Title: POTENTIAL USE OF PUGET SOUND HOV LANES BY GENERAL PURPOSE VEHICLES IN OFF-PEAK HOURS: A SUMMARY PAPER
Abstract: Off-peak traffic volumes in the Puget Sound region of Washington State are increasing, and public concern about congestion during non-commute periods has caused the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) to re-examine the current policy of restricting high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes to transit vehicles and carpools 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. In many parts of the country, HOV lanes are open to general traffic during non-peak hours. Should WSDOT adopt this less restrictive lane use policy? This report examines the tradeoffs that a change in off-peak HOV lane usage would involve. The basic issues that are examined include the following: What congestion relief benefits would result? Would these changes have adverse impacts on HOV formation and/or HOV lane compliance rates? Would the off-peak use of HOV lanes by general purpose vehicles create safety concerns? Would highway and transit operational problems be created? What would be the monetary impacts of changing off-peak HOV lane usage? Supported by a variety of performance graphics and statistics, the report concludes that no improvement in mobility would be obtained by relaxing the current Puget Sound HOV lane operating restrictions to allow off-peak use of the HOV lanes by general purpose traffic.
Publication Year: 2000
Publication Date: 2000-06-01
Language: en
Type: article
Access and Citation
Cited By Count: 2
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