Buses could use I-66 shoulders in 2014

[cpzilliacus]

WTOP Radio: Buses could use I-66 shoulders in 2014

Virginia plans to begin allowing commuter buses to use the shoulders of Interstate 66 inside the Capitol Beltway as part of a pilot project aimed at reducing congestion along the heavily traveled route.

At a task force hearing on buses on shoulder lanes, Virginia and Maryland transportation officials briefed members about how they could ease congestion along Interstate 270 and I-66. The task force is part of the Transportation Planning Board at the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments.

Virginia Department of Transportation officials are considerably further along than Maryland. The agency hopes to begin its pilot program in 2014 along five segments of I-66 inside the Beltway.

[sdmichael]

Oh I have issues with them calling it "Shoulder lanes". They aren't a lane, they are a shoulder. This idiocy was tried in Los Angeles on the Santa Ana Freeway back in the 1980's and more recently here in San Diego. It is a dumb idea on so many levels.

[froggie]

It's not a "dumb idea".  It's been quite successful in the Twin Cities metropolitan area.

[KEVIN_224]

The shoulder "lane" is used often in areas of greater Boston, especially on I-93/US 1.

[sdmichael]

The shoulder "lane", otherwise known as the emergency lane, is for breakdowns. It isn't built for, nor meant for driving. It is narrower than a standard lane for that reason. The last thing I need to be dealing with if I'm broken down on the side of the freeway is worrying about being hit by someone not paying attention while DRIVING where they shouldn't be. If nothing else, it causes more traffic and is an idiotic "solution".

[cpzilliacus]

The shoulder "lane", otherwise known as the emergency lane, is for breakdowns. It isn't built for, nor meant for driving. It is narrower than a standard lane for that reason. The last thing I need to be dealing with if I'm broken down on the side of the freeway is worrying about being hit by someone not paying attention while DRIVING where they shouldn't be. If nothing else, it causes more traffic and is an idiotic "solution".

I agree that shoulder should be for breakdowns.

But having said that, the shoulder use by buses on the (short) Dulles Connector Road works well.

[froggie]

It is narrower than a standard lane for that reason.

Not always.  Several locations have a full 12ft shoulder.

The last thing I need to be dealing with if I'm broken down on the side of the freeway is worrying about being hit by someone not paying attention while DRIVING where they shouldn't be. If nothing else, it causes more traffic and is an idiotic "solution".

Doesn't cause more traffic, because the trigger for buses using the shoulder is heavy congested traffic to begin with.  If traffic's going 35+, the buses stay in the regular lanes.

[deathtopumpkins]

The shoulder "lane", otherwise known as the emergency lane, is for breakdowns. It isn't built for, nor meant for driving. It is narrower than a standard lane for that reason. The last thing I need to be dealing with if I'm broken down on the side of the freeway is worrying about being hit by someone not paying attention while DRIVING where they shouldn't be. If nothing else, it causes more traffic and is an idiotic "solution".

That wouldn't be an issue considering everywhere I know of with shoulder running has frequent emergency pull-offs, just like those found on roads with no shoulders like the MassPike, that are plenty wide enough for both shoulder traffic and a broken-down vehicle. Here's an example on MA 3: http://goo.gl/maps/NUqLx

I can't recall ever hearing about any accident caused by someone legally driving on the shoulder striking a broken down vehicle. I think you're picturing traffic whizzing down the shoulder at 80 mph, which would virtually never be the case. Here in MA, where we have shoulder running on 128 (95), I-93, and MA 3, it is only allowed for a couple hours during rush hour, and only for cars and buses - no trucks. During these hours, these roads are generally severely congested, and if they aren't congested by some miracle, then no one would theoretically be on the shoulder anyway. No one in their right mind would want to be on the shoulder rather than in a regular lane unless they're practically at a standstill. This means that no one is ever going to be doing more than 25 mph or so on the shoulder. And at 25 mph, you have plenty of time to see a disabled vehicle and merge back over if need be.

Now that is all referring to cars using the shoulder, but the same principles apply to buses. I'm sure no bus driver would ever be on the shoulder except in heavy traffic, and are there really that many buses on I-66 where it would become a problem anyway?


Also, I can't possibly fathom how opening up another lane causes more traffic, as it relieves the existing regular lanes in times of heavy traffic. And based on the fact that several US cities, and countless places abroad (Australia and Europe both love shoulder running, especially for buses) use it, I fail to see how this solution can be considered "idiotic". Now if you have a civil engineering degree, professional certification, etc., and would like to prove otherwise, please do!

[1995hoo]

Back in either the late 1980s or early 1990s there was a fatal accident on I-95 in Fairfax County when a tractor-trailer bring driven illegally in the shoulder lane outside the permissible hours smashed into a broken-down car (I'm pretty sure it was a Mustang) that was stopped on the shoulder. That incident is what led to the "X/arrow" lights, and distinctly-colored pavement, used on I-66's shoulder lanes.

The red "X" signals on I-66 are, in my experience, frequently ignored by drivers who feel traffic is too slow to suit their taste.

[WillWeaverRVA]

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

[oscar]

Back in either the late 1980s or early 1990s there was a fatal accident on I-95 in Fairfax County when a tractor-trailer bring driven illegally in the shoulder lane outside the permissible hours smashed into a broken-down car (I'm pretty sure it was a Mustang) that was stopped on the shoulder. That incident is what led to the "X/arrow" lights, and distinctly-colored pavement, used on I-66's shoulder lanes.

I recall a similar fatal accident soon thereafter on I-66 outside the Beltway. 

I imagine the proposed bus-only shoulder lanes on I-66 through Arlington must create mixed feelings for Arlington County officials.  They have stridently opposed addition of auxiliary lanes, and might consider any improvements of the existing shoulders to be just one more step to eventually turning the shoulder into an auxiliary lane.  On the other hand, they favor public transit alternatives to widening I-66, so they might swallow hard and go along with bus-only shoulder lanes as delaying or preventing their conversion to all-user auxiliary lanes.

[vdeane]

Yeah, many people are comfortable driving full speed down regular width shoulders.  Newer Thruway sections are even built with full width shoulders in both the left and right so that a two-lane carriageway can be converted into a four-lane divided road in the event of major construction.  After three years of driving through a major Thruway reconstruction zone, the narrower lanes don't phase me at all.

Does I-66 have enough traffic to need this?  From what I've read, I-66 inside the beltway has less congestion during rush hour than outside of it due to the HOV requirement, and outside of rush hour it appears to be fine outside of work zones from when I was on it during a family vacation to DC.

[deathtopumpkins]

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

I think the 264 lanes are poorly designed. Most other places (like MA) with shoulder running don't stripe the shoulder any differently than they would any other shoulder (i.e. acceleration lanes still end, and to continue straight on the shoulder you have to drive across a diagonal line, whereas on 264 the shoulder is treated as an extra lane that is normally closed between exits (striped as a regular lane, just with a single solid line separating it). So if you enter the freeway from an intermediate interchange, you have to change lanes once from the acceleration lane onto the shoulder, then change lanes again if the shoulder is closed. The dashed lane markings just end at the end of the acceleration lane. This effectively makes the shoulder an additional lane that is easy to drive in all the time, and as such people always use it.

Here is a crude paint drawing to illustrate the differences:

  Massachusetts              Virginia

[oscar]

From what I've read, I-66 inside the beltway has less congestion during rush hour than outside of it due to the HOV requirement, and outside of rush hour it appears to be fine outside of work zones from when I was on it during a family vacation to DC.

You were lucky.  Those of us who live inside the Beltway, less so.  Except when HOV requirements apply, congestion can strike at just about any time, even midday and on weekends.

One long-standing proposal, to make the HOV requirements bi-directional (to apply also westbound in the morning, and eastbound in the evening), could help rush-hour buses avoid delays from "reverse commute" traffic on the return leg of their routes, without using the shoulder.  But some buses run on I-66 through Arlington even outside of rush hours, especially between downtown and Dulles Airport. 

[1995hoo]

I was on eastbound I-66 outside the Beltway about an hour ago. The usual crawling traffic had us going about 25—30 mph. The "red 'X' doesn't apply to me" crowd were rocketing past at 55+.

I avoid I-66 inside the Beltway unless I'm going HOV or going to Dulles Airport during HOV hours (and indeed I've shown up super-early for flights to London just to make sure I got to use the HOV exemption).

[vdeane]

From what I've read, I-66 inside the beltway has less congestion during rush hour than outside of it due to the HOV requirement, and outside of rush hour it appears to be fine outside of work zones from when I was on it during a family vacation to DC.

You were lucky.  Those of us who live inside the Beltway, less so.  Except when HOV requirements apply, congestion can strike at just about any time, even midday and on weekends.

One long-standing proposal, to make the HOV requirements bi-directional (to apply also westbound in the morning, and eastbound in the evening), could help rush-hour buses avoid delays from "reverse commute" traffic on the return leg of their routes, without using the shoulder.  But some buses run on I-66 through Arlington even outside of rush hours, especially between downtown and Dulles Airport. 

Maybe it would be a good idea to make I-66 a HOT interstate then.

[cpzilliacus]

Does I-66 have enough traffic to need this?  From what I've read, I-66 inside the beltway has less congestion during rush hour than outside of it due to the HOV requirement, and outside of rush hour it appears to be fine outside of work zones from when I was on it during a family vacation to DC.

I-66 inside the Capital Beltway is only HOV restricted in  the peak-flow direction for a relatively few hours each  weekday (eastbound 6:30 A.M. to 9:00 A.M.; and westbound 4:00 P.M. to 6:30 P.M.).

But the off-peak flow directions (westbound in the morning and eastbound in the evening) is often subject to severe and recurring congestion, and this impacts the buses, some of which have to deadhead back in the off-peak direction to run a second or maybe even third trip.  And there are some buses on I-66 that run in "revenue" service off-peak, notably the 5A, which runs between Washington Dulles Airport and the L'Enfant Plaza Metrorail station in Southwest Washington, D.C.

[cpzilliacus]

One long-standing proposal, to make the HOV requirements bi-directional (to apply also westbound in the morning, and eastbound in the evening), could help rush-hour buses avoid delays from "reverse commute" traffic on the return leg of their routes, without using the shoulder.  But some buses run on I-66 through Arlington even outside of rush hours, especially between downtown and Dulles Airport.

All correct.

[Revive 755]

Maybe it would be a good idea to make I-66 a HOT interstate then.

Better to either widening it or strip it of its interstate designation - if it's going to where an I-shield, it should be open to all passenger traffic.

[vdeane]

Maybe it would be a good idea to make I-66 a HOT interstate then.

Better to either widening it or strip it of its interstate designation - if it's going to where an I-shield, it should be open to all passenger traffic.

In that case, they should have stripped it of it's interstate designation back when it was built, because there were always HOV restrictions of some kind.  It was part of the compromise to get it built at all.  Widening will NEVER happen - if it had a chance, it would have been built four lanes each way to begin with.

[cpzilliacus]

Maybe it would be a good idea to make I-66 a HOT interstate then.

Better to either widening it or strip it of its interstate designation - if it's going to where an I-shield, it should be open to all passenger traffic.

In that case, they should have stripped it of it's interstate designation back when it was built, because there were always HOV restrictions of some kind.  It was part of the compromise to get it built at all.  Widening will NEVER happen - if it had a chance, it would have been built four lanes each way to begin with.

A few comments:

(1) The HOV restrictions have been reduced since this section of I-66 opened back in 1982.  They were originally HOV-4, then HOV-3, and finally HOV-2 in the mid-1990's.   As discussed upthread, the HOV restrictions were always in the peak-flow direction only, even though today it might make sense to have them in both directions now.

(2) The decision that led to I-66 being built between I-495 and Rosslyn, Arlington County was called the Coleman Decision, handed-down  by the Ford Administration's USDOT Secretary William T. Coleman, Jr. in 1977, shortly before he left office (Jimmy Carter was inaugurated on 20-Jan-1977).  Congress explicitly anulled most of the Coleman Decision in about 1995, though in a sense it remains in effect today.

(3) The Coleman Decision kept most of I-66 at two lanes each way (with a pair of Metrorail tracks (Orange Line, soon to be joined by the Silver Line) in the median between Fairfax Drive and I-495).  But widening has happened - recently, too.  The most-congested segment of 66 has always centered around the interchange at North Sycamore Street, Va. 237 (Washington Boulevard) and U.S. 29 (Lee Highway) (here).  Within the last year or two, a lane was added on the westbound side of I-66 between Fairfax Drive and North Sycamore Street (updated GSV here).

[mtantillo]

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

I think the 264 lanes are poorly designed. Most other places (like MA) with shoulder running don't stripe the shoulder any differently than they would any other shoulder (i.e. acceleration lanes still end, and to continue straight on the shoulder you have to drive across a diagonal line, whereas on 264 the shoulder is treated as an extra lane that is normally closed between exits (striped as a regular lane, just with a single solid line separating it). So if you enter the freeway from an intermediate interchange, you have to change lanes once from the acceleration lane onto the shoulder, then change lanes again if the shoulder is closed. The dashed lane markings just end at the end of the acceleration lane. This effectively makes the shoulder an additional lane that is easy to drive in all the time, and as such people always use it.

Here is a crude paint drawing to illustrate the differences:

  Massachusetts              Virginia

I'm not a fan of the "massachusetts" method.  There, it is not clear to a driver from outside the area that they can't follow the lane stripes (like they do everywhere else in the country) and instead yield to people who are driving across the stripes (illegal in 99.99% of other situations).  This applies to both entrance ramps (where the ramp meets the shoulder) and exit ramps (entering the beginning of the decel lane).  I've seen many people steadfastly refuse to enter the shoulder prior to an exit ramp, and instead "just go over" where the decel lane begins and not yield to traffic on the shoulder and almost get clobbered. 

I think Virginia's system is safer, as it doesn't involve crossing lines in ways that you normally aren't supposed to.  However, it is certainly true that most people don't think of the lanes in VA as shoulders...they think of them as another lane, since they are striped like a lane, and obviously is safe to use as a lane, therefore the self-important folks will use it illegally when everyone else waits.

I like the idea of bus-only shoulders though.  The bus drivers can drive reasonably responsibly, and will know to slow down and merge around a broken down vehicle on the shoulder.  At least the transit buses do on the Dulles Connector Road. 

[mtantillo]

I avoid I-66 inside the Beltway unless I'm going HOV or going to Dulles Airport during HOV hours (and indeed I've shown up super-early for flights to London just to make sure I got to use the HOV exemption).

Be sure to bring your boarding pass if you do this though.  Arlington Police seems to be cracking down on HOV violators, and have been running HOV checks on the WB entrance ramps often during PM rush hour.  Note that the Dulles exemption for I-66 HOV is slightly different than the rules for using the Dulles Access Road (the former, VDOT explicitely states "going to the airport to catch a flight or pick someone up", and going to the airport to buy  a newspaper or to eat or get gas does not entitle one to use I-66 during HOV hours...where the latter, any official airport business, including getting a bite to eat, filling up at the airport gas station, or checking your Dulles PO Box is valid), and the police are of the opinion that "everyone says they are going to the airport", so  best to actually have proof. 

One thing I did notice is that the white regulatory signs on the WB entrance ramps do not explicitely mention the Dulles exemption anymore, only the signs at the beginning of the restricted section in Rosslyn do. So technically if you are coming from anywhere other than DC/110, they might be able to issue you a ticket anyway if they really wanted to. 

[vdeane]

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?

[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?

Too many people getting on saying "I'm going to the airport" or "I'm coming from the airport" and abusing the system.  This is part of VDOT's crackdown..."you must be off the lanes before the restrictions kick in". 

For example, in the morning, someone exits I-66 eastbound at Fairfax Drive.  They slipped on undetected from the Dulles Toll Road (where it is very hard to catch people).  It is pretty clear that they are on a commute to work as the cops see this same car everyday. So lately they've started checking at all off-ramps/on-ramps regardless of direction.  If you are on a ramp that could be used to go to/come from the airport, they may ask a question or two.  Oh, you said you are coming from the airport because you got a cup of coffee?  Ticket.  You admitted you didn't come from the airport?  Ticket.  You said you dropped someone off but you have stuff all over the passenger seat and it doesn't look like you really dropped someone off?  Ticket.