As Planetizen reported last month, toll lanes and transit are headed to two Los Angeles County freeways as a consequence of New York City's forfeiting over $300 million in an Urban Partnership Grant when the state assembly did not approve the city's congestion pricing plan last year.
"The introduction of tolls on the 10 Freeway east of downtown Los Angeles and 110 Freeway south of downtown will mark a major departure for roads that generations of Californians have clung to as "freeways," even though toll roads already exist in several parts of the state. Under the pricing schedule, solo motorists will pay 25 cents to $1.40 per mile to travel 14 miles of high-occupancy lanes on the east-west San Bernardino Freeway and 11 miles on the north-south Harbor Freeway.
A solo motorist who wants to use the high-occupancy lanes must enroll in MTA's "ExpressLanes" program and be given a transponder, an electronic device that attaches to windshields and dashboards. When a car uses a toll lane, overhead sensors read the transponder's coding and the motorist is automatically billed."
Thanks to MTC-ABAG Library
Comments
HOT lanes
How will adding paying cars to already crowded toll lanes provide an incentive for drivers to carpool and use public transit? This idea seems completely counter to the AB32 and SB375 goals of reducing vehicular miles. It provides no incentive to live closer to your workplace, use public transportation, or carpool. It seems like another ploy to raise money at the expense of good transportation and land use planning. The only upside is that it might get drivers more used to paying for the facilities that they use. Hopefully in the near future all the lanes will be tolled, except for the HOV lane.
Rob Bregoff
Road Pricing is Key
Rob,
I agree - it would be great if ALL lanes could be tolled. I'd also like to win the lottery.
But can ONE lane be tolled rather than 'only' offered to carpoolers? Then consider, what if those revenues would be directed to improve, or even implement, transit on the corridor. Furthermore, consider that the funds to convert these lanes to toll lanes will also fund transit - at a time when State Transit Assistance has been eliminated for the next 5 years thanks to the budget agreement.
Short of what would be ideal, this agreement looks good for transit.
But then add the fact that road pricing - and congestion pricing at that, has the ability to signal drivers that driving isn't 'free' - and it's just possible that HOT lanes have the ability to do what Cambridge Systematics proved in 24% Reduction in Emissions Possible by 2050 ("the report indicates that the reduction can reach up to 47 percent if road pricing techniques are implemented.")
Irvin Dawid, Palo Alto, CA