Buses could use I-66 shoulders in 2014

[cpzilliacus]

That's odd.  Used to be the exemption was implemented by checking either entrance or exit ramps (depending on the direction) so that Airport traffic would slip by undetected.  What caused the change?

It used to be that Virginia State Police would do HOV enforcement where the Dulles Airport Access Road and the Dulles Toll Road (Va. 267) merge to form the Dulles Connector Road in Fairfax County, east of Va. 123.  Non-HOV traffic coming from the airport was ignored, non-HOVs coming from Va. 267 were stopped and ticketed. 

But when MWAA took over the Toll Road, such  enforcement fell to the MWAA Police, who don't do it so frequently.  Arlington County Police cannot enforce anywhere on the Dulles Connector, because it's entirely in Fairfax County.

But the Arlington County Police can (and do) enforce the  HOV requirement at eastbound I-66 entrance ramps in the mornings (North Sycamore Street and Va. 120, North Glebe Road), and at westbound I-66 exit ramps in the afternoons (Va. 120 and Sycamore).

[mtantillo]

That's odd.  Used to be the exemption was implemented by checking either entrance or exit ramps (depending on the direction) so that Airport traffic would slip by undetected.  What caused the change?

It used to be that Virginia State Police would do HOV enforcement where the Dulles Airport Access Road and the Dulles Toll Road (Va. 267) merge to form the Dulles Connector Road in Fairfax County, east of Va. 123.  Non-HOV traffic coming from the airport was ignored, non-HOVs coming from Va. 267 were stopped and ticketed. 

But when MWAA took over the Toll Road, such  enforcement fell to the MWAA Police, who don't do it so frequently.  Arlington County Police cannot enforce anywhere on the Dulles Connector, because it's entirely in Fairfax County.

But the Arlington County Police can (and do) enforce the  HOV requirement at eastbound I-66 entrance ramps in the mornings (North Sycamore Street and Va. 120, North Glebe Road), and at westbound I-66 exit ramps in the afternoons (Va. 120 and Sycamore).

My point was that Arlington County police also enforce the HOV requirement at EB off-ramps and WB on-ramps (specifically, last week, I saw them at Fairfax Drive and Lee Highway/Spout Run manning the WB entrance ramps in the afternoon).  There might be airport traffic on those ramps, but I'm assuming they would pull those people to the side, ask their destination (or origin), and possibly a couple of other questions to determine if they are really Airport traffic or just saying their are airport traffic to circumvent HOV.  Also to weed out those who are valid users of the Access Road but not valid HOV users...those grabbing a muffin are conducting airport business and can use the access road, but are not catching a flight/dropping off/picking up and cannot use HOV inside the Beltway.  Just because they came from the access road doesn't mean they are valid for the airport exemption, and most times they will get away with it, but not if questioned at an Arlington Police checkpoint at a westbound on-ramp in the afternoon.  If you buy a muffin, you technically have to exit the access highway at the Beltway or Route 123 to get the rest of the way into DC, whereas if you come off a flight, you can continue on I-66. 

Also, Fairfax County police frequently man the on and off-ramps at Route 7 (where all ramps are non-airport traffic....except you can take the eastbound entrance ramp in the morning as an SOV to get to the Metro station), and the Route 123/267 ramps (eastbound entrance and westbound exits are restricted, westbound entrance and eastbound exits are not restricted). 

[vdeane]

Also to weed out those who are valid users of the Access Road but not valid HOV users...

I would think MWAA would have a strong incentive to enforce that, even if they don't for the HOV...

[mtantillo]

Also to weed out those who are valid users of the Access Road but not valid HOV users...

I would think MWAA would have a strong incentive to enforce that, even if they don't for the HOV...

They do.  But MWAA only cares about the access road, not I-66 in Arlington.  The HOV rules are more stringent than the access road rules.
-Not coming from Dulles- no access road, no HOV exemption on I-66
-Coming from Dulles after buying gas, coffee, etc- access road allowed, but no HOV exemption on I-66
-Coming from Dulles after coming in off a flight- access road allowed, HOV exemption for I-66. 

Arlington police is interested in ticketing those who legally use the access road that should not be on I-66. 

[1995hoo]

The points Mike is making raise an interesting issue with regard to things like electronic boarding passes and the like–that is, some airlines will now issue a boarding pass to your smartphone and you just display that at the gate. (I have not tried this since I have not flown in several years.) You could just pull it up and show it to the cop, I guess, assuming you check in online before going to the airport (I always do; I try to check in as early as possible so as to snag my desired seats, especially on transatlantic flights). An easier alternative might be just to print out your confirmation e-mail showing flight information. I've never thought much about it for two reasons. First, I no longer work downtown and so am unlikely to use I-66 to go to the airport unless I'm picking up my wife at her office first, in which case it's not an issue because we'd have the two people required for HOV. Second, when you're coming from downtown via the Roosevelt Bridge the only place I've ever seen enforcement is at the split between the Access Road and the local lanes just before the overpass above Route 123–they watch people bearing right onto the lanes that become the Toll Road and they stop anyone who doesn't have two people. (I've seen many people swerve into the Access Road when they realize the cops are there....a savvy move by the cops would be to have a second cop with a radio calling ahead to MWAA police.) I've never once seen them set up HOV enforcement in the Rosslyn Tunnel area, for example. I've seen them on the other on-ramps, especially the one at Glebe Road, many times over the years, but if you're coming from downtown those aren't an issue.

It does make me think of the plane-spotting scenario. I used I-66 and the Access Road roundtrip from downtown to the airport in 2003 to go watch the final Air France Concorde arrival at Dulles (F-BVFA making her "ferry flight" for delivery to the Smithsonian). It was outside HOV hours so that wasn't an issue, but I guess plane-spotting falls in the same category as getting gas, buying a donut, etc., and does not qualify for the HOV exemption. You're going there for a scheduled flight's arrival, but you're not picking up a passenger.

[NE2]

http://www.virginiadot.org/travel/hov-rulesfaq.asp
"You are not permitted to use I-66 inside the beltway during HOV hours if you are going to the airport to eat, get coffee, get gas or any other reason other than boarding a plane or picking someone up at the airport."

So you're not allowed to use it eastbound after getting off a plane or dropping someone off. Gotcha.

[jeffandnicole]

I-264 has "shoulder lanes" east of I-64, complete with red X signals. Most drivers ignore the signals, sometimes with dangerous consequences.

As well as I-66, that's the fault of laxed enforcement.  If that many people are doing so, it would be relatively easy to have some cops sitting along the road, stopping those on the shoulder.  Have a few cops out there and those that try to quickly change out of the shoulder will only be doing so into congested traffic, and they are easy to pick out.

Chances are, it's the same people every day.  A few days of heavy enforcement will quickly drop the number of people riding the shoulder when it's closed. 

[cpzilliacus]

My point was that Arlington County police also enforce the HOV requirement at EB off-ramps and WB on-ramps (specifically, last week, I saw them at Fairfax Drive and Lee Highway/Spout Run manning the WB entrance ramps in the afternoon).

In the afternoons, I have usually seen the Arlington County officers at the exit from westbound I-66 to Sycamore Street, often with a police car or police motorcycle positioned so that drivers cannot see the vehicle until they have committed to exiting there.

The HOV enforcement at the westbound on-ramps is a somewhat recent development (I think), because of the Dulles Airport exemption.

There might be airport traffic on those ramps, but I'm assuming they would pull those people to the side, ask their destination (or origin), and possibly a couple of other questions to determine if they are really Airport traffic or just saying their are airport traffic to circumvent HOV.  Also to weed out those who are valid users of the Access Road but not valid HOV users...those grabbing a muffin are conducting airport business and can use the access road, but are not catching a flight/dropping off/picking up and cannot use HOV inside the Beltway.  Just because they came from the access road doesn't mean they are valid for the airport exemption, and most times they will get away with it, but not if questioned at an Arlington Police checkpoint at a westbound on-ramp in the afternoon.  If you buy a muffin, you technically have to exit the access highway at the Beltway or Route 123 to get the rest of the way into DC, whereas if you come off a flight, you can continue on I-66.

All correct.  And remember that (especially in the afternoons, telling the cops that you are going to pick someone up at Dulles is considered "Airport Business"). 

Also, Fairfax County police frequently man the on and off-ramps at Route 7 (where all ramps are non-airport traffic....except you can take the eastbound entrance ramp in the morning as an SOV to get to the Metro station), and the Route 123/267 ramps (eastbound entrance and westbound exits are restricted, westbound entrance and eastbound exits are not restricted).

Virginia State Police also enforce HOV there - and on the mainline of I-66 between I-495 and Va. 7.

As well as I-66, that's the fault of laxed enforcement.  If that many people are doing so, it would be relatively easy to have some cops sitting along the road, stopping those on the shoulder.  Have a few cops out there and those that try to quickly change out of the shoulder will only be doing so into congested traffic, and they are easy to pick out.

I disagree. The Dulles Airport exemption makes HOV enforcement much more difficult along I-66 (as compared to I-395/I-95).

The exemption for Virginia-registered Priuses and other "Clean Fuel" vehicles also complicates matters to some  extent.  I suspect that this exemption would not survive a legal challenge because it discriminates against non-Virginia owners of such cars, since they cannot obtain such plates for their vehicle.

Chances are, it's the same people every day.  A few days of heavy enforcement will quickly drop the number of people riding the shoulder when it's closed.

The VSP does engage in  "saturation" HOV enforcement every once in a while, but to some extent they are constrained by the Commonwealth's budget in terms of the amount of resources they can devote to such operations.

[1995hoo]

cp, I think "jeffandnicole" was referring to the issue of people driving illegally in the shoulder lane outside the Beltway and not to the HOV issue.

[vdeane]

http://www.virginiadot.org/travel/hov-rulesfaq.asp
"You are not permitted to use I-66 inside the beltway during HOV hours if you are going to the airport to eat, get coffee, get gas or any other reason other than boarding a plane or picking someone up at the airport."

So you're not allowed to use it eastbound after getting off a plane or dropping someone off. Gotcha.

I wonder why the left off the before dropping someone off case.  Oversight?

[cpzilliacus]

cp, I think "jeffandnicole" was referring to the issue of people driving illegally in the shoulder lane outside the Beltway and not to the HOV issue.

Thanks for pointing that out.  So much in the way of "strange" stuff in the I-66 corridor  - all the way from U.S. 29 at Gainesville to Rosslyn.

I have seen the VSP out looking for those violators as well, especially early in the afternoon  at the  "pull-off" westbound between I-495 and Va. 243 (Nutley  Street), which is ever so slightly on a curve to the right, so "Red X" scofflaws can get nailed (§ 46.2-805 of the Code of Virginia, I believe), usually in the afternoons.

Though perhaps not "saturation" style enforcement, since there's so little space to safely  stop them.

[NE2]

http://www.virginiadot.org/travel/hov-rulesfaq.asp
"You are not permitted to use I-66 inside the beltway during HOV hours if you are going to the airport to eat, get coffee, get gas or any other reason other than boarding a plane or picking someone up at the airport."

So you're not allowed to use it eastbound after getting off a plane or dropping someone off. Gotcha.

I wonder why the left off the before dropping someone off case.  Oversight?

It's HOV-2, so you're complying with the normal rules if you have a passenger.