Ridiculous Item #0002
Carpool Lanes
So, carpool lanes seem like a great idea, right? Encourage people to travel together in vehicles, thereby reducing the number of vehicles on the road and, consequently, reducing traffic. Seems so very simple, too bad it doesn’t work. Does it sound logical to anyone to believe that restricting access to at least one lane worth of space (often more in the case of LA freeways due to poor construction, design, implementation, and just general stupidity) to those who carpool (which is, realistically, not an option for many commuters) will relieve traffic congestion? No? I didn’t think so. It’s an absolutely crazy belief.
Further, let’s look at the type of people who are most likely to carpool. Yeah, you guessed it: people who drive vans. Now, I’m not going to contend that all those who drive vans drive poorly, but, as an LA driver, I can honestly say that people whose driving skills are a tad lacking tend to pick vans in overwhelming numbers. To make this little mix all the more delightful, people who drive vans are also more likely than those not driving vans to have children in the car. While this doesn’t change the driving behavior of some, it does lead many to drive more slowly. So, now that speedy little lane to bypass traffic becomes a congested mess because of someone going ten miles per hour under the speed limit.
Prius drivers. I’m tempted to leave this paragraph at that. In California, those who drive ‘clean air’ vehicles also get to enjoy the HOV lane. Problem: an unpleasant number of such vehicles are driven by hippies (and their modern day equivalents). As if driving an ugly and slow-to-accelerate excuse for a vehicle wasn’t enough, a fair proprotion of these individuals seem to think it will help the environment even further if they also drive slowly. Hooray! More slow drivers in a lane that is supposed to alleviate congestion and travel at a decent rate of speed.
Encouraging people to carpool is not a bad idea (parking rates in Downtown LA are quite good motivation, one would think), but doing this via HOV lanes is the wrong approach. Emphasize savings in fuel, parking, and maintenance costs. Freeway construction and maintenance is already a costly enough endeavor (one that is poorly accomplished in California) without the added expense of designing and maintaining carpool lanes. For those who don’t think there is extra cost involved: look at a map of Los Angeles freeways. Look at the way that carpool lanes connect from one freeway to another. There are entire onramps dedicated to carpool traffic and only carpool traffic. Maybe in some places carpool lanes are designed more logically, provide greater benefits, and do not greatly add to the cost of highway construction and maintenance, but, in LA, this is not the case.
Telecommuting should be encouraged. Carpool lanes should be removed and their space used to create an additional lane or two for all traffic. People who drive vans and ‘clean air’ vehicles should stick to the right langes (I’m willing to make exceptions for those who do not feel compelled to travel at a rate of speed below that of other traffic). Speed limits should also be increased, but that is an argument for another day.
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