San Francisco Could Soon Lead the Way in HOT Lanes (AASHTO Journal)
The San Francisco Bay Area could soon have more High Occupancy toll lanes than any other region of the nation.
By late 2010 or early 2011, single-occupant vehicles will be allowed to use carpool lanes on some of the Bay Area’s most congested routes: southbound Interstate 680, eastbound I-580, and the ramps linking California 237 and I-880. Plans call for restricting those lanes to carpools and toll-paying solo motorists 24 hours a day, seven days a week — a major change sure to shock those who love to use the far left lane on weekends or during off-peak hours, the San Jose Mercury News reported. Drivers will enter and exit the express lanes only in specially marked locations.
“There is nothing in the country even close to resembling what we are doing,” said Santa Clara County Supervisor Ken Yeager.
Nearly all of the 450 miles of carpool lanes in the nine Bay Area counties that exist today or will soon be under construction will undergo these changes to HOT lanes, with 350 additional miles of new express lanes added later. The cost of express-lane access for single-occupant vehicles will be paid by using FasTrak transponders in the car that communicate with equipment hanging over the freeway on poles.
http://www.aashtojournal.org/Pages/100909bayarea.aspx
