I-66 HOV Lane Discussion

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   I wanted to start a discussion of HOV on 66.  Is it a total failure or is it improving?  What is happening inside and outside the beltway? What should be changed?  Will there ever be slugging and what would it take?

	One thing I have wondered about is why they can't do the movable barricades like they do elsewhere (and in DC on the Roosevelt(?) Bridge where they reverse lanes am and pm)

	Bob

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Bob Members Profile Find Members Posts New Slug Joined: 14 Dec 2001 Status: Offline Points: 0	Post Options Post Reply Quote Bob Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: I-66 HOV Lane Discussion Posted: 25 Jun 2004 at 8:20am
	I wanted to start a discussion of HOV on 66. Is it a total failure or is it improving? What is happening inside and outside the beltway? What should be changed? Will there ever be slugging and what would it take? One thing I have wondered about is why they can't do the movable barricades like they do elsewhere (and in DC on the Roosevelt(?) Bridge where they reverse lanes am and pm) Bob

shep Members Profile Find Members Posts New Slug Joined: 17 Jun 2004 Location: VA Status: Offline Points: 0	Post Options Post Reply Quote shep Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 25 Jun 2004 at 8:44am
	Inside the beltway is usually amazing with occasional slow areas. Outside the beltway is a nightmare. I get on 66 at Fairfax County Pkwy (exit 55 I believe) and it's stop and go until inside the beltway. HOV lanes separated from regular lanes with a median might help (something like 395/95). I've tried picking up slugs from the Stringfellow P&R, but people don't seem to be familiar with the concept. I would think women would feel comfortable riding with another woman, but many times I have been turned down by women going my way - they say they'd rather bus and metro. I've seen a few other cars attempting to pick up. I think the drivers are out there, and there are tons of people waiting for the bus at Stringfellow, but not enough willing riders. I recently posted in the Proposed New Slug Locations but no responses yet.

fugitiveALiEN Members Profile Find Members Posts New Slug Joined: 24 Jun 2004 Location: VA Status: Offline Points: 0	Post Options Post Reply Quote fugitiveALiEN Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 25 Jun 2004 at 3:52pm
	For me i would hop onto HOV at the stringfellow ramp, and head all the way up 66 to the rt110/pentagon exit just after the tunnel and rosslyn offramp. My route over the period of 2002-2004 went from good to bad to worse. As another option since the toll-road lets out past the 495 fiasco, i tried that, and i was hooked. I would go out of my way 5miles and i cut-off 15 minutes or more! [:0] I would take from fairfax(greenbriar) west ox to reston pkwy to the toll-road, or head up the parkway, depending on my mood/traffic jams/construction and a slight detour made my commute more pleasant. During true HOV hours the toll-road merge from 4 lanes to 3 to 2 at westmoreland/rt29 wasn't too bad most of the time. The biggest problem has to be the merge out and the merge in where the beltway crosses, it's just plain insane. You go from 4 lanes (1 Hov - 3 Plain) of regular traffic down to like not even a whole single moving HOV lane due to the fact that there are people avoiding all of the last minute getter-offers on the right, and the HOV-ers trying to get onto the non HOV-able 495. 3 lanes are being forced off, and one lane, is being held-up for the HOV 495 offramp. Another slow-up just before that was always at the nutley/metro exit. I notived many HOV-ers from "out west" manassas, haymarket, (i could tell because of the car registration stickers) etc, hop off of the HOV lane and have to treacherously cross 3 lanes of "regular" traffic, where it was already gummed with other people trying to not use the roads ;) I think if there was an HOV only off/on ramp, like monument and stringfellow, that would be fantastic [:D] for congestion relief!. For the off-ramp when coming back out of the city on 66 it's trerrible getting out of the metro exit and nutley, etc all hops back on and causes more delays =/ Imagine a ramp that took you up to Vaden Drive, i think it is, imagine how much nicer that could be [:D] To sum up, my solutions : 1) Make an HOV only Metro on/off-ramp 2) Make an extended HOV off-ramp to 495, since everyone is waiting until the last minute to get off 66 anyhow [;)]