Continous Access Carpool (HOV) Lanes

[jfs1988]

http://www.latimes.com/local/california/
Orange County, CA




BTW, its been almost a year since the I-215 widening project has been completed in San Bernardino. It seems the Carpool Lane along the 215 freeway through San Bernardino (between the 10 & 210 Freeways) has continuous access, as Caltrans never painted the yellow lines.

[roadfro]

Direct link to actual story:
http://www.latimes.com/local/orangecounty/la-me-carpool-access-20141118-story.html

I'm kinda intrigued by this. My intuition says that limited access would be safer since lane changes only (legally) happen at designated points instead of anywhere. That would in theory increase travel time. However I can understand where unexpected lane changes in non-designated areas would be more dangerous...

[myosh_tino]

Direct link to actual story:
http://www.latimes.com/local/orangecounty/la-me-carpool-access-20141118-story.html

I'm kinda intrigued by this. My intuition says that limited access would be safer since lane changes only (legally) happen at designated points instead of anywhere. That would in theory increase travel time. However I can understand where unexpected lane changes in non-designated areas would be more dangerous...

Open access certainly works up here in northern California mostly because the HOV lanes only operate during designated commute hours (usually 5-9am and 3-7pm).  The rest of the time, they are general purpose lanes.

A new concept that might be implemented in the S.F. Bay Area is open-access HOT lanes.  According to jrouse, a forum member that works for Caltrans, they are exploring this concept for future HOT/Express Lane projects in the Bay Area.  I'd be really curious to see how this would work if/when it's implemented.

[mrsman]

I beleive that at some point the OC HOV lanes will become part-time.  THat's what's causing the change.

As for HOT lanes, that would be tricky.  THere would be too many cheaters who would bypass the toll gantries if there weren't some kind of a barrier in place to keep people in the lanes.

[andy3175]

Another conversion is underway, this time west of San Bernardino on SR 210 between I-15 and I-215:

http://www.sbsun.com/general-news/20150809/caltrans-to-re-stripe-210-carpool-lanes-beginning-monday

Caltrans will be spending the evening hours this week making striping changes in the carpool and No. 1 lanes of the 210 Freeway between the 15 and 215 freeways.

The new striping will allow continuous access in and out of the carpool lane, according to a Caltrans news release.

[portlandexpos04]

As for HOT lanes, that would be tricky.  THere would be too many cheaters who would bypass the toll gantries if there weren't some kind of a barrier in place to keep people in the lanes.

For continuous access HOT lanes to work from a toll perspective, the toll readers have to be spaced close together, e.g. 1/4 to 1/2 mile apart.  The pricing mechanism would zone pricing.  Once a vehicle gets "tagged in", they get charged for that zone.  They can exit and re-enter all they want after that.  If they get tagged in the next zone, they get charged additional, etc., etc.

That's how the continuous access HOT lanes being implemented in the Bay Area are going to work.  I believe that stretches of the new I-580 Express Lanes in east Alameda County will be continuous access, with buffering only where weaving has been identified as a problem, such as near the major interchanges.