I was just wondering, is it possible for NY to put replace the third lane on I-87 between Suffern and Newburgh with a HOV or Express lane? I think it would work out because there is a roughly 15 mile distance between Suffern and Harriman NY where if a crash happens, it gets jammed for 15 miles, and there is no way to exit. If they added a HOV or Express +3 lane, it would reduce traffic and let the people with carpools get where they need faster. I know this would never happen, but it would be cool to see a HOV or Express lane on the NY Thruway.
Quote from: TMETSJETSYT on August 16, 2022, 06:04:07 PM
I was just wondering, is it possible for NY to put replace the third lane on I-87 between Suffern and Newburgh with a HOV or Express lane? I think it would work out because there is a roughly 15 mile distance between Suffern and Harriman NY where if a crash happens, it gets jammed for 15 miles, and there is no way to exit. If they added a HOV or Express +3 lane, it would reduce traffic and let the people with carpools get where they need faster. I know this would never happen, but it would be cool to see a HOV or Express lane on the NY Thruway.
I'd much rather see another general purpose lane. I-87 has some commuter traffic, but the busiest times are generally weekends/holidays, and HOV lanes aren't as effective then as pretty much everyone can use them.
QEW between Burlington and Oakville is a good case study - the HOV lane works well during weekday rush hours, but is often the same speed or slower than the regular lanes on the weekends.
For weekend traffic, if most of them qualify for HOV anyway, why would adding a HOV lane be different from adding a general lane?
Quote from: ran4sh on August 16, 2022, 10:33:23 PM
For weekend traffic, if most of them qualify for HOV anyway, why would adding a HOV lane be different from adding a general lane?
Because people use it as an HOV lane instead of a passing lane, and it can end up slower than the other lanes with not much recourse.
People actually follow lane discipline there? I'm used to just taking any available lane if I need to pass.
Not everyone, especially with 6+ lanes (which is also rare in NY). But enough people do that it's disruptive when slow traffic is hanging out on the left.
Quote from: ran4sh on August 16, 2022, 10:33:23 PM
For weekend traffic, if most of them qualify for HOV anyway, why would adding a HOV lane be different from adding a general lane?
Separation between lanes can be an issue. If there is a slowdown (car breaks, cop finds a pray, some crap on the road) traffic cannot redistribute efficiently.
Honestly, when I drove down the Thruway Friday, I was VERY thankful when the third lane opened up at exit 16, and it was late morning in the non-peak travel direction. Most people seemed to be SOVs. I wouldn't want that third lane to be taken away and made HOV. In fact, I really wouldn't mind if it was extended further north, and again, this was the NON-peak direction in late morning.
Luckily for us in NY, this thread really is fictional.
Quote from: Rothman on August 21, 2022, 11:04:04 AM
Luckily for us in NY, this thread really is fictional.
Unfortunately for us, "major widening of Thruway" would also be in a fictional subforum...
Quote from: kalvado on August 21, 2022, 11:41:17 AM
Quote from: Rothman on August 21, 2022, 11:04:04 AM
Luckily for us in NY, this thread really is fictional.
Unfortunately for us, "major widening of Thruway" would also be in a fictional subforum...
Thruway beyond Mahwah runs great so no reason to widen.
Quote from: bluecountry on August 24, 2022, 11:06:31 PM
Quote from: kalvado on August 21, 2022, 11:41:17 AM
Quote from: Rothman on August 21, 2022, 11:04:04 AM
Luckily for us in NY, this thread really is fictional.
Unfortunately for us, "major widening of Thruway" would also be in a fictional subforum...
Thruway beyond Mahwah runs great so no reason to widen.
As in north of the I-87/287 split in Suffern? Maybe sometimes, but try it on a holiday or summer weekend.
Quote from: webny99 on August 25, 2022, 08:16:14 AM
Quote from: bluecountry on August 24, 2022, 11:06:31 PM
Quote from: kalvado on August 21, 2022, 11:41:17 AM
Quote from: Rothman on August 21, 2022, 11:04:04 AM
Luckily for us in NY, this thread really is fictional.
Unfortunately for us, "major widening of Thruway" would also be in a fictional subforum...
Thruway beyond Mahwah runs great so no reason to widen.
As in north of the I-87/287 split in Suffern? Maybe sometimes, but try it on a holiday or summer weekend.
I would say that NYS is a bit larger than NYC approaches. While someone here advocates 6-laning Thruway along entire length, I would call that extreme. But IMHO expanding urban 6-lane sections on I-90 part, and god forbids setting up some 8-lane areas (Buffalo has AADT of 125k on Thruway) could be on a table.
For example, Albany section of Thruway got 6-laned down to exit 23 not that long ago. Extending that to Berkshire spool (AADT of 50k for that stretch) isn't really crazy.