The Texas Department of Transportation has been saying they’re broke, and cannot afford to build new roads. On the other hand, they have engaged in a multi-million-dollar advertising campaign to convince taxpayers to embrace new transportation policies. Now we find that they spent almost a $1 million to hide cameras along I-35, record license plates, and send surveys to motorists asking about everything from their travel destination to the number of people in the household.
TxDOT says the program is meant to study travel habits, and plan to do it on other highways. Some critics worry about the intrusiveness of the program and raise privacy concerns.
But taxpayers should be wondering how an agency that says it cannot perform its core function of road construction, does find the money to hire media consultants and install spy-cameras disguised as traffic barrels.
