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Task Force on the Crescent City Connection

Task Force on the Crescent City Connection. Presented by Michael Teachworth Task Force Member. DOTD Facts. Manages CCC via Crescent City Connection Division $2 Billion annual budget/ 4500 full-time employees Responsible for: 16,000 miles of roads 13,000 bridges

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Task Force on the Crescent City Connection

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  1. Task Forceon theCrescent City Connection Presented by Michael Teachworth Task Force Member

  2. DOTD Facts • Manages CCC via Crescent City Connection Division • $2 Billion annual budget/ 4500 full-time employees • Responsible for: • 16,000 miles of roads • 13,000 bridges • 62 airports, 7 ports, 3,000 miles of rail • 3.6 Million acres mowed annually • 71,000 cu yds of litter picked up annually • 8 ferries statewide • 3000 traffic signals + 1 Million traffic signs • Pays for every Mississippi River Bridge and Ferry except for CCC and New Orleans area ferries • Funded mostly with TTF (from 20¢ state gas tax approved in 1984) + federal money • Manages Dept of Public Safety & La State Police Source: DOTD

  3. Bridge Facts • Crescent City Connection • 1st span completed 1958 (tolls 35 ¢) • 2nd span completed 1988 (tolls $1) • 180,000 vehicles/day cross the CCC • It costs 21¢ per car to cross CCC1 • Annual bridge maintenance ~ $1.8M/yr • 4 non-HOV lanes @ max at rush hour (2000/hr) • 2 HOV lanes are under-utilized 1 including lighting and CCC police dept costs Source: DOTD

  4. Mississippi River BridgesOperated by DOTD

  5. Ferry Facts • 1.8M people use the ferries annually • 1M pedestrian / 800K vehicles • 6 ferries – oldest built 1930 - newest built 1980 • DOTD doesn’t collect any fare from pedestrians • DOTD collects $1 fare from vehicles but only one way • 22% of all vehicles exempted from any fare • True cost for a ferry ride: $5.21 per crossing • 73 full time employees for ferries • Approx 1M+/yr repairs & 1.4M per year on fuel (estimate) • Fares charged now only cover about 3% of costs to operate the ferries (note: US average fare covers ~71% of costs) Source: DOTD

  6. DOTD Ferries Source: DOTD Cost in Millions

  7. A Comparison of Fuel Efficiency for Ferries 2008 Diesel Fuel Consumption by Selected US Ferry Boat Operators1 1 Source: National Transit Database 2008

  8. Toll Facts • Tolls on CCC extended by HB250 in 1998 • Act by Legislature - not a public vote on tolls • Over $400M paid in tolls since 1989 • $21M collected in tolls in 2010 • ~300K of free toll passes provided in 2010 • ~500K of uncollected toll violations (estimate) • 1/2 of tolls paid by Jefferson Parish • 1/3 of tolls paid by Orleans Parish • It costs $1.45 to collect a $1 cash toll • 43% of tolls paid in 2010 were via toll tag • 82 full time employees for toll collection Source: DOTD

  9. Who really pays the tolls ? Source: DOTD

  10. CCC Police Facts • Primary mission is traffic regulation on bridge • Patrol 14 miles of roadway (Hwy 90 to Broad St) • Security on ferries and terminals, manage HOV • Respond to crashes and disabled vehicles • Anti-terrorism/Homeland security for bridge • Accidents: 2/day on bridge 2/day on expwys • Responded to 5000 disabled vehicles • Made 700 arrests/82 DWI in 2010 • 8000 tickets issued in 2010 • 23 full-time officers + 4 full-time dispatchers Source: DOTD/LSP

  11. Road Projects Facts • Landscaping projects on DeGaulle, Terry Pkwy, & Shirley Drive - completed • Extending Peters Rd to LA23 – incomplete • Macarthur Interchange Peters Rd ramps – incomplete • 4th St Extension to Burmaster – incomplete • Barataria Widening – 72% complete • General DeGaulle improvements – incomplete • General DeGaulle drainage – 42% complete • 4-laning Lapalco to Hwy90 - incomplete Remaining projects will require $171M to complete In 2010, CCCD contributed $1.6M to road projects Source: DOTD

  12. Why the tolls should end: • Westbank pays twice for what the rest of Louisiana pays for once (ferries, police patrols, bridge maint.) • Tolls are double taxation of the Westbank by the rest of Louisiana (22 years of tolls = ~ $400M) • Bridge construction bonds will be paid in full • Bridge can be maintained and policed without tolls • Tolls mostly pay for ferries (9M) and for toll collection (4M) • Ferries can be operated much more efficiently • State should pay for New Orleans ferries out of their 2.0B budget (like they do everywhere else)

  13. Is this fair ??? For 22 years, the citizens of the Westbank have been forced to pay tolls to receive bridge maintenance, police patrols, and ferry service while the State of Louisiana has paid for these services on every other public bridge across the state…

  14. Not again… Extending the tolls again is like your bank telling you that your mortgage has just been extended for another 20 years … on the day you make your last payment.

  15. Popular Myths & Misconceptions • CCC Bridge won’t be maintained/rust/fall down if tolls go… • New Orleans area ferries will be eliminated if tolls go… • Massive traffic jams will occur on bridge if tolls go… • Grass wont get cut and trash won’t get picked up under Expressway if tolls go… • All Westbank road projects will be cancelled by DOTD unless we continue the tolls…

  16. This entire tolls issue is just an argument over who pays for what… • Who pays for maintenance of the bridge ? • Who pays for the ferries ? • Who pays for bridge lighting ? • Who pays for cleanup ? • Who pays for the bridge police ?

  17. Who is against renewing the tolls? • Bureau of Governmental Research “a renewal of tolling would be mistake...bridge tolling is unfair…the costs are manageable from other sources” - BGR Report, April 2011 • The Times Picayune “it wouldn’t be fair to continue charging a toll to cross the Crescent City Connection when the expenses of other Mississippi River bridges are covered by state and federal funds.” - “Our Opinion” editorial April 30, 2011

  18. What is the Task Force ? • Created by Louisiana Legislature in June 2011 • Mission: “To analyze transition to a toll free bridge…when tolls expire Dec 31, 2012.” • 10 member board nominated to Gov Jindal • Unpaid volunteer citizens on the board • Each member represents different group • Meets every other Friday @12:30 – 3:00pm • Final recommendations due Feb 1, 2012 • Meetings open to the public @ CCCD

  19. Task Force Members

  20. Task Force – what have we done ? • Have met every other Friday for last 5 months • Friday will be our last (or 2nd to last) meeting • Tolls proponents vs Toll opponents • Reviewed CCCD finance and operations in depth • Heard from various parties • Local elected officials • State police • DOTD/CCCD • Others • Formulated 2 sets of recommendations tolls vs no-tolls

  21. CCCD Finances 2010 Source: DOTD In Millions

  22. State Highway Fund No. 2 • Created by Amendment to Louisiana Constitution (1952) • Funded by vehicle license tag fees from 6 parishes: • Orleans • Jefferson • St. John the Baptist • St. Charles • Tangipahoa • St. Tammany • Will generate ~ $10Million in 2013 • Currently split 50/50 between CCC and Causeway • Designated to pay debt service on capital bonds • If no bonds, CCC portion goes into TTF => back to DOTD • Note: Plaquemines does not participate in fund

  23. Essential Services provided by CCCD: • Dedicated Bridge Police • Bridge Lighting • Enhanced Landscaping • Ferry Service • Bridge Maintenance

  24. No Tolls Plan Overview • Let tolls expire on Dec 31, 2012 as per current law • Replace the CCCD with the MRBA • Have the existing CCCOA oversee the MRBA • Keep HwyFund#2 (~4.5M/yr) monies w/small bond issue • Fund dedicated Bridge Police but run by LSP • Fund ornamental bridge lighting • Fund enhanced landscaping & trash pickup • Ferries are paid for by the state (not tolls) • Bridge maintenance paid for by state (not tolls) • Improve HOV lane efficiency

  25. MRBA Proposed Budget:

  26. Advantages of Plan • Eliminating tolls is fair thing to do for Westbank citizens • Lowers citizen taxes by eliminating an existing (bridge) tax • No new taxes are required • Keeps CCC bridge police intact for good traffic control • Funds bridge lighting costs w/o any parish paying extra • Orleans & Jefferson have no extra police responsibility • La State Police have zero additional expense • State pays for ferries like everywhere else • Lowers ferry operation costs to DOTD • Provides better service to taxpayers

  27. Time Line and Outcomes • If no bills are proposed in the Legislature the tolls will expire on 12/31/2012 • But…the toll proponents on the task force might pull a fast one…and then Task force recommendation would be to extend the tolls • A recommendation from the Task Force will be followed by a bill in the house… • If that bill passes, then we have tolls for another 10 years…

  28. Remember This: If the tolls get renewed in 2012, and you live or work on the Westbank… then get out your checkbook…

  29. How can you help ? • Sign our petition at www.stopthetolls.org • Put a sign in your yard • Call, write, or email your legislator • Call, write, or email Governor Jindal (remind him about cigarette tax) THE TIME TO ACT IS NOW…

  30. The Simple Truth: We can have a safe, maintained, lighted, clean, and traffic-free CCC bridge without tolls. We’ve earned it and we deserve it.

  31. Thank You Questions?

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