Orange County Supervisor in Southern California supports a plan to have CA HOV Lanes open for non-hybrid solo drivers during non-peak hours. What do you think?
I thought Diamond Lanes were open to anybody during other hours than what is on Diamond Lane signs. At least in my part of California. No type of vehicle is allowed priveleged status 24 hours a day.
Bay area already does this, but I believe some of their HOV lanes also require 3+ occupants (unless it's a 2 seater car) during the restricted periods. AZ does this as well, and I find it quite nice that my commute on I-10 through downtown Phoenix is after 9am and 7pm ;-)
hmmm.. must be nice to have enough off peak to be able to do that. around here, it never slows down during the day. here i would be upset to see it relaxed anytime before 7 pm... oh...that is the time for most car pool lanes... 5 am to 7 pm
If they open the car pool lanes at 8am, the traffic will flow smoothly. If they extend the car pool lane restrictions to 9am instead, the traffic will be clogged until 9am, and then clear up. The dirty little secret is that car pool lanes are not the solution; they are part of the problem, contributing to more traffic congestion, more gasoline use, and more emissions. The northern part of the state has known it for a long time, as this issue shows.
i prefer 24 hours a day, 7 days a week... here in bay area, there are traffic times outside of those designated for carpool users. these stickers were certainly made for southern california, where they have 24/7 hov-restricted access.
We actually have some here in southern Cal that are "time sensitive." The lane on the 14 from Santa Clarita to Palmdale is only restricted early morning Westbound and afternoon Eastbound. For the denser parts of the basin, 24/7 makes sense. There is no part of the 405 that is not heavy going any time of the day. Likewise the 91, 22, and much of the 5 in LA and Orange counties. The only thing wrong with the HOV lanes is that there aren't enough of them.
