Carpool Lane Congestion and RCTC's Interstate 15 Corridor Improvement Project

Southern California's carpool lanes may appear to be dated given noticeable peak hour congestion, but that is no reason to simply do away with the system. According to Caltrans, the goals of carpool lanes are to reduce congestion and improve air quality on the State Highway System.

The law states that the carpool lane is used "to stimulate and encourage the development of ways and means of relieving traffic congestion on California highways and, at the same time, to encourage individual citizens to pool their vehicular resources and thereby conserve fuel and lessen emission of air pollutants."

Dedicated lanes for high occupancy vehicles is a viable alternative, according to the state government. In many cases, such lanes are the only alternative, in meeting federal air quality conformity standards for capacity-increasing improvement projects in metropolitan areas in conjunction with improving options for alternative high occupancy vehicle travel such as expanded bus and train services and marketing campaigns to form carpools. Carpool lanes represent one approach being used in regions throughout the state to respond to growing traffic congestion, declining mobility level, air quality and environmental concerns.

Yes, there are some corridors where the carpool lane may be lightly used during some hours. We've brought our views into the court of public opinion earlier this week on this one.

Many commuters sold on ridesharing

Those principles and benefits of carpool lanes are all good, and many commuters were sold on that notion. Guess what? Combined with the Inland Empire population growth, the carpool lanes are now jammed too during the rush hour. Under the federal law, carpool lanes are officially congested when the high occupancy vehicles in these lanes fail to maintain a minimum average operating speed of 45 miles per hour 90 percent of the time over a 180-day period during the morning or afternoon peak hours.

There have been claims that solo hybrids and electric cars are contributing to the chaos. There are some who are demanding that the exemption be abolished. Caltrans believes the state's rising population–and not solo clean vehicle access–is the primary reason for congestion in the carpool lanes. “More people are driving more cars longer distances. Our research shows that vehicle miles traveled increased faster than population growth," according to Caltrans' Chief of Traffic Operations Robert Copp. "So, with population increases, we get more traffic, more congestion." That may be true, but placing solo hybrid restrictions could be one solution to explore given that they are not really high occupancy vehicles. Restricting such access in congested areas is not the cure-all solution, but it would certainly help. The reality is that it probably won't be much longer until the majority of cars would be considered clean as more hybrids and electrics are introduced in the marketplace and prices come down.

Speaking of solo's, the other exempted vehicles are motorcycles. Should they too be restricted? Positively not. Motorcycles are considered a high occupancy vehicle simply due to safety and their small size. If a motorcycle is stuck in the general purpose lanes, that makes the roadway more hazardous. One corridor does restrict motorcycle access to its high occupancy vehicle lanes, the 91 Express Lanes. They must have a FasTrak transponder and hop into the 3+ lane. Motorcycles should be exempted from needing to register for a FasTrak transponder and pay tolls during the PM rush hour, period. There is no excuse to motorcycle safety. Automated enforcement systems can certainly detect these high occupancy vehicles.

Combating Carpool Lane Congestion

Moving forward, Caltrans will explore several strategies to reduce carpool lane congestion, including:

• Adjusting hours of HOV operation
• Modifying vehicle entrance and exit points in HOV lanes
• Increasing enforcement by the California Highway Patrol, and
• Limiting hybrid access in congested areas.

Identifying bottlenecks and the modification of access points which could include the addition a transitional weave lane certainly should be looked at by traffic engineers. There may be cases where carpool congestion is caused by a bottleneck. That's why we're keeping a close watch on the 91 Express Lane extension and the bottleneck along the I-15 south at El Cerrito Road where the highway goes to three lanes with no high occupancy lane.

There have also been local discussions of changing the occupancy requirement for carpool from 2 to 3 during congested periods. That should be looked at on a corridor-by-corridor basis by traffic engineers. We understand that such a change will be a bit chaotic at first as 2-person carpools are displaced, but strong marketing campaigns to form 3+ carpools and plans implement all day transit service should be able to offset this issue. Long term plans may include doubling the capacity so that there are two carpool lanes in each direction. The I-15 Express Lane facility in San Diego County is a prime example.

Model high occupancy vehicle infrastructure: San Diego County I-15 Express Lanes

In San Diego County, the I-15 Express Lanes corridor between Escondido and San Diego has been nationally recognized for its innovative design. It is the first section of a regional system of interconnected Express Lanes. It fosters public transit with the presence of bus infrastructure. It encourages shared ridership with park & ride lots. There's no toll for 2+ carpools and vanpools, buses, and motorcycles. They do not have to preregister ahead of time or mount a transponder. They can get on for free and go! Intelligence-driven enforcement combined with heavy fines combats carpool and toll payment cheating. Starting in 2014, the corridor will offer an all day express bus rapid transit route. This multi-modal high occupancy toll lane facility features:

• Dual 2+ carpool lanes in each direction with the option of solo drivers to buy their way in with a FasTrak under real-time marketplace tolls. Much of the corridor also features a movable barrier where the number of carpool lanes in each direction can be adjusted easily. Under special circumstances, the barrier could be moved where one direction of the corridor would have 3 carpool lanes, the other would have 1.
• More than 20 access points that give travelers a wide range of options of where to enter or exit the lanes. 
• Direct access ramps that allow travelers to enter the Express Lanes from surface streets. New and improved transit stations are located less than a few blocks from these ramps, thus providing the bus transit infrastructure for high speed express bus services both from public agencies and the private sector.
• Robust bus transit stations less than a few blocks from the corridor: Unlike LA's I-110 Harbor Transitway where the transit stations were placed in the freeway median, the stations are placed on either side of the freeway, thus making non vehicular access more pedestrian and bicycle friendly. Speaking of the notion of placing transit stations within the median of the freeway, such proposals generally must be discouraged. Getting to stops is hard enough. Patrons are often required to bridge over or under several lanes of rushing traffic. Once they are finally on the platform, the environment is chaotic. Cars may be whizzing by at high speeds in both directions, producing noise and unhealthful air around the station. That's why it's better to place the transit hubs on either side of the freeway.

Concept: What a direct access ramp with supporting bus infrastructure from San Diego's I-15 Express Lanes may look like if replicated in Temecula. An extension of Bedford Court serves as the direct access ramp. Numerous casino buses, private carpools and future public express buses would utilize it. A transit station on the opposite side of the freeway would cater to connecting RTA buses and potential local high speed rail toward Los Angeles to the north and San Diego to the south. A gateway into the Santa Margarita Ecological Reserve would also support the transit station and serve as a tourist stop. View map.

Could the Inland Empire use robust transit infrastructure like this? Let's see what our folks at the Riverside County Transportation Commission have planned.

Riverside County: Interstate 15 Corridor Improvement Project

The Riverside County Transportation Commission's Interstate 15 Corridor Improvement Project was recently reevaluated, right-sized, and re-prioritized as it emerges from its original plan of a 43.5 mile corridor improvement, to a more focused 14.6 mile stretch of tolled express lanes running North from Cajalco Road in Corona to State Route 60 (SR-60). The original proposal was to run the HOT lanes between SR-60 and SR-74 in Lake Elsinore and to build carpool lanes between SR-74 and the I-215 in Murrieta. Because of predicted growth in Temecula, we've advocated for the carpool lanes to be dual and to run through to San Diego County where it would seamlessly link with the I-15 Express Lanes. Under the current political and economic climate, that will not happen anytime soon; so prepare for more bottleneck shifting.

According to RCTC, the project has undergone the reevaluation of its project limits in order to deliver a project that could be constructed in this economic recovery period. The project originally was relying, in part, on local Measure A funding, the half-cent sales tax dedicated to County Transportation, for a large portion of its funding source.

Concept: Dual high occupancy express lanes along the I-15 freeway just north of Cajalco Road which supports free non-transponder carpooling complete with infrastructure to support future rapid express buses and private sector intercity coaches like Greyhound. The access point pictured is actually officially proposed by the Riverside County Transportation Commission as part of a scaled-down version of the I-15 tolled express lane project. Also pictured to the right is infill marketplace job growth at the Corona Crossings area.

When the Measure A funding endured multiple years of unanticipated downturn, the I-15 CIP was evaluated for what could feasibly be built that would bring maximum benefit to the public. RCTC was therefore forced to downsize the I-15 Project which is now focused on the highest traffic impact areas within the corridor.

No more excuse making

We will continue to hold the state accountable for supporting policies that would entice the local marketplace to grow and for getting our transportation infrastructure to a point of where it needs to be and county officials should think likewise and pass resolutions to demand the state to stop misspending our money. Wasteful government spending of our transportation money positively should not be tolerated. With carpool demands high and growth on the way for the corridor, the I-15 needs robust infrastructure to support the high occupancy vehicle traffic so it does not become the next 91 Freeway Corona Crawl. The corridor needs to mimic San Diego County's I-15 Express Lane system with bus transit infrastructure and usage policies that support free non-transponder carpooling. Charging mandatory tolls and transponder preregistration on carpoolers which drives non-registered HOV's out of the express lanes should not be a substitute. The state simply has no excuse for this downsizing.

Carpool Lanes: Debating the "Open to All" option outside of rush hours

Proposed: SANDAG proposes high occupancy toll lanes along the I-15 from Eastvale through the Cajon Pass. During times of extraordinary traffic incidents like accidents, temporarily opening the HOT lanes to all for free with continuous access would be justifiable. In this concept, the I-15 HOT lanes are open to all with continuous access due to an accident 5 miles ahead while the I-10 HOT lanes remain open to carpools or FasTrak traffic only

Should carpool lanes really be opened up to all during off-peak hours? The Transit Coalition's A Better Inland Empire transit blog answers that question. Last week, Governor Jerry Brown vetoed AB 405 by Assemblymember Mike Gatto which would have opened the segments of the carpool lanes along the 134 and 210 Freeways in Los Angeles County to solo drivers outside of commute hours. According the Press Enterprise and several other sources, AB 405 had bipartisan support, passing unanimously in the Senate and had near unanimous support in the Assembly. However, Brown in his veto message said, "Carpool lanes are especially important in Los Angeles County to reduce pollution and maximize use of freeways. We should retain the 24/7 carpool lane control." He may have a point.

To be fair, traffic patterns on some freeways may dispute Brown's statement even though opening the carpool lanes for single-occupant vehicles on SR-134 and I-210, even if only during off-peak hours, is very questionable. The Transit Coalition does not support opening up the carpool lanes to all road users in such a fashion. A better idea is allowing local Los Angeles officials, even if it be the local Caltrans district, to have the authority to manage the carpool occupancy requirements and enforcement periods on a corridor-by-corridor basis, since local users and traffic engineers are the ones most familiar with the traffic flow of these freeways, not Sacramento. We all remember what happened with the El Monte Busway. Some basic statewide regulations will be required, especially to prevent political abuse at the local level, but basic carpool lane management certainly should certainly be done locally. For what it's worth, Assemblymember Gatto does represent the region, where SR-134 and a small portion of I-210 pass through.

This is a debatable and complicated topic. That's why we cannot support AB 405 or any other similar proposal right off the bat. As mentioned, history shows the I-10 El Monte Busway cannot be managed from Sacramento; it has to be done in LA. Another issue: How many high occupancy vehicles are choosing to drive in the general purpose lanes and why so? What is the just and right thing to do in cases where an accident or emergency crews are blocking the general purpose lanes? It's time for some straight talk.

Allow local law enforcement and Caltrans to temporarily open carpool lane access during a road incident

Both of Riverside County's major local newspapers, Press Enterprise and the Union Tribune, supported opening carpool lanes outside of rush hours as fewer cars use the lanes during free-flow hours, but it was the UT that hit the nail on the head. Here's a valid point that the editorial made:

Example: Opening up a HOT lane system to allow all traffic to bypass blocked lanes caused by a brush fire 5 miles ahead. Vehicles would also be granted continuous access.

Most everyone in San Diego who commutes by freeway has no doubt encountered an accident or road work that clogs the regular lanes during the middle of the day or at night while the carpool lanes are practically vacant. The whole idea of carpool lanes is to encourage ride-sharing, but sometimes that just isn’t feasible.

And that's true. If there's a sigalert, traffic collision, construction, maintenance work, hazard, or any other acute road incident that is tying up traffic in the general purpose lanes, allowing law enforcement and Caltrans to temporarily open up the high occupancy vehicle lane to allow such traffic to pass through would absolutely be justified. This includes relaxing access restrictions by allowing drivers to cross over the double white/yellow lines. Digital freeway signs would announce such permissions.

The PE mentioned in its editorial that "letting the carpool lanes sit empty while drivers struggle with heavy traffic on the rest of the freeway does not cut pollution or ease congestion; it merely angers motorists." In the case of a road incident, that is absolutely true. State law should also allow such cases to be applied to high occupancy toll lanes including the 91 Express Lanes. Both Caltrans and law enforcement should have the authority to open dedicated lanes to allow traffic to pass through in these extraordinary circumstances which includes permitting vehicles to cross over the double white/yellow lines. There is no reason whatsoever to suggest otherwise.

Debate: Opening up HOV lanes during off-peak hours regularly

Outside of traffic incidents, the notion of opening up carpool lanes to all during off-peak hours is debatable. Therefore, The Transit Coalition does not support this notion. Debates and decisions should take place locally on a corridor-by-corridor basis with all political bias set aside and with professional engineers writing up formulas based on fact-based data to aid local leaders in managing such lanes. The same holds true of determining whether such facilities should allow for continuous access or have dedicated access points. There are some freeways that experience very few vehicles in the carpool lane outside of peak hours, but certainly not all. Generally speaking, policies need to ensure the carpool lane remains moving at all times outside of acute traffic incidents. A firm valid objection is creating a circumstance where opening up the carpool lane to all would fill it beyond capacity during off-peak hours with solo drivers. That could be a concern for freeways in the Los Angeles area where high occupancy vehicle travel demand is high. The facts, history and various traffic patterns on different freeways are overwhelming. Here are some examples:

I-10 El Monte Busway: The El Monte Busway is an 11 mile shared-use bus corridor and high occupancy toll lane running along I-10 between downtown Los Angeles and the El Monte Bus Station. It has a long history, but in 1999, a state bill lowered the carpool occupancy requirement from three occupants to two to take place on January 1, 2000. This was intended to be a 2 year experiment but it was cancelled after only 6 months in which it congested the busway. Local transit agencies opposed the state measure, demonstrating why local officials need some decision making power to manage their high occupancy vehicle lanes. Emergency state legislation was needed and passed in July 2000 to terminate the experiment during peak hours. Currently, 3's a carpool during rush hours in both directions, 2 at other times along the El Monte Busway. All carpools must also have a switchable FasTrak transponder to travel for free in the current HOT lane system.

91 Freeway into Orange County: As many are aware, the 91 Freeway into Orange County consistently reaches unpredictable "rush hour" states well beyond the traditional peak commute hours. Right off the bat, we can safely say that the freeway's general purpose lanes and the 2+ carpool lane through Corona start to slow shortly after the lunch hour on Friday's and is congested pretty much all day and through the evening on many weekends and holidays, especially in the eastbound direction. The freeway gets worse on hot days as people headed to coastal areas and the beach to cool off fill the 91, most have at least 2 people in the car. The 91 Express Lanes is a 24/7 transponder-mandated 3+ high occupancy toll lane facility. Given the high demands for high occupancy vehicle travel in the corridor to the point where even 2+ carpool lanes are insufficient during rush hours, hot summer days and weekends, the 3+ HOT/FasTrak lanes positively cannot be opened to all outside of traditional commute hours. That would be chaotic for the entire corridor. Probably the only feasible times to regularly open the 91 Express Lanes to all would be during the late night hours.

Proposed: SANDAG proposes high occupancy toll lanes along the I-15 through the Cajon Pass. This Caltrans photo shows the existing freeway at a free-flowing state during the middle of a weekday. Opening the HOT lanes to all for free is certainly debatable and questionable. How many of the cars passing through do you think are high occupancy vehicles?

Inland Empire Freeways where the carpool lane may look empty: These freeway segments are typically at a free flowing state during the middle of the day and weekends. Therefore, the carpool lane may often look empty:

• SR-60 Carpool lanes between Moreno Valley and the Badlands hills
• Proposed I-215 Carpool lanes between Moreno Valley and Perris
• Proposed I-15 Carpool lanes between Murrieta and Lake Elsinore
• Proposed I-15 High Occupancy Toll Lanes through the Cajon Pass
• Proposed I-15 High Occupancy Toll Lanes between Temecula and Escondido

Opening the carpool lane to all along these freeways is certainly debatable under the current demographics and traffic patterns. It's a bit more complex than it looks. There are valid questions and arguments for both and against. The Transit Coalition will thus not necessarily support such a move due to these complexities.

Here's an interesting reality of such free-flowing freeways. Some HOV's won't even bother to weave across the freeway lanes to use the carpool lane during free-flow hours simply because there is no need to. That of course drives down the number of vehicles in the lane. Whenever an extraordinary circumstance such as an accident comes up unannounced, more folks including carpools are stuck in the regular lanes, especially if the carpool lane has restricted access points. This creates the problem of empty carpool lanes and congested general purpose lanes. One solution, as mentioned, is to allow law enforcement and Caltrans to temporarily open the carpool lane to all during extraordinary circumstances and to permit vehicles to cross over the double lines if there are restrictions.

Long term solutions would include finding ways to integrate the lanes better with dense activity centers. This would include the development of direct access ramps and transit infrastructure. HOV's may therefore be inclined to take the carpool lane during off-peak hours.

I-215 Carpool Lanes under construction between Riverside and San Bernardino: The mainline is heavily used all throughout the day, and the two county seats move many people all day long with the presence of an all day Omnitrans express bus route. Should the private sector invest in the city centers, high occupancy vehicle demand may be high enough where night owl transit service may be feasible. The carpool lane should therefore remain 24/7 with long term plans to link the lane directly to the transit centers.

I-215 Carpool Lanes between Riverside and Moreno Valley: This segment of the I-215 is consistently high in volume due to the merge of SR-60 from Moreno Valley and I-215 from Perris. Carpool demands are consistently high. A recent Coalition field study through this area showed the eastbound 2+ carpool lane between Riverside and Moreno Valley filled to near capacity on a Friday night at 9 PM as the general purpose lanes were heavy, well past the traditional rush hour. With the growth of logistics jobs in the area, this corridor certainly should maintain its 24/7 enforcement with long term plans for a dual HOV express lane system with bus transit infrastructure and upgraded corridor-based passenger rail service. More on that at later time.

Other freeway corridors with regular slowing in the general purpose lanes outside of rush hour: The long term solution needs to be exploring additional high occupancy vehicle travel options. This includes improving mass transit services and carpool marketing outside the traditional commute hour.

The carpool lane system through Interstate 10 in Ontario certainly should remain at 24/7 operations. This midday Caltrans photo shows the freeway and the carpool lane at a heavy, but stable state. Seven high occupancy vehicles are pictured in the carpool lane. There may be more in the general purpose lanes.

Due to these variants, changes such as carpool lane enforcement periods and occupancy requirements should be based upon fact-based traffic patterns and freeway segment data put together by local engineers working under the local Caltrans district or the local transportation agency such as the Riverside County Transportation Commission. The results certainly should be brought up for robust debate in managing carpool lanes and ensuring they are moving always. Infrastructure should be designed in ways that high occupancy vehicles would be inclined to use the dedicated lanes. Any statewide laws and formulas involving carpool lanes should be based on sound traffic engineering studies, not ideology.

What about AB 405?

How do the SR-134 and I-210 freeways in Los Angeles County fit into this category in relationship with the vetoed bill? Would AB 405 work specifically for these corridors? We'll let the experts working in Burbank, Glendale and Pasadena make that judgement. If engineers conclude that these freeways have a high volume of high occupancy vehicles traveling in the general purpose lanes, keep the carpool lane open 24/7 and find ways to integrate the lanes better with direct access ramps and transit infrastructure. The greater Los Angeles area has very high occupancy vehicle travel rates as demonstrated by transit routes with high ridership figures, especially along the El Monte Busway.

Local community engagement on transportation and the federal government

Rep. Mark Takano who represents Riverside, Moreno Valley, and Perris in Congress continues to engage the community by collecting public input and common facts. Takano plans to use this information toward crafting future federal legislation. We'll point out some suggestions in a moment, but first we'll look at his transportation survey results.

The Press Enterprise reported that the congressman surveyed his District 41 residents. The results of almost 550 entries show that addressing traffic congestion by expanding freeway capacity and rail options are top transportation priorities, not surprisingly. It's no question that Inland Empire traffic congestion is at unacceptable levels during peak commute hours and weekends. Worse yet, getting around the region on a Friday afternoon is a complete disgrace. The fact of the matter is that full time jobs are scarce in the Inland Empire and housing prices including rentals in Orange County, north San Diego County and West Los Angeles are inflated through the roof. Try to compare the prices of apartments in Irvine and Temecula. While it's true property values naturally go up in areas with a robust economy, under no circumstances should prices be inflated by short supply or marketplace speculation.

Takano also toured the Perris Station Transit Center, one of the major southern stations for the Perris Valley Line Metrolink extension. The long proposed line combined with the existing routes run through the heart of District 41. Based on the Takano's survey project, his residents support the expansion of passenger rail. This demonstrates that while many Inland Empire residents may specifically oppose the bullet train project sponsored by the California High Speed Rail Authority, they support having a fast rail alternative in general. The grade separation projects taking place in Riverside should contribute toward faster Metrolink service.

Inland Empire mass transit and federal legislation

With Congressman Takano deeply engaged in the community, what can be done at Washington to cut down on long distance commuting and chronic traffic congestion in the Inland Empire? The Transit Coalition's Future Vision of Inland Empire Mass Transit generally shows what needs to be done. At the federal level here are some suggestions:

• Streamline and/or repeal trivial government rules and regulations that obstructs marketplace economic growth with full time jobs. Our transportation system will be worthless without a robust labor workforce. What is obstructing full time job growth in Riverside? What is preventing infill housing projects from taking place in Southern Orange County to address demand and control inflated costs?
• Debate real solutions to curb artificial price speculation which unfairly drives up housing prices through short supply at the population centers.
• Control the out-of-control federal deficit as the national debt is fast approaching $17 trillion. We don't want our country to go bankrupt. Stop the waste. Allow the non-profit sector and volunteers to take a more active role in worthwhile social justice programs to cut unnecessary taxpayer costs. Why are local homeless outreach organizations like Project Touch shut out from setting up shelters all due to excessive government bureaucracy?
• Stop pandering to the will of special interests through unaffordable salaries and benefits which artificially drives up public infrastructure costs and contributes deeply toward government waste. This is a prime reason why expanded transit and public works infrastructure appears unaffordable. As we've mentioned, the way to drive up the value of the wage dollar and benefits is getting the private sector to freely invest in the marketplace economy, not by inflating the dollar amount. We don't want a repeat of the Hyperinflation in the Weimar Republic.
• Revisit trivial federal policies that obstruct private sector hiring which contribute toward income inequality. Stockholders and those at the top simply will not sacrifice their profits, period. As businesses are forced to cut salaries, reduce take-home pay, and replace full time positions with part time jobs all due to trivial rules and regulations, income inequality will actually worsen. In a robust market economy where jobs are plentiful, American workers are paid more simply because such businesses actually need them and can afford to hire them without negating their profits. Ever wonder why the stock market doesn't reflect the true economic picture?

To be fair, the feds do need to continue to regulate and combat common issues like corporate greed, artificial price speculation, environmental pollution, and urban sprawl. Any fair-minded individual knows that. However, if the feds want to fill our transit fleets with a productive marketplace workforce, they need to allow the private sector to expand the economy.

Traffic Trouble in Temecula and the state

Huge development plans are in store in Temecula and The Transit Coalition is keeping a close watch on such smart growth proposals in order to combat exacerbated traffic trouble in Temecula where forced traffic flow and congestion are already present. One major development project advocated by the city is the revitalization of a commercial corridor linking the Old Town district toward the northern city border. The Jefferson Avenue vision calls for large parks, an uptown district, a sports area, an arts district and mixed use buildings ranging from 3-8 stories. A second major plan proposes additional housing, a school and potentially a second hospital or college/university campus in between the Old Town area and the foothills to the west.

Transit and highway infrastructure must be upgraded if this development is to prosper—no question. The existing infrastructure near the I-15 freeway corridor simply cannot sustain current demands let alone the additional vehicles generated by the development proposed. Try heading into or leaving Temecula during the afternoon peak hour at 5 pm. Ask the locals just how bad traffic can get near the I-15 freeway. Earlier this month, a large event in the region caused a local Temecula freeway off ramp queue to back up into the main freeway lanes, causing a chain reaction that slowed traffic for five miles. We don't want Temecula to become the next Corona Crawl.

To be fair, both Temecula and its neighbor Murrieta have been proactive in getting infrastructure built and plans are moving forward with a local interchange project which involves shutting down a major off ramp in the area next weekend.

However, much more needs to be done in order to get the region's transportation network into stability and the state needs to be held accountable for getting this done. On top of what is locally proposed, Temecula is going to need several more amenities in order to sustain the continued growth demand: Dual high occupancy lanes in each direction along the I-15 between Corona and Escondido which support free non-transponder carpooling, direct access ramps between the HOV/HOT lanes and transit hubs, additional north/south connectors between Temecula and Murrieta, an extension of the Metrolink Perris Valley Line into the region, a BRT line between the Pechanga Resort and Lake Elsinore, hourly all-day intercity bus service offered by the private sector between LA and San Diego, and a more direct hub-and-spoke local bus network. All this will not be possible unless the state stops displacing transportation funds and gas tax revenue to other special interest programs.

Will Corona surface streets continue to serve as shortcuts for 91 Freeway commuters?

Conceptual entry sign for the planned 91 Express Lanes extension: Concept advocates for free non-transponder 3+ carpooling and HOV-only usage should the lanes become congested.

Since the early 1990's, 91 Freeway commuters headed to jobs in Orange County have been looking for ways to get around the infamous Corona Crawl. For the past few decades, several peak hour commuters use surface streets in the City of Corona to get around the chronic stop-and-go 91 Freeway traffic between the Inland Empire and Orange County.

The Green River Road interchange in the early 90's

At one point more than twenty years ago, residents in western Corona became so fed up with stopped commuter traffic spilling over into their local streets that such issues made living in this part of Corona undesirable. This was caused by a bottleneck along the westbound 91 Freeway at Green River Road.

At that time, the 91 Freeway between Corona and Orange County was four lanes wide with no high occupancy lanes. When the 91 Express Lanes was built a few years later, the bottleneck was still present due to a westbound lane drop just west of Green River Road. Each morning, commuters dealt with bumper-to-bumper traffic between the I-15 Freeway and the Orange County line. Due to a non-compete clause with the toll lane operator, public officials could not restripe the roadway in order to get rid of the lane drop. The issues lasted for more than a decade until the early 2000's when OCTA took public ownership of the 91 Express Lanes.

The Green River Road interchange today

Thanks to ongoing local improvements, the establishment of Metrolink service, the development of the 91 Express Lanes and additional general purpose lanes, the Green River Road bottleneck is now generally confined within the interchange area during the early morning peak hour.

Is the El Cerrito Road interchange next?

The I-15 southbound from Corona into Lake Elsinore may experience a similar problem. At the I-15 southbound at El Cerrito Road, there is a lane drop where the highway goes from four lanes to three. During the afternoon peak hour and weekends, this bottleneck often creates a 3-5 mile traffic backup. Public officals will be breaking ground next year to upgrade the 91 Freeway through Corona by adding a general purpose lane and extending the 91 Express Lanes to the I-15 with a short extension along the I-15 to the south. With these lane additions, the I-15 is expected to carry more vehicles, yet upgrades to fix the actual bottleneck are still in the planning stages. This means the traffic chokepoint along southbound I-15 at El Cerrito Road is expected to be exacerbated. Public officials must therefore prepare for the coming of even more afternoon commuters and weekend travelers of whom may end up using the local surface streets as a means to get around the Corona Crawl.

Toll Lanes: What the press needs to question

The new high occupancy toll lanes along the I-10 and I-110 freeways in Los Angeles have been getting much negative press during the last few weeks, but why did this not happen in 1996 when the I-15 carpool lanes in San Diego County underwent the same conversion?

After the Los Angeles Times published a front page article reporting worsened traffic conditions in the main freeway lanes along the I-110 freeway, public views of toll lanes in general have declined. Although toll lanes are really not bad as many think they are, having a policy where "All HOV's must have FasTrak" causes toll lanes to deserve the reputation that they've been getting during the last few weeks.

The Transit Coalition's view of high occupancy toll lanes and congestion pricing is very clear. This mode of transportation works, but HOT lanes must support free non-transponder carpooling.

The questions that the press needs to ask LA Metro are:

1. How many toll-free HOV's versus toll-paying non-HOV's are using the Metro ExpressLanes compared to the original HOV Lanes?
2. Has the number of HOV's decreased in the high occupancy toll lanes?
3. How many HOV's are now using the general purpose lanes?

Traffic has worsened in the general purpose lanes because all of the non FasTrak-registered HOV's were displaced from the former 2+ carpool lanes; all vehicles including HOV's are now mandated to have a FasTrak transponder to use the facility. For toll-free travel, a Metro-issued switchable FasTrak is needed, not just any FasTrak. These are clear facts and here's an example:

The HOT lanes down in San Diego County which permits carpools or FasTrak traffic has better balanced traffic distribution and cut down significantly on commute times because non-registered carpools were never displaced. To be fair, San Diego's latest upgrades included additional lanes, but the actual HOV-to-HOT conversion took place back in 1996 in the original reversible lanes; no new lanes were built at that time and traffic flow did improve in the regular lanes according to reports. Therefore, the I-15 toll lanes didn't receive a negative reputation from the press.

If Metro wants the ExpressLanes to cut down on I-110 commute times, they need to get the displaced HOV's out of the general purpose lanes and back into the high occupancy lanes. If Metro desires to do this while fulfilling its long term goal of reducing the number of solo drivers in the corridor and promote ridesharing, the new regulatory burden on HOV's needs to be repealed. To be fair, most motorcycles and all plate-registered buses (public and private) are exempt from needing a transponder, but the FasTrak mandate for all other HOV's needs to be abolished and that notion needs to be adopted for all other future HOT lanes throughout Southern California. If there's suspected carpool cheating going on, get the CHP to conduct an enforcement sting with media coverage, lobby the state to increase the base fine to $500 and make it a one-point moving violation.

Controlling Cajon Pass traffic during inclement weather

(4/15/13) – IE Transit Talking Points Short

The Transit Coalition is aware the micro-climate in the Cajon Pass area can become unstable at times. For instance, the skies could be clear in Victorville and it could be calmly drizzling in San Bernardino...Yet, the Cajon Pass which separates the regions could be very windy, wet and foggy. Commuters and regular travellers are also well aware that the Cajon Pass separates the inland chaparrals from the desert.

Since the weather through the Cajon Pass can become unpredictable, it would be wise for Caltrans and San Bernardino County to adopt measures to control the speed limit based on the current conditions. During normal conditions, the speed limit would be 65-70 mph, but if a layer of pea soup fog blankets the Cajon Pass, digital signs leading up to the affected area would warn drivers ahead of time to slow to a safe speed depending on the thickness of the fog. A sign such as “DENSE FOG AHEAD – 35 MPH ZONE 2 MILES” would be useful. Safety is paramount along steep-grade roadways, especially where the weather can be unstable.

Highway Shutdowns: It’s Life over Convenience

(2/13/13) – IE Transit Talking Points Short

When major highways get shut down by the police, there will be inconveniences for motorists. Yesterday afternoon (2/12/2013), armed police forces screened every motorist leaving the San Bernardino Mountains along each of the mountain highways which led to massive traffic delays. This was clearly to keep fugitive Christopher Dornerfrom escaping the area. People headed up the mountain were turned away. The afternoon manhunt, which was broadcasted live all over the nation, all afternoon, led to an evening fiery cabin inferno near Barton Flats.

The Transit Coalition wants to get Southern California moving, and police-related road closures often appear to do the exact opposite. However, with getting Southern California moving comes another fundamental American principle that must be respected: Life, liberty and the pursuit for happiness. If the police need to shut down roads to protect lives, that’s something all motorists need to accept. Sitting idle in traffic is an inconvenience, but when lives are at hand, such delays become meaningless.

Will you be willing to sacrifice some convenience so that life can be protected? Let’s continue to support law enforcement in their heroic efforts to save Southern California officers and the public from the cowardly acts of Dorner.