Grass Roots Opponents To TTC Not Going Away
During Trans Texas Corridor hearings before the
Texas Department of Transportation you found ranchers to
business owners. There were retirees to school children. And
strict conservatives to far left liberals. More than 28,000 of
them united in the fight against
the Trans Texas Corridor. Their hard work paid
off. Jan Tracy, a landowner and
advocate said, " We're thrilled that TxDot has
come to their senses and that they have decided to use the
existing footprint of 59. I mean that is wonderful
news, certainly for our school district and for our area. "
We first visited Tracy in her
elementary classroom where children wrote letters to
state and national leaders. She sees TX-Dot's decision
as a victory for their future. Tracy said, " Not
having a 1200 foot swath coming through here is great news for
all of us here."
But no one is removing their Say No To
TTC signs just yet. There are still serious concerns
regarding this issue. Larry Shelton, President
of the Piney Woods Alliance said, " As long as
there is still a highway of this magnitude that is coming
through Nacogdoches County we have every reason to stay
involved, so the Piney Woods Sub-Regional Planning
Commission is not going to go away. We're going
to continue to engage the planning process and protect the local
interest here. "
A Corridor Watch newsletter criticizes
TxDot for its lack of sincerity writing, " Faced with
pressure from state and federal officials, an unhappy Sunset
Advisory Commission, and pending report from the state auditor,
it was time for TxDot to find something they could give up.
Hello TTC-I 69. " Shelton said, " The
decision you see today has not as much to
do with listening to the
people as it does with
election year politics. There are a
lot of politicians that are afraid of losing their jobs come
November. "
A changed route for TTC is a won battle for
East Texas landowners, but they're far from saying the TTC war
is over.