Exactly one year ago this month I met with Janet Dawson, who, at that time, was Division Chief, Division of Legislative Affairs for the CA DOT. In that Sacramento meeting I discussed several concerns regarding our transportation needs in Orange County and why the rules for usage on HOV lanes in the Bay Area differ from southern CA. This was not a new issue for me. Eleven years ago this month I made a similar request to governor Pete Wilson and received an unsatisfactory reply from Brent Felker, former District 12 Director, responsible for this area.
Ironically in today’s OCTA meeting this same topic was on their Agenda.
Fast forward to my call to Sacramento today and an update from one of our multiple exchanges. The following is but a part of that communication. I am not including details of the 15 page document as mentioned below. Hopefully this will give us some insight on progress being made to address this HOV lane inconsistency.
“Dear Mr. Gilbert:
Attached are the responses to your questions regarding HOV lanes.
1. Other than PATH project #6326, “Determining the Effectiveness of HOV
lanes,” are their other similar activities ongoing or recently concluded that deal with HOV lane usage?
In addition to the PATH Project #6326 referenced above, the Department is working on
PATH Project #6601, PATH Project #6301 and a recently completed State Hybrid Report We have provided descriptions on all three of the PATH Projects as well as an electronic copy of the State Hybrid Report.
“Determining the Effectiveness of HOV Lanes”
Continuation of Task Order 5326 Traffic Operations Research
Project End Date: June 30, 2007
Lannon Leiman, Institute of Transportation Studies, University of
California, Berkeley
The implementation of freeway HOV lanes has been a controversial issue since the 1970’s with the Santa Monica freeway experience and continues today. While the implementation of freeway HOV lane mileage has grown, the controversy continues, particularly from the public and environmentalists, partly due to incomplete assessments, and perhaps in some situations, to questionably implemented sites. This applied research project will provide factual evidence of the effectiveness of existing HOV freeway facilities based on field data and will deliver methodologies for predicting the effectiveness of existing and proposed HOV freeway facilities from the perspectives of both freeway performance and air quality. There are six
major tasks:
1. comprehensive literature review and synthesis of current knowledge,
2. assemble and analyze historical and current field data of HOV facilities,
3. assessment and development of methodologies for estimating air quality,
4. application of modified FREQ model to evaluate HOV lanes,
5. application of off-line modified PeMS database to evaluate HOV lanes, and
6. documentation and presentation of the effectiveness of HOV lanes.
“What is the Excess Capacity of HOV Lanes?”
Task Order 6301 Traffic Operations Research
Project End Date: June 30, 2008
Pravin Varaiya, California PATH
Summary: HOV facilities are frequently underused, prompting proposals to use the “excess” capacity for toll-paying or hybrid vehicles. Preliminary analysis of HOV lanes in the Bay Area suggests, however, that the actual capacity of HOV lanes is significantly lower – about 1,400 vehicles per hour—than the assumed capacity of 2,000 or 2,200 vehicles per hour. This research will empirically estimate the capacities of all HOV lanes and compare them with actual usage to reliably estimate their excess capacity.
These estimates can then be used to predict the extent to which toll-paying or hybrid vehicles can be accommodated in the HOV lanes. If the lower capacity estimates are correct, very few of these vehicles can be accommodated.
“Safety of HOV Ingress/Egress along Limited Access Buffer Separated Facilities”
Task Order 6601 Transportation Safety Research
Project End Date: June 30, 2007
Ching-Yao Chan, California PATH
Summary: High-Occupancy-Vehicle (HOV) lanes have been implemented in many highway segments in the urban areas. The HOV facilities are aimed at elevating the highway utilization effectiveness and ultimately improving the overall mobility for the state transportation systems. To facilitate smooth and safe operations of traffic flows typically at relatively higher speeds within the HOV lanes, certain highway segments have utilized buffer zones to separate the HOV traffic streams from the non-HOV traffic in adjacent lanes. To allow traffic to enter and exit the HOV lanes, these buffer-separated lanes are provided with limited-access ingress and egress
zones at selective segments. As can be expected, if numerous lane-change or merging and diverging maneuvers are made under heavy-traffic conditions and considerable speed differential between the interacting vehicles, then hazardous situations may occur frequently. There are strong incentives to (a) understand the implications of HOV facilities such as the limited-access buffer zones on traffic flows and safety factors, and (b) establish supporting criteria and guidelines in selecting configurations to allow effective utilization of HOV facilities as well as to minimize the occurrence of vehicle collisions. This research is built on the premise
that a systematic approach in evaluating the collision statistics and analyzing field traffic data can significantly satisfy the critical needs and accomplish the ultimate objectives of Caltrans on this subject. The research team will leverage their efforts and carry out an investigation of highway and traffic attributes that can be potentially linked to the causative factors recorded in accident statistics. In addition, we also propose the use of field observation to supplement the safety factor analysis by capturing traffic flow information with radar and video to
fully understand the traffic interaction at selected observation sites.
(See attached file: Hybrids on HOV Lanes 90-day Determination Report.pdf)
2. If so can you provide the official list of “objectives, scope and methodology” for said research?
Please refer to the response provided in Item #1
3. PATH project #6326. Same question as number two
Please refer to the response provided in Item #1
4. A report covering UC Berkeley project investigator/project manager observations, Caltrans staff comments and/or recommendations for any HOV related research.
The Department is unaware of any such document.
5. Copies of any tables or graphs depicting traffic patterns if said exhibits exist.
Please refer to the electronic file provided in response to Item #1.”
OK readers. Any comments or additional questions you wish me to ask?
E-mail response follows:
Dear Larry, typical high level techno babble gobbley gook. “We won’t do anything meaningful but we will spend lots of money studying it after all we are there for you!”
Suggest a simple plan-which has been proposed before. It goes like this. In one north or southbound segment of the SR 55, say between the 91 and the I 5 , eliminate the HOV lane for 6 months. After 6 months compare congestion between the segment with the HOV lane and the the segment without. OCTA and DOT have both thrown up on this because the anecdotal response has been “MiGawd, if we get them out of the HOV, they’ll never want to get back in!!” Which is quite a headwind to fight from within and without those two bureaucracies…
Not one of the studies addresses the question of “what happens if we eliminate HoV lanes?”
As we say in Nippon…”Rots of Ruck” on all this. But it all goes to my thesis of self perpetuating government funded organizations…good luck Larry,
Another e-mail response:
I think these folks do not have a clue.!!!