Continuous access HOV lanes coming to Los Angeles

[jrouse]

Got word last week that the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) is going to be working with Caltrans District 7 on a plan to eventually convert the HOV lanes on the freeways in Los Angeles County from limited access to continuous access.  The planned HOT lanes on I-10 and I-110 will be limited access.  I do not know what facilities will be converted first, or if projects that are in construction will be opened with continuous access (I would think they would).  With this announcement, it means that continuous access HOV lanes will be found throughout all of southern California, with the exception of San Diego, which is not going in that direction. 

Joe
(Please note that I work for Caltrans but do not officially speak for them on this board)

[rschen7754]

What is meant by "continuous access"?

[TheStranger]

What is meant by "continuous access"?

In Northern California, most HOV lanes (other than the HOT lane on 680 near Fremont) are not barrier-separated from the regular freeway lanes, unlike in much of Southern California.

[blawp]

You mean the double yellow line most people completely ignore?

[roadfro]

^ Yes.

Instead of double solid lines with designated entry/exit points, it would be more like a normal broken lane line allowing drivers to enter or exit the HOV lane at will.

[rschen7754]

Got it now. What about the ones in Orange County? Some of those have physical barriers between the carpool and the regular lanes...

[myosh_tino]

Got it now. What about the ones in Orange County? Some of those have physical barriers between the carpool and the regular lanes...

If you are referring to the express lanes on highway 91, those will not and cannot be converted because these are toll lanes and there are currently no intermediate access points.  IIRC, aren't there some instances where overpass support columns separate the HOV lanes on I-5 from the general purpose lanes?

[rschen7754]

Yeah, that's what I'm referring to.

[agentsteel53]

wouldn't it just be easier to enforce the "slower traffic keep right" law?  I hate being stuck in the carpool lane behind some dumb yutz doing 58 in a 65, when speed of traffic is 83.

[kphoger]

wouldn't it just be easier to enforce the "slower traffic keep right" law?  I hate being stuck in the carpool lane behind some dumb yutz doing 58 in a 65, when speed of traffic is 83.

I especially love it when the utility truck (or what have you) is going slower than the flow of traffic while in the HOV lane, yet he's prevented from moving to the right by a double white line.  Doesn't Saint Louis (or somewhere) have a two-lane HOV lane.....I seem to recall seeing this around that time of my life.....

[AsphaltPlanet]

^ The 110 Freeway in L.A. has a two lane HOV between the Century Freeway and the end of the HOV lanes at Adams Blvd.

[rschen7754]

Yeah, and I-5 near the 405 split has two lanes for a brief period of time.

[portlandexpos04]

So are they going to continue being operated 24-hours a day?  Or are they going to be in operation only during the peak times, similar to Northern California?

[cpzilliacus]

Got word last week that the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) is going to be working with Caltrans District 7 on a plan to eventually convert the HOV lanes on the freeways in Los Angeles County from limited access to continuous access.  The planned HOT lanes on I-10 and I-110 will be limited access.  I do not know what facilities will be converted first, or if projects that are in construction will be opened with continuous access (I would think they would).  With this announcement, it means that continuous access HOV lanes will be found throughout all of southern California, with the exception of San Diego, which is not going in that direction. 

Joe
(Please note that I work for Caltrans but do not officially speak for them on this board)

In my [personal] opinion, this is a big mistake.  One of the reasons that the Southern California HOV lanes work reasonably well is because access is limited. 

In the Virginia and Maryland suburbs of D.C., most of the non-barrier-separated lanes (on freeways like I-66, Va. 267 (Dulles Toll Road), I-270 and U.S. 50 (John Hanson Highway)) have just broken lines separating them from adjacent (congested) non-HOV lanes, and this causes the HOV lanes to perform very poorly.

[cpzilliacus]

wouldn't it just be easier to enforce the "slower traffic keep right" law?  I hate being stuck in the carpool lane behind some dumb yutz doing 58 in a 65, when speed of traffic is 83.

I especially love it when the utility truck (or what have you) is going slower than the flow of traffic while in the HOV lane, yet he's prevented from moving to the right by a double white line.  Doesn't Saint Louis (or somewhere) have a two-lane HOV lane.....I seem to recall seeing this around that time of my life.....

The barrier-separated reversible HOV lanes in Virginia's Shirley Highway (I-395 and I-95) corridor are two lanes wide.

[jrouse]

So are they going to continue being operated 24-hours a day?  Or are they going to be in operation only during the peak times, similar to Northern California?

They would continue to operate 24 hours.  There is no push for part-time lanes.

[intelati49]

Doesn't Saint Louis (or somewhere) have a two-lane HOV lane...

I wish.

[OCGuy81]

In my [personal] opinion, this is a big mistake.  One of the reasons that the Southern California HOV lanes work reasonably well is because access is limited. 

Couldn't agree more!  A double yellow line is largely ignored around here.

[CenVlyDave]

Converting the lanes to continuous access does have it's advantages... I was once with my sister and mother on our way to a Feuneral at Rose Hills, travelling on the 210 freeway in Glendora.  My sister was driving, we were running a bit behind and she "leaped" out of the HOV lane accross the double-yellows.  She was stopped by CHP, she plead her case, I was even in my Army Dress Uniform, there was no doubt that were heading someplace formal.  Long story short, she got a $400-$500 ticket and was mad as heck.  I even had to drive the rest of the way so she could cool off.  Would have been nice to have a continuous access HOV lane that day.

[KEK Inc.]

I think it should be limited access at busy intersections and continous access at normal areas. 

Take the intersection of CA-85 and CA-17 for example.  Going Southbound on CA-85 on evening rush hour is always fun, but it's pretty bad in the HOV lane too, since the lane is relatively empty, but there's stopped-20 MPH traffic, and people tend to go like 50+ MPH on the HOV lane, when people in the normal lanes jet out.  I've seen some close-call collisions, and I would be surprised if that isn't a collision problem area. 

[jrouse]

I have been informed that Metro has shelved a plan for continuous access HOV lanes in Los Angeles County.  Not sure why.  I do know that they are looking at additional HOT lanes around the region.

[Interstatefan78]

I have been informed that Metro has shelved a plan for continuous access HOV lanes in Los Angeles County.  Not sure why.  I do know that they are looking at additional HOT lanes around the region.

I think LA metro should do aditional carpool lanes and some HOT in LA county. To me SOCAL designated entry or exit to the carpool lanes are better than the NOrcal Ones because if part time Carpool operation were to be used in LA and SD this will cause more delays on Socal freeways and make a 6 hour LA to SD run feasible

[kphoger]

OK!