Wake Up People! HOT lanes

don't yell at me! stop it! your not the boss of me, don't tell me waht to do.
i told you to stop following me
get outta my head! quit it, eat the frog...go get your sister outta the toilet

NoSUV,
Your logic is scaring me now.

NoSUV,
I-66 doesn’t have slugging. Let’s see, those people live in a freakin’ nightmare M-F still. Unless you (i.e, we) go to high-speed rail right up the 95 slugging is the answer, not the problem.

JoanA: the problem is that there has been tremendous growth in the region over the past several years without a corresponding increase in the ability to transport people. Both the regular lanes and the express lanes have increased in the number of vehicles - but the regular lanes congestion has increased at a greater rate. That's led to complete gridlock in the regular lanes, while the express lanes are still relatively free flowing.

The problem faced by those responsible for transportation policy is how to balance the problem for their constituents - without raising taxes. The best way to do that seems to be to move some of the cars from the regular lanes to the express lanes.

The policy makers did just that with the hybrid exemption. Unfortunately, at the same time, population growth in the region increased exponentially - just compare the population of Stafford County in 2000 with today's (housing prices are another indicator). As a result, the congestion in teh regular lanes did not ease = it increased = and the express lanes also had an increase in congestion.

Yet, the express lanes are still relatively uncongested compared to the regular lanes. The transportation policy makers, to make a quick and tax free fix, rightfully figure that moving more cars from the regular lanes to the express lanes needs to occur. The solution appears to be through a toll.

No one seems to have a better, tax free method for reducing the regular lane congestion. Some have advocated that the congestion should remain - but that costs businesses with lost revenue, pollutes the environment, and needlessly uses up precious fuel. Until or unless we properly fund public transportation, and make it too costly NOT to use it, it's probable that we will have toll roads. The sad part is that slugging delayed the public transportation solution - imagine what the transportation system would look today if slugging had never started. Would we have found a different, and perhaps better, solution?

Under the HOT system, if you are a driver who picks up slugs, it appears that you would need one transponder indicating that you are HOV-3 and a second transponder when you do not have 3 people in the car. Of course, enforcement would become an even greater problem. The law enforcement "HOT police" couldn't just look for vehicles without 3 in the vehicle because they might just be HOT drivers who are paying their "lexus" tolls. The police would have to target vehicles without transponders or vehicles with HOV transponders without 3 people in the vehicle. Don't ask me how that would be possible. Am I missing something or does this HOT proposal just not make any sense?



hornerslug1