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Thursday, June 5, 2008

Highland Park considering charging drivers on Mockingbird

by PegNews wire

If you weren't aware, there is traffic in Dallas, lots of it sometimes, and lots of it on Mockingbird Lane between Hillcrest and the Dallas North Tollway.

Google maps

A map. The area in question is green cause that's where they gon' take yo monies.

The solution, according to town engineer Meran Dadgostar, is to charge the drivers via toll. Toll, toll, toll. Though the DMN says the average 18,000 local drivers would not be charged, someone's gonna be, in a historic first, as the stretch would be the first tolled surface street in America.

The concept is known as "congestion pricing," because people love pleasant wording. The tolling Mockingbird idea came during a meeting last year where Dallas Area Rapid Transit met with North Texas officials about trying to snag a piece of a $1 billion federal grant program and were trying to find innovative solutions for downtown traffic.

Here's an innovative solution: ride the DART.

Posted by Chad

Staff
Verified User
Anonymous

Wow.

My question is...have the supporters of 'congestion pricing' (aka gouging) addressed corresponding congestion on nearby alternate routes?

Not to mention, what do businesses along that stretch have to say about this? Specifically, <a href="http://www.hpvillage.com/">Highland Park Village</a> at Preston & Mockingbird (I'll accept cash, check, or bartering).

Scott Doyle Verified

1 year, 5 months ago
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That's awesome. Dallas drivers use HP streets, so should pay for the privilege.

And when they put up the toll readers at either end to catch non-HP drivers, Dallas can make a deal to use the same license-plate data to charge HP drivers for the privilege of leaving their city and driving on our roads -- like HP, we won't charge the Dallas drivers to leave HP, just charge the parkies for leaving their bubble onto the roads we pay for.

Matt Anderson Verified

1 year, 5 months ago
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I like the way you think, Matt.

We're on our way to having full-blown <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow_Crash">Burbclaves</a>. I guess I better start learning how to deliver pizza. Also, sword-fighting.

Pavel Lishin Verified

1 year, 5 months ago
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Im a huge fan of congestion charges, especially downtown. Its worked in other countries and brought up the quality of life dramatically. I say we give it a go here, besides people here need to get their lazy backends out of their cars and clean up the air in one fail swoop.

Chris Kidd Verified

1 year, 5 months ago
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Innovation solution for downtown = Highland Park congestion pricing?

Does not compute.

chrisdanger, needs citation of where it worked and how. I'm extremely skeptical that it would have similar effect here.

Scott Doyle Verified

1 year, 5 months ago
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He's right to a degree. London imposes tolls in the city center to discourage driving and generally speaking, it works. SF and Montreal are also considering it.

xdavidwattsx Anonymous

1 year, 5 months ago
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So why aren't they actually proposing this for downtown? Mockingbird in HP is far from it.

Our downtown isn't exactly as bustling as those cities - we just fail at infrastructure.

Scott Doyle Verified

1 year, 5 months ago
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chrisdanger, david - I'm sure that sort of thing works in places where public transportation doesn't raise an involuntary chuckle when brought up in conversation.

Also, our downtown is as bustling as SF, London and Montreal? News to me.

Pavel Lishin Verified

1 year, 5 months ago
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I'm not necessarily saying I endorse it, just saying it has been implemented and effective.

I agree, HP or Dallas is hardly London.

xdavidwattsx Anonymous

1 year, 5 months ago
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Why doesn't HP just raise their taxes? If there is a toll wouldn't that push traffic into the residential streets?

I wonder how much of that traffic is heading and out of Love field?

eastside Anonymous

1 year, 5 months ago
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eastside, I rock Northwest Highway over to either Inwood or Midway when going to Love Field...but I'm coming from the north.

Surely peeps coming from the south could take Lemmon Ave or Lovers Lane. Regardless, waste of the everything involved.

Scott Doyle Verified

1 year, 5 months ago
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You can't have congestion charges downtown, because there is no congestion down here.

Highland Park can charge 100 bucks to drive down that street for all I care. But yeah-- law of reciprocity.. charge HP residents double to get on the toll way.. and check them to get on 75.