public Funds + $13M funding gap… …that end up costing us over $300M!!

16. HOT Lanes and Congestion • HOT lanes rely on congestion • More congestion = more profit

17. Atlanta: I85 vs I77 Sources: “First year of HOT lanes brings drivers…”, Atlanta Journal Constitution, Oct 12, 2012; GDOT; “Metro Atlanta’s toll lanes are not part of the solution…” Brian Gist, Dec 11, 2011; MUMPO 2010 Traffic Counts Just How High Will Those Tolls Be?

18. HOT Lane Options Highest Throughput Best for P3 High: 2 Lanes HOT Lane Capacity Lower Cost Lowest Throughput Low: 1 Lane Low: 2 PPV High: 3 PPV HOT Lane Restriction “HOV 2+ require substantial subsidies from the state” Source: “I-77 Feasibility Study HOV-HOT Lanes Conversion”, Parsons- Brinkerhoff, May 6, 2010

19. HOT Lanes & Congestion HOT lanes are expected to have “minimal impact to the travel speed in the existing general purpose lanes.” - “Comments on Environmental Documents for TIP Projects I-3311 C and I-4750 HOT”, MUMPO memo dated October 4, 2012 HOT Lanes Will Ensure Congestion, Not Relieve It

20. HOT Lanes & the Future Unplanned Revenue Impacting Facility Compensation Event Source: “I-77 HOT Lane Project Discussion with Cornelius Town Board”, email from Bill Coxe to Andrew Grant, October 15, 2012

21. HOT Lanes and Our Future Q: “Will there ever be an opportunity to construct GP lanes along I-77 under the P3 scenario?” A: “The answer is technically “yes” but it would almost certainly cost the public much more than the cost of construction and… it would be an ongoing cost through the remaining life of the contract.” HOT Lanes Put Us in a Contractual Straightjacket Source: “I-77 HOT Lane Project Discussion with Cornelius Town Board”, email from Bill Coxe to Andrew Grant, October 15, 2012

22. Some Existing HOT Lanes CA 91 ORANGE COUNTY I85 ATLANTA US 290 HOUSTON I 15 SAN DIEGO

23. I-77 HOT Lanes Mooresville Davidson Cornelius Huntersville Combined Population: ~150,000 Source: US Census Bureau, 2010

24. A Quick Comparison Source: “A Guide for HOT Lane Development,” FHA, 2003

25. Economic Burden Population Supporting One Mile of HOT Lane People (Thousands) LKN Citizens Bear >15x the Burden of Other HOT Lanes Source: “A Guide for HOT Lane Development,” FHA, 2003

26. Additional Economic Burden: I77 vs I85 Annual Liability, Per Person $107 $0.50 $0.40 $0.30 $0.20 $0.10 $0.003 I85 I77

27. What’s Going On? Expect tremendous future congestion Future taxpayer subsidy Significant public money put into project

28. SC vs NC: Tax Comparison Source: NC Fast Facts 2013, John Locke Foundation; tax-rates.org; sctax.org; taxfoundation.org

29. Location HOT Lane 6 Lanes 8 Lanes 6 Lanes 6 Lanes 8 Lanes The Bedroom Community is located…

31. HOT Lanes on I-77: • Cost more- much more- than GP lanes • Require additional improvements with no benefits to LKN commuters • Ensure congestion instead of relieving it • Limit our ability to make future improvement • Lock us into an agreement with a private company for 50years • Negatively impact our economy An Expensive, Non-Solution That Limits Future Improvements and Negatively Impacts Our Economy

33. What Should Our Leaders Do? • Convene an ad hoc task force to develop general purpose lane alternatives • Convince the NCDOT to postpone awarding the contract until all alternatives have been vetted

34. What Can I Do? • Contact your town/county commissioners and request they establish the task force • Attend wideni77.org working session • Spread the word!

35. What Can I Do? • Wideni77.org • wideni77@hotmail.com • Wideni77 FB page Follow! Email! Like! Engage!