Why Can't Commercial Vehicles Use On-Ramp Carpool Lanes?!?
CALTRANS is sponsoring legislation that would effectively prohibit
commercial vehicles from using carpool lanes (Assembly Bill 2370
- Takasugi). On the surface, this bill seems like a practical way
to encourage carpooling by limiting these lanes to high-occupancy vehicles. Increasing the number of carpoolers helps California achieve the ultimate goals of reducing air pollution and conserving fuel.
In reality, this bill is of little consequence. After all, most freeways already restrict trucks to the right lanes while reserving the inside lanes for carpoolers. Big rigs would cause congestion in the carpool lanes because of their limited acceleration and manueverability.
UHCA has taken a keen interest in this legislation for the following reason: We feel that heavy haulers should be allowed to use on-ramp carpool lanes. It doesn't make sense for trucks to stop for traffic signals at metered on-ramps while carpoolers and mass transit buses use the bypass lane. This requirement is even harder to justify when you consider the Legislature's intent of relieving traffic congestion, conserving fuel, and lessening the emission of air pollutants. Requiring heavy haulers to wait at on-ramp signals wastes fuel, increases pollution, and increases congestion.
A tough battle lies ahead for UHCA as CALTRANS has taken an uncompromising position on this bill. When we contacted the legislative department of CALTRANS to discuss UHCA's proposition to open on-ramp bypass lanes to heavy haulers, the response was:
"No, absolutely not. Your idea is cracked."
CALTRANS has tailored AB 2370 in a manner that will accomodate "Direct Access Lanes," an integral part of California's freeways of the future. Already being used in Orange County, Direct Access Lanes allow carpoolers and transit buses to enter inside lanes of freeways directly from residential street overpasses. Once inside the direct access carpool lane, users are restricted from merging into the righthand lanes. In essence, Direct Access Lanes create a one-lane freeway within a freeway.
The width of a Direct Access Lane is barely 11 feet (whereas the far right lanes of freeways generally are 12 feet wide), users average a speed of 70 miles per hour, and there is no passing lane. CALTRANS does not want heavy haulers to inhibit the flow of traffic in these lanes. Granted, heavy haulers probably are not suitable for high-speed and narrow carpool lanes. On the other side of the coin, how suitable are passenger buses for these lanes? Furthermore, why can't the bill differentiate between Direct Access Lanes and right side onramp lanes? In addressing the on-ramps of the future, AB 2370 neglects the on-ramps currently in use.
To stay up-to-date on this legislation, visit the UHCA home page ( http://www.uhca.com/ ) From our home page, you can either read an update prepared by UHCA's lobbyist, Deborah Mattos, or you can link to the California Senate Home Page. The Senate Home Page allows the public to access comprehensive information regarding current state legislation. Simply enter the bill number (AB 2370) where the screen asks, and decide what information you want to read.