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HOV lanes here at last
By Stephanie Flemmons, Staff Writer
Completely avoiding backed up traffic during rush hour is hardly possible.
But Lloyd Neal, Plano’s traffic engineer manager, said he hopes the opening of the 14-mile stretch of High Occupancy Lanes (HOV) running on U.S. 75 from Interstate 635 to Exchange Parkway in Allen will ease motorists’ drive.
“By removing vehicles from the main road and transferring them to the HOV lanes we are hoping to have more free flow traffic and accessibility to the city,” Neal said.
“Contractors are working fast and furious to remove debris and have the lanes open,” Hampton said.
Not only will the HOV lanes benefit commuters, but Melinda Sweney, Plano’s sustainability and environmental coordinator, said the lanes will benefit the atmosphere.
“The expansion will have a positive impact on air quality and energy conservation,” Sweney said. “The less time you spend idling, the more fuel you save and the fewer CO2 emissions are produced which impact our ozone.”
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sets allowable concentration standards for a variety of air pollutants, including ozone. These standards are designed to protect public health and are based on extensive health effects research, including research performed by EPA scientists and by independent researches.
According to Mark Ball, Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) spokesperson HOV commuter benefits include less use of personal vehicles, less fuel consumption, reduced total travel time and improved trip time. Motorists who carpool only a few days per week will benefit, he said.
“HOV lanes move more people in fewer vehicles, reducing the demand for new highways,” Ball said.
HOV lanes are open to vehicles with two or more occupants, buses, motorcycles and other eligible vehicles, according to DART officials.
This $18-million project split between DART, TxDOT and federal authorities was expected to be completed in August of 2006, but crews faced delays due to wet conditions and other TxDOT projects.
This 14-mile stretch will be equipped with cameras at major intersections like George Bush Turnpike and U.S. 75.
They will also include three ways on and three ways off. The lanes are protected by plastic dividers instead of concrete barriers.
Ball said DART is in charge of policing the lanes and TxDOT are the engineers that design them.
The U.S. 75 project is one of many projects the agencies are splitting in the metroplex.
Neal said Plano will see positive affects when an operating system is developed.
An extension of HOV lanes opened Monday on Interstate 30, which extended a single lane that runs east of downtown to Northwest Drive in Mesquite. This will eventually reach Fort. Worth.
A 12-mile extension of the Interstate 635, from U.S. 75 to I-30 will double the length of HOV lanes in the LBJ corridor, one of the nations busiest freeways, according to DART officials. It is scheduled to open in 2008.
Contact Stephanie Flemmons at sflemmons@acnpapers.com
The following are comments from the readers.
In no way do they represent the view of Starlocalnews.com
In no way do they represent the view of Starlocalnews.com
Few Use HOV wrote on Dec 20, 2007 9:04 AM:
" The problem with HOV in areas like Dallas or Los Angeles or Houston is there isn't one concentrated work center, so it's very hard to find someone that lives near you that also works near where you work. Because of this, the HOV lanes that were constructed in California are not used. Go down 101 in the San Francisco Bay Area and you will find three lanes full of cars and the HOV lane empty. The HOV lanes in LA were so vacant, they decided to allow people to pay to use the lane. So the taxpayers who paid for the roads have to pay again to use them because, unlike a tollway project, the lane is constructed with taxpayer's money. This is another example of common sense losing to environmental extremism. Just open the lane to everyone and stop trying to force people to change their lifestyle. These quotes from city "environmental coordinator" are highly inaccurate. There is no measurable difference to our atmosphere when a tiny fraction of cars use HOV lanes. "
Just make it a real lane wrote on Dec 22, 2007 7:11 AM:
" It would ease congestion more if they made
the new lane a regular lane instead of HOV. "
James wrote on Dec 23, 2007 9:18 PM:
" The lanes seem absurd to me. Before the contruction of them, traffic seemed to flow quite well. Ever since it has always been backed up.
While great in theory, does one sparesly filled lane of cars traveling at 55mph really make less pollution when the other 4 are now all going 15mph instead of 40?
I'm really upset with it. Also, the 3 only on and off points? That is absurd. I drove North on Central and had no oppurtunity for 5 miles to use the hov lane because I couldn't get on it. What a joke. "
J wrote on Dec 25, 2007 12:49 PM:
" Why the plastic pipe barriers? They are visually unappealing. They are going to be breaking when hit and making additional debris on the highway to damage other cars. This does not include the cost to replace the broken pipes. What happens when a carpool breaks down and motorists become "trapped" in the lane because there is NO shoulder. I think it's useless entirely. "
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