HOV Lanes Have Failed - Why Keep Them? (Houston: how much, unemployment)

[mistergus75]

If the Houston HOV lanes were designed to encourage carpooling and thereby alleviate traffic, it seems they have failed. HOV lanes carry relatively little traffic, and commuters have to deal with backups seemingly every morning.

But wait! Look at all that unused concrete making up those HOV lanes, and on either side of them! What if...what if...that wasted cement was used for an additional Northbound and Southbound lane? Wouldn't those additional lanes go a long ways towards alleviating the traffic snarls?

Unless of course, the whole point is controlling our behavior, and not easing traffic at all.

[Bily Lovec]

rant ?

[hhheights77007]

Originally Posted by mistergus75

HOV lanes carry relatively little traffic,

HOV carries carpoolers, busses, etc. It carries people. What's your point?

[mistergus75]

Originally Posted by Bily Lovec

rant ?

Yeah, I guess so.

I'm fed up with being told how much salt can be in the food I buy, being forced into too-small cars, having to buy curly light bulbs that don't work well, etc., etc., etc...

All because nosey busy-bodies (using the government) want to make my decisions for me.

Individual liberty used to mean something in this country. Now we're being told to lower our standard of living, that we should feel guilty for using the earth's resources, blah, blah, blah.

Nonsense.

[Sunderpig2]

Instead of doing away with a great idea, why not work on improving the use of the HOV lanes. In other words, get more people to use them, as they were designed for. Two mistakes does not = brilliance. Duh.

[rb4browns]

Originally Posted by Sunderpig

Instead of doing away with a great idea, why not work on improving the use of the HOV lanes. In other words, get more people to use them, as they were designed for. Two mistakes does not = brilliance. Duh.

A "great idea" that doesn't work is not that great of an idea. Sort of like Obama's stimulus plan that he told us would have unemployment below 8% by now...

[mistergus75]

Originally Posted by Sunderpig

Instead of doing away with a great idea, why not work on improving the use of the HOV lanes. In other words, get more people to use them, as they were designed for. Two mistakes does not = brilliance. Duh.

Great idea? Have you seen how little traffic they carry? HOV lanes (in Houston, at least) are an abject failure. Wasted concrete.

"Get more people to use them?" Love to hear how you propose to do that. For crying out loud, it's not like you have to have 3-4 people to use the HOV lane. It only takes 2, and people still don't use them. Nothing less than some form of coercion will change that.

Oh yeah...coercian. That's how all these "green ideas" are implemented.

BTW, did you hear that GM sold 225 Chevy Volts in July? Another big win for green energy.

[RVD26]

Originally Posted by rb4browns

A "great idea" that doesn't work is not that great of an idea. Sort of like Obama's stimulus plan that he told us would have unemployment below 8% by now...

And we finally get to the point of this thread...another Obama-bashing rant...great
Maybe we should just get Rick Perry to come here and pray away all the traffic congestion on the roads

[elnina]

According to:
http://www.owlnet.rice.edu/~ifeldman/hov.pdf

METRO's HOV lanes facilitate almost 118,000 person trips each weekday, serving about 36,400 vehicle trips that would otherwise continue traveling the main lanes.
• The average rush-hour speed on Houston freeways is roughly 24 miles per hour. HOV lanes maintain an operating speed of roughly 50-55 miles per hour, hence saving the average commuter 12 to 22 minutes per trip.
• Our HOV network is so efficient that it would take as many as 24 freeway lanes combined to equal the amount of rush-hour passengers traveling the HOV lane network.

[astrohip]

Originally Posted by mistergus75

If the Houston HOV lanes were designed to encourage carpooling and thereby alleviate traffic, it seems they have failed. HOV lanes carry relatively little traffic, and commuters have to deal with backups seemingly every morning.

But wait! Look at all that unused concrete making up those HOV lanes, and on either side of them! What if...what if...that wasted cement was used for an additional Northbound and Southbound lane? Wouldn't those additional lanes go a long ways towards alleviating the traffic snarls?

Unless of course, the whole point is controlling our behavior, and not easing traffic at all.

First, let me state I'm not a big fan of HOV lanes, so this is NOT a defense of them.

But anecdotal observation is not scientific analysis. I would have to see some usage figures to say they are a failure. How many people use them, how many people/cars have they removed from the regular lanes, etc.

I drive I-45 Gulf Fwy outbound in the AM (lucky me! beats inbound ). The HOV lane is packed.