I enjoyed reading Susan Eisenbrey’s letter showing support for the U.S. Highway 281 toll project. It’s about time someone spoke up on behalf of the majority rather than listening to Terri Hall’s endless comments representing the minority.

For whatever reason, American “protestors” always speak up far more than those favoring the opposite, which creates the false impression that the minority is actually the majority. The tollway is a win/win situation for everyone. No one loses. It’s paid for by those who use it and those who don’t use it get to use free service roads and other options which are now free of choking traffic due to motorists now using the tollway. How can anyone oppose that, especially anyone who has to sit in that traffic day after day. You can’t even go shopping on Saturday without being stalled in traffic.

If you traveled to Dallas or Houston, which are full of tollways, and did a survey, you would be hard pressed to find anyone who opposes them. The residents there know that they work and are a huge benefit and would welcome further tollway construction. However, this city has never had one and residents are afraid to try it. They imagine a system that charges them huge amounts of money but gives them minimal benefit. Before moving to San Antonio, my commute in Dallas was decreased 15 minutes every day when the Bush tollroad opened even though I never used it. However, those motorists that used to be in my way were all of sudden somewhere else and my way was clear.

Just remember one thing; whatever road system could be built with taxes can be improved considerably with a toll system. Adding a few overpasses will never work due to all the private on/off entrances that currently exist on U.S. 281. To speed things up, that access has to be limited and the only way to do that is a restricted access tollway. You can’t put an overpass at every on/off access but you can put a free service road which equates to what we have now plus additional toll lanes. That’s a win/win.

Phil Lewis

San Antonio