Today the Texas Transportation Commission approved the removal of tolls from two highways, effective September 1. See agenda item 8 on the agenda http://ftp.dot.state.tx.us/pub/txdot/commission/2017/0727/agenda.pdf (http://ftp.dot.state.tx.us/pub/txdot/commission/2017/0727/agenda.pdf)
The first is SH 255 near Laredo. This is the former Camino-Columbia private toll road which went bankrupt and was later purchased by TxDOT. Traffic is low so the loss of revenue is minimal.
The second is the Loop 375 toll lanes in El Paso. This project is also a failure with low usage which is declining - see the details https://dl.dropboxuserconhttps://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?board=29.0tent.com/u/26579627/2017-04-12/2017-04-12-BA-ITEM13b.pdf (https://dl.dropboxuserconhttps://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?board=29.0tent.com/u/26579627/2017-04-12/2017-04-12-BA-ITEM13b.pdf)
Both these roads will provide much more benefit as free facilities, since the use should drastically increase. Hopefully we'll see more toll removals in the future, but no others are imminent at this time.
Wow, good for them. If only Illinois would remove some of their tolls from their roadways. Will never happen in a million years.
The only time I ever like tolls is when a private company offers to build the road and pay the full price(not sure how often that happens) or when they are HOT/express lanes along high traffic routes. Other than that, I'm opposed to toll roads(rural or urban).
Quote from: I-39 on July 28, 2017, 09:13:45 PM
Wow, good for them. If only Illinois would remove some of their tolls from their roadways. Will never happen in a million years.
No. No fucking way do I want IDiOT to get their hands on the tollways. IDiOT can barely handle the freeways they have. Why would I want them to neglect the top-of-the-line controlled access roads in the state?
Quote from: I-39 on July 28, 2017, 09:13:45 PM
Wow, good for them. If only Illinois would remove some of their tolls from their roadways. Will never happen in a million years.
Tollway > IDOT
I'd rather pay the tolls for professionally managed and state of the art highways
Quote from: ET21 on August 08, 2017, 01:13:39 PM
Quote from: I-39 on July 28, 2017, 09:13:45 PM
Wow, good for them. If only Illinois would remove some of their tolls from their roadways. Will never happen in a million years.
Tollway > IDOT
I'd rather pay the tolls for professionally managed and state of the art highways
I was just in town for the weekend and I agree very strongly with this. It wasn't even close on the road quality.
Quote from: MaxConcrete on July 27, 2017, 11:54:00 PM
Today the Texas Transportation Commission approved the removal of tolls from two highways, effective September 1. See agenda item 8 on the agenda http://ftp.dot.state.tx.us/pub/txdot/commission/2017/0727/agenda.pdf (http://ftp.dot.state.tx.us/pub/txdot/commission/2017/0727/agenda.pdf)
The first is SH 255 near Laredo. This is the former Camino-Columbia private toll road which went bankrupt and was later purchased by TxDOT. Traffic is low so the loss of revenue is minimal.
The second is the Loop 375 toll lanes in El Paso. This project is also a failure with low usage which is declining - see the details https://dl.dropboxuserconhttps://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?board=29.0tent.com/u/26579627/2017-04-12/2017-04-12-BA-ITEM13b.pdf (https://dl.dropboxuserconhttps://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?board=29.0tent.com/u/26579627/2017-04-12/2017-04-12-BA-ITEM13b.pdf)
Both these roads will provide much more benefit as free facilities, since the use should drastically increase. Hopefully we'll see more toll removals in the future, but no others are imminent at this time.
I wouldn't be quick to predict a "drastic" increase in traffic on the CCTR. Its demise was due to two situations:
(1) When the CCTR was planned, Texas was going to build a super-slick commercial port of entry at the end of it, and Mexico was going to build a new bypass to meet it on the other side. Through commercial traffic would take that route and thus avoid Laredo and Nuevo Laredo traffic. Except Texas later decided to build that super-slick commercial port of entry at the World Trade Bridge instead. Mexico took the cue and built their bypass to connect at that point instead of Colombia. Almost all of those trucks that were going to be paying tolls on the CCTR, then, ended up not taking the highway at all.
(2) When the CCTR was planned, the Cross-border Trucking Program was underway, which would soon allow US and Mexican trucks the same freedom to long-haul across the border as US and Canadian trucks enjoy in the north. However, the program was shut down shortly after launching, and so the drayage systems remains strong as ever. US trucks have to deliver their load to a drayage yard, then a drayage driver takes it across the border to a Mexican yard, then a Mexican truck takes it the rest of the way. Vice versa for northbound freight. Those drayage yards are closer in to the cities, and so truckers actually have little need to bypass the cities at all.
Removing tolls from the CCTR might encourage a few more vehicles to cross at Colombia, or to not go down to Mines Road and back north again to cross there, but the fact remains that the vast majority of cross-border traffic at Laredo has no need to bypass it.
According to Wikipedia both border crossings opened in the same year (2000). It makes you wonder why they built two new border crossings at the same time. Is that based on the expectation that NAFTA meant Mexican trucks could enter the U.S.?
Quote from: Chris on October 12, 2017, 03:34:08 PM
According to Wikipedia both border crossings opened in the same year (2000). It makes you wonder why they built two new border crossings at the same time. Is that based on the expectation that NAFTA meant Mexican trucks could enter the U.S.?
Actually, the World Trade Bridge and the
Camino Colombia Toll Road both opened in 2000. The
international bridge at Colombia had been open since 1992, and the route for the CCTR was approved in 1997. Texas had promised that hazmat cargo would be required to use the Colombia crossing, hence investors banking on lots of toll money coming in from trucks. But, after the ball was already rolling, construction began on the World Trade Bridge, and the city of Laredo pushed for the Milo stack interchange to be built–which meant an all-freeway connection from I-35 to the border. Furthermore, Texas changed its mind and made Bridge #4 the new hazmat POE. After those decisions, the only big draw onto the CCTR for truckers would be non-hazmat long-haul from San Antonio to Monterrey or vice versa. And the Cross-border Trucking Program, which would finally get US—Mexican trucking into compliance with a NAFTA requirement to have open trucking across both our northern and southern borders, would have provided that long-haul traffic. But the Cross-border Trucking Pilot Program was bogged down in political mire, therefore got a slow start, and didn't launch until 2011–eight years after the CCTR had already been foreclosed on. And the pilot program only lasted until 2014, which means the drayage system still reigns along the border.
The Mexicans, during all the changing of minds, waited to construct their side of the bypass until the damage had already been done. The CCTR therefore does not connect directly to the Mexican half of the bypass, as it was intended to do. Instead, Loop-20 does. Using the CCTR, a driver has to head back towards Nuevo Laredo for several miles and then turn south onto said bypass. It is still a useful bypass for people like me, who just want to get to Monterrey and points south without having to deal with driving through Laredo or Nuevo Laredo. But people like me don't supply nearly enough toll revenue to match a steady stream of commercial traffic.
Quote from: Brandon on August 08, 2017, 01:06:32 PM
No. No fucking way do I want IDiOT to get their hands on the tollways. IDiOT can barely handle the freeways they have. Why would I want them to neglect the top-of-the-line controlled access roads in the state?
If anything, motorists would benefit from ISTHA taking over a few
more interstates in IL. Imagine how nice I-55 would be today had it been constructed as a toll road.
(https://previews.123rf.com/images/toddtaulman/toddtaulman0904/toddtaulman090400003/4656346-Concept-for-the-idiom-of-a-open-can-of-worms-Stock-Photo-worms.jpg)
Quote from: triplemultiplex on October 17, 2017, 02:48:38 PM
Quote from: Brandon on August 08, 2017, 01:06:32 PM
No. No fucking way do I want IDiOT to get their hands on the tollways. IDiOT can barely handle the freeways they have. Why would I want them to neglect the top-of-the-line controlled access roads in the state?
If anything, motorists would benefit from ISTHA taking over a few more interstates in IL. Imagine how nice I-55 would be today had it been constructed as a toll road.
There are locals here who wish both I-80 and I-55 were tollways based on what we see Aurora, Elgin, and Waukegan get.
It's kind of funny that in Illinois, the toll roads are considered such a big step up from the free roads. In Oklahoma, the only time a toll road was turned free, it was held up because ODOT refused to take the road because it was not up to ODOT standard.
Not. Up. To. ODOT. Standard.
That is, the standard of the agency responsible for "Craig County."
Yeah, that's OTA's reputation.
Quote from: Scott5114 on October 19, 2017, 07:28:26 AM
It's kind of funny that in Illinois, the toll roads are considered such a big step up from the free roads. In Oklahoma, the only time a toll road was turned free, it was held up because ODOT refused to take the road because it was not up to ODOT standard.
Not. Up. To. ODOT. Standard.
That is, the standard of the agency responsible for "Craig County."
Yeah, that's OTA's reputation.
Now that we're already adrift of the topic... Are there any plans to fix the roller coaster that is I-44 down by Lawton?
The Chickasaw Turnpike isn't up to "ODOT standard"? There are plenty of two lane highways in OK (OK 63, I'm looking at you) that are far, far worse.
Quote from: bugo on October 19, 2017, 07:05:08 PM
The Chickasaw Turnpike isn't up to "ODOT standard"? There are plenty of two lane highways in OK (OK 63, I'm looking at you) that are far, far worse.
It was mostly a deferred/recurring maintenance issue. In order to get ODOT to accept the transfer, OTA had to do a Kansas-style full-depth reconstruction (on a road that was at that point only 15 years old). This required completely closing the entire turnpike from March to September of 2006. ODOT also required the US-177 interchange expanded to a full interchange; previously, the interchanges on the turnpike only allowed entry toward and exit away from the toll plaza, to ensure all traffic passed through the toll plaza.
The Wikipedia article on the Chickasaw Turnpike summarizes all of my knowledge of the topic.
Quote from: Scott5114 on October 19, 2017, 07:28:26 AM
It's kind of funny that in Illinois, the toll roads are considered such a big step up from the free roads. In Oklahoma, the only time a toll road was turned free, it was held up because ODOT refused to take the road because it was not up to ODOT standard.
Not. Up. To. ODOT. Standard.
That is, the standard of the agency responsible for "Craig County."
Yeah, that's OTA's reputation.
See, we in Illinois find it funny that ODOT roads are in better shape than OTA roads. Our sole exception in this part of the Midwest is the Indiana Toll Road, but that's run by a consortium that's trying to maximize shareholder value. Otherwise, our toll roads are as such:
ISTHA > IDOT
OTIC > ODOT
ISTHA had to upgrade the Elgin-O'Hare Expressway when they took it over from IDOT. A third lane was added in each direction, new lighting was installed (LEDs), signage was upgraded, mileposts were upgraded, auxiliary lanes were added as needed, and a stack-type interchange was built at I-290. Hell, if ISTHA didn't replace an IDOT sign gantry, they freshened it up by removing the rust and repainting them.
Elgin-O'Hare Expy - Before (https://goo.gl/maps/mS8hFjeQuaC2)
Elgin-O'Hare Expy - After (https://goo.gl/maps/wppFxgwyeE52)
Quote from: triplemultiplex on October 17, 2017, 02:48:38 PM
If anything, motorists would benefit from ISTHA taking over a few more interstates in IL. Imagine how nice I-55 would be today had it been constructed as a toll road.
Now, imagine the mass angry crowd with pitchforks assembling in Springfield over having to pay tolls on a highway originally built for public funds and full access. Also...Trans Texas Corridor, SH 130, and CA 125.
No thank you....I prefer public roads be paid with public funds and accessible to everyone, not just those who can fly through Lexus lanes.
I will grant a begruging exception to public entities running existing toll roads. But privatizing existing public Interstates? HELL. TO. THE. NOPE.
Quote from: Anthony_JK on October 21, 2017, 05:11:56 AM
Quote from: triplemultiplex on October 17, 2017, 02:48:38 PM
If anything, motorists would benefit from ISTHA taking over a few more interstates in IL. Imagine how nice I-55 would be today had it been constructed as a toll road.
Now, imagine the mass angry crowd with pitchforks assembling in Springfield over having to pay tolls on a highway originally built for public funds and full access. Also...Trans Texas Corridor, SH 130, and CA 125.
A "free" road was handed over to ISTHA with no problems and no pitchforks. See: Elgin-O'Hare Expressway (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illinois_Route_390).
I did say I'd give a begrudging exception to public state orgs running toll roads, right?
It's selling our roads to private firms like Cintra and Zachary that I'm opposed too.
Quote from: Brandon on October 21, 2017, 07:52:42 AM
Quote from: Anthony_JK on October 21, 2017, 05:11:56 AM
Now, imagine the mass angry crowd with pitchforks assembling in Springfield over having to pay tolls on a highway originally built for public funds and full access. Also...Trans Texas Corridor, SH 130, and CA 125.
A "free" road was handed over to ISTHA with no problems and no pitchforks. See: Elgin-O'Hare Expressway (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illinois_Route_390).
I don't think the next transfer will be as peaceful - the talks of turning over IL 53 to ISTHA were drawing opposition from nearby villages. Maybe if the next transfer is another 'minor'/harder to notice facility such as I-190, IL 56 or IL 394. As I'm typing I'm also wondering if the transfer would have been as peaceful if the Elgin O'Hare had managed to reach Elgin.
Quote from: Anthony_JK on October 21, 2017, 09:54:58 AM
I did say I'd give a begrudging exception to public state orgs running toll roads, right?
It's selling our roads to private firms like Cintra and Zachary that I'm opposed too.
I'm curious as to your opinion on additional lanes to existing freeways being tolled and run by private companies. CDOT and its tolling unit (HPTE) were impressed enough by the job Plenary Roads was doing with the US36 managed lanes that they decided to let Plenary run the I-25 express lanes as well:
https://www.codot.gov/projects/i-25-hov-express-lanes
Quote from: Revive 755 on October 21, 2017, 11:19:12 AM
Quote from: Brandon on October 21, 2017, 07:52:42 AM
Quote from: Anthony_JK on October 21, 2017, 05:11:56 AM
Now, imagine the mass angry crowd with pitchforks assembling in Springfield over having to pay tolls on a highway originally built for public funds and full access. Also...Trans Texas Corridor, SH 130, and CA 125.
A "free" road was handed over to ISTHA with no problems and no pitchforks. See: Elgin-O'Hare Expressway (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illinois_Route_390).
I don't think the next transfer will be as peaceful - the talks of turning over IL 53 to ISTHA were drawing opposition from nearby villages. Maybe if the next transfer is another 'minor'/harder to notice facility such as I-190, IL 56 or IL 394. As I'm typing I'm also wondering if the transfer would have been as peaceful if the Elgin O'Hare had managed to reach Elgin.
That's been known for years that it will be a tollway. Hawthorn Woods and Long Grove would be pissed if the road were a freeway, a tollway, or a parkway.
Quote from: Brandon on October 21, 2017, 05:28:02 PM
Quote from: Revive 755 on October 21, 2017, 11:19:12 AM
I don't think the next transfer will be as peaceful - the talks of turning over IL 53 to ISTHA were drawing opposition from nearby villages. Maybe if the next transfer is another 'minor'/harder to notice facility such as I-190, IL 56 or IL 394. As I'm typing I'm also wondering if the transfer would have been as peaceful if the Elgin O'Hare had managed to reach Elgin.
That's been known for years that it will be a tollway. Hawthorn Woods and Long Grove would be pissed if the road were a freeway, a tollway, or a parkway.
Maybe I should have been clearer - if tolls were added to the existing freeway section of IL 53 from I-90 to Lake Cook Road.
Quote from: kphogerNow that we're already adrift of the topic... Are there any plans to fix the roller coaster that is I-44 down by Lawton?
Pigs would probably learn how to fly before ODOT made any plans to do anything like that. Lawton is down at the bottom end of ODOT priorities. I assume you're talking about I-44 as it runs through Lawton since that has the most roller coaster-like ups and downs (such as the Cache Rd & I-44 interchange next to a railroad line and bridge crossing). Little if anything can be done about that other than a total re-build of the interchange and re-configuring the elevation of the I-44 main lanes. A couple or so years ago the old interchange was rehabilitated, but not replaced.
IMHO the biggest thing that needs to be addressed on I-44 thru Lawton is the sub-standard stretch cutting through Fort Sill. The lanes need to be rebuilt and configured with inner and outer shoulders that comply with current Interstate highway standards. The next thing would be re-building the short stretch of I-44 between the end of the H.E. Bailey Turnpike & US-62/281/277 split and the Medicine Park exit. That crap is rough. I-44 from the Medicine Park exit down to just North of the Fort Sill Key Gate exit was re-surfaced a few years ago.
Also, IMHO, the most pressing need in Lawton for improving highway safety is doing something about Rogers Lane (now with US-62 aligned on it). The road has no shoulders at all. There's hardly any lighting along it. Numerous blind spots exist, such as the intersection of Rogers Lane with 67th Street. Thanks to a big concrete wall blocking much of the sight triangle it's easy for Eastbound traffic on US-62 to T-bone anyone entering Rogers Lane from 67th Street. That intersection and the one at 38th Street should be converted to freeway style interchanges (like the ones at Sheridan Rd and Ft Sill Blvd). In a perfect world the whole thing would be converted into an Interstate spur. There's more than enough room to build it, now that the old Artillery Village housing area on Fort Sill has been removed and re-built elsewhere. But none of this matters. As I've said before in some other posts, it's going to take an extremely grisly fatal head-on collision with multiple deaths before ODOT realizes the problems on Rogers Lane exists.
Quote from: Bobby5280 on October 23, 2017, 01:57:09 AM
Quote from: kphogerNow that we're already adrift of the topic... Are there any plans to fix the roller coaster that is I-44 down by Lawton?
Pigs would probably learn how to fly before ODOT made any plans to do anything like that. Lawton is down at the bottom end of ODOT priorities. I assume you're talking about I-44 as it runs through Lawton since that has the most roller coaster-like ups and downs (such as the Cache Rd & I-44 interchange next to a railroad line and bridge crossing). Little if anything can be done about that other than a total re-build of the interchange and re-configuring the elevation of the I-44 main lanes. A couple or so years ago the old interchange was rehabilitated, but not replaced.
IMHO the biggest thing that needs to be addressed on I-44 thru Lawton is the sub-standard stretch cutting through Fort Sill. The lanes need to be rebuilt and configured with inner and outer shoulders that comply with current Interstate highway standards. The next thing would be re-building the short stretch of I-44 between the end of the H.E. Bailey Turnpike & US-62/281/277 split and the Medicine Park exit. That crap is rough. I-44 from the Medicine Park exit down to just North of the Fort Sill Key Gate exit was re-surfaced a few years ago.
Also, IMHO, the most pressing need in Lawton for improving highway safety is doing something about Rogers Lane (now with US-62 aligned on it). The road has no shoulders at all. There's hardly any lighting along it. Numerous blind spots exist, such as the intersection of Rogers Lane with 67th Street. Thanks to a big concrete wall blocking much of the sight triangle it's easy for Eastbound traffic on US-62 to T-bone anyone entering Rogers Lane from 67th Street. That intersection and the one at 38th Street should be converted to freeway style interchanges (like the ones at Sheridan Rd and Ft Sill Blvd). In a perfect world the whole thing would be converted into an Interstate spur. There's more than enough room to build it, now that the old Artillery Village housing area on Fort Sill has been removed and re-built elsewhere. But none of this matters. As I've said before in some other posts, it's going to take an extremely grisly fatal head-on collision with multiple deaths before ODOT realizes the problems on Rogers Lane exists.
I was actually speaking of the section
south of Lawton. I can't remember offhand if it's the stretch north or south of Walters, but it's just bouncy-bouncy-bouncy if you have any weight loaded onto your vehicle due to the undulating roadway.
The concrete slabs and joints on the H.E. Bailey Turnpike South of Lawton are not great. It thump thump thumps pretty bad both North and South of the Walters toll gate. Once again, considering its location in Oklahoma, that stretch of road is a low priority (in this case a low priority for OTA). It was the last section of I-44 to get any median barriers, and that was when the cable barriers were standardized for other "free" Interstates. The rest of I-44 North/East of Lawton got the concrete Jersey barriers 20 years ago.
AFAIK the only improvement due for that part of I-44 is the replacement of the Walters Toll Plaza and rehab of the Walters Exit in the next year or two. That bridge over I-44 and over the top of the existing old toll gate is in horrible shape. But, yeah, much of the existing I-44 main lanes through there needs to be replaced.
Quote from: Chris on October 12, 2017, 03:34:08 PM
According to Wikipedia both border crossings opened in the same year (2000). It makes you wonder why they built two new border crossings at the same time. Is that based on the expectation that NAFTA meant Mexican trucks could enter the U.S.?
The other point (beyond kphoger's) regarding the relative failure of the Colombia crossing is that it was designed in part to give Nuevo Léon (the state Monterrey is in) a direct crossing into Texas, avoiding Tamaulipas, and help develop a new border city. Nuevo Laredo has nothing to do with the Colombia crossing and sees it as a rival (they don't want a situation like in the lower valley where Matamoros and Reynosa compete), hence why the NL bypass didn't go to Colombia and why NL is promoting a fifth crossing south of Laredo that would connect to the Colosio loop, despite Colombia being underutilized.
I had no idea that TX 255 had been converted into a free road. I was driving back from Monterrey (actually Mazatlan) and used the Colombia crossing on the way back. There was barely any traffic which was nice. I did get searched pretty thoroughly, but whatever. I ended up using the Mines Road free alternative. I guess it's nice to know that I can just shoot across on TX 255 now.
Hopefully Mexico does something to fix the interchange just south of the World Trade bridge. It was very backed up going northbound due to US customs and it required driving the wrong way (into oncoming traffic) to get around it. (For the record I just did what the other drivers were doing. Mexico at times can kind of be a free for all as long as you use common sense.) I'm kind of curious as to if that is the norm or if that was just a rare occurrence that day.
I drove on Loop 375 last week and the conversion of the toll lane to a regular lane is complete. You can still see where the double line separating the tolled lane from the regular lane was erased. There are two or three overhead gantries missing signs, I'm assuming the structures had signage relating to the toll lanes.
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fdallasfreeways.com%2Fdfwfreeways%2FAARoads%2F20180402_12-0227-1600.jpg&hash=8d7f6f6674af2de1597ae4be71a48d8d18946dad)
The erased separator stripes for the toll lanes are easily visible in this image
http://dallasfreeways.com/dfwfreeways/AARoads/20180402_12-0227-1600.jpg (http://dallasfreeways.com/dfwfreeways/AARoads/20180402_12-0227-1600.jpg)
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fdallasfreeways.com%2Fdfwfreeways%2FAARoads%2F20180402_12-0233-1600.jpg&hash=9e84c9772ff585f2829f0f3c1fbdaa0ba7bbe2e7)
This view shows two unused overhead sign structures, presumably the signage was related to the toll lanes and removed
http://dallasfreeways.com/dfwfreeways/AARoads/20180402_12-0233-1600.jpg (http://dallasfreeways.com/dfwfreeways/AARoads/20180402_12-0233-1600.jpg)
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fdallasfreeways.com%2Fdfwfreeways%2FAARoads%2F20180402_12-0242-1600.jpg&hash=61534261e1ccfedc24f4ce57b759bd141435d82a)
This monument is just across the border. I don't remember it being there the last time I visited El Paso in 2007
http://dallasfreeways.com/dfwfreeways/AARoads/20180402_12-0242-1600.jpg (http://dallasfreeways.com/dfwfreeways/AARoads/20180402_12-0242-1600.jpg)
Quote from: MaxConcrete on April 13, 2018, 05:16:37 PM
This monument is just across the border. I don't remember it being there the last time I visited El Paso in 2007
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fdallasfreeways.com%2Fdfwfreeways%2FAARoads%2F20180402_12-0242-1600.jpg&hash=61534261e1ccfedc24f4ce57b759bd141435d82a)
Da hell is that? It looks like the robot from Interstellar.
Maybe it's a big "X" for an adult video store.
Quote from: Bobby5280 on April 16, 2018, 04:16:08 PM
Maybe it's a big "X" for an adult video store.
I was just about to say...
*fap* *fap* *fap* *fap* :-D :pan: :popcorn:
There is one in Fort Smith somewhere...
Quote from: TheArkansasRoadgeek on April 16, 2018, 04:32:04 PM
Quote from: Bobby5280 on April 16, 2018, 04:16:08 PM
Maybe it's a big "X" for an adult video store.
I was just about to say...
*fap* *fap* *fap* *fap* :-D :pan: :popcorn:
There is one in Fort Smith somewhere...
Perhaps an adult video store is still a viable concept in Juarez, where cable/net access may be a bit more sporadic than across the border, but they're a bit
passe' in most areas now that Pornhub and its competitors are a few keystrokes away. But something tells me that advertising an adult store with a big fucking "X" in Mexico, which has a separate film rating system, would be pointless -- I'd think any store owners would come up with something graphic. Question: has anyone taken the time to go to G.E. and see exactly what's on the site with the sign? I'd guess some sort of retail establishment -- or even a mall of sorts.
It’s the Monumento a la Mexicanidad (https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monumento_a_la_Mexicanidad) (Monument to the Mexican People).
X marks the spot. Makes me think of the "X" palm trees in
It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World, now also out in front of any In-N-Out Burger location.
Quote from: sparkerPerhaps an adult video store is still a viable concept in Juarez, where cable/net access may be a bit more sporadic than across the border, but they're a bit passe' in most areas now that Pornhub and its competitors are a few keystrokes away.
Yeah, it would seem like those YouTube-style web sites would be completely ruining the business model for any brick and mortar adult video stores (not to mention ruining the business model for much of the adult entertainment industry). Yet there are still such stores in operation. I don't know how such stores can continue to operate. I wonder if they're fronts for less "legitimate" types of business. I know of a couple stores off US-287 in Texas. One is between Wichita Falls and Fort Worth next to the little town of Bellevue. Another is just outside Amarillo near the junction of US-287 and I-40. The "XXX" letters on what was a grain silo are visible from both highways. The stores much appeal to truck drivers and other long distance travelers.