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It's looking like Governor Blogjevich's plans to implement a tiered toll payment system to encourage carpooling will take a step closer to reality tomorrow. The plan is scheduled to go before the Illinois Tollway Board tomorrow and all signs point to an approval. The proposed system, which could go in place in 2010, would be similar to Minnesota's system that has a standard toll of 50 cents, but charges higher tolls for use of high-occupancy lanes. The Trib has a nice Q&A that runs down some of the issues facing the system, though it seems they've settled on the more PR-friendly "Green Lanes" moniker. A few of the highlights include:
Q What do motorists pay elsewhere?2010 is a long way off but it's still before the Olympics in 2016! Hooray!A
On Interstate Highway 15 in San Diego, it costs 50 cents to $4, but can be as high as $8, as in Minneapolis. In Seattle, the top toll is $9, in Orange County, $9.50.Q Can Green Lanes work in Chicago?
A The concept seems to work fine in Minneapolis and parts of California, but studies have ruled out their use in other cities. More research is needed to nail down whether it's right for the Chicago area, say experts with the civic organization Chicago Metropolis 2020. "Chicago may actually be in a much better position to implement a HOT lane system than the Twin Cities, since you already have a toll system and electronic tolling in place," said Lee Munnich of the University of Minnesota's Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs.
Q Aren't these just "Lexus Lanes" for wealthier motorists?
A No, experts say. "The survey data we have show that people support the option of paying a fee for a quicker trip by a wide margin and across income levels," Munnich said. But in Los Angeles, the decision to convert freeway carpool lanes to high-occupancy toll lanes sparked opposition. Critics call them elitist.
Q Won't traffic in the other lanes get worse?
A That didn't happen in Minneapolis. But it is one of the fears about Green Lanes. Critics say carpool lanes make congestion worse by forcing solo drivers to crowd regular lanes, leaving carpool lanes underused.
Q What about cheaters?A Experts say the key is vigorous police enforcement.
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Q Won't traffic in the other lanes get worse?
Uh ... isn't that the point? Make people carpool so they can use the faster lane?
Experts say the key is vigorous police enforcement.
Prediction: the key won't fit the lock.
A square-shouldered Fuhrer? And with a spiffy Iron Cross? I'll bet the runt would have liked that drawing.
I don't like this idea. I don't think it will encourage ride-sharing enough to make a difference. Instead, it makes it more complicated, which makes it less safe.
My dream: HOV-2 only on LSD. Southbound from 7:30 a.m. - 9:00 a.m. and northbound from 5:00 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. Most people in the midwest don't know what HOV stands for though, so it'd never happen. And to borrow from Slaphappy, it'd never be enforced.
Mikely, of course people in the Midwest don't know what an HOV lane is. They're called carpool lanes around here.
That reminds me of the time when this woman lost on The Pyramid because the category was "Things a carpool lane might say," and she kept calling it an "HOV lane." Good times.
They'll never be able to stop cheaters if they can't even enforce current rules. A perfect example is the I-90/I-294 intersection, just east of O'Hare. Among the many, many problems with this interchange is the fact that many drivers use the exit lanes along the Kennedy solely as a means of cutting to the front of a line of traffic.
From my observations over a period of several months, approximately 80% of the people who use the Cumberland Ave exits on southbound I-90 are actually just using them to get to the front of the lane and cut over to the left at the last moment. Of course if they can't find an opening they have to stop suddenly (in the exit lane) so if the poor sap behind him is legitimately trying to exit, he ends up having to slam on his brakes to avoid rear-ending the cheater. This is around 8:00PM, so I can only imagine it's worse closer to rush hour.
There are plenty of state patrol cars around but they don't seem to bother doing anything about this serious fairness and safety problem at one specific intersection. How could they achieve a reasonable level of "strict" enforcement over miles and miles of tollways?