![]() If nothing is done, that stretch of road could become another commuter nightmare. There are other alternatives, including adding two free lanes that would do as much to cut down general travel time. It needs to make sure that money stays within the corridor and that tax dollars are not paying for exclusive lanes. The Orange County Transportation Authority board needs to tackle these problems head-on before embarking on this expansion. So, the folks who have to deal with these new exclusive lanes day in and day out could lose out on the promised pot of cash. It could go to far-flung communities and be doled out to unrelated projects. It’s not even clear that, if revenue from these toll lanes did begin to roll in, it would be spent on this stretch of the 405. That consideration only legitimizes the claims that toll lanes are more about raising revenues for local government than about improving traffic flow. In other words, the toll lanes won’t bring in much revenue unless smaller car pools are out. Upping the car-pool requirement to three would bring in $163 million. Why? Because transportation officials estimate that allowing car pools with two people in the car into those toll lanes for free over five years would limit the profitability of the paid lanes. Right now, vehicles with two or more people can drive in the high-occupancy vehicle lanes.īut if a toll lane were added, they would likely be kicked out. Moreover, current car-pool lanes could be lost. In Los Angeles County, for example, toll lanes opened on the 110 Freeway and Interstate 10 in the past year, and if traffic has been reduced on those roads, it has happened in such small increments that it is hardly noticed. ![]() Although details of how the paid lanes would function have yet to be worked out, cities along the corridor have voiced strong opposition, with good reason.Īt the most basic level the biggest qualm is the very idea of building costly and exclusive toll lanes that have yet to prove they significantly ease congestion in Southern California.
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