Car-Pool Lanes
As a long-suffering victim of the miserable commute on the Costa Mesa Freeway, which is exacerbated by the car-pool lanes, I am perplexed by (Caltrans’ Orange County commuter lanes coordinator) Joe El Harake’s statements in The Times article (Aug. 24).
El Harake’s statement that the car-pool lanes carry more cars than the other three lanes during peak hours is highly suspect. I assume he (arrives at) his figures because the other three lanes are standing still while the car-pool lane moves along. If all four lanes were opened, all traffic would flow more efficiently and safely.
Car-pooling is impossible for most Southern California commuters for a number of reasons. I would be very surprised if the percentage of cars on the Costa Mesa Freeway with two or more people is higher now than it was several years ago before the lanes opened. El Harake says, “There is a definite psychological advantage to be in a lane that keeps moving.” There is an even bigger frustration to the folks in the other three lanes when they know that all traffic could be moving if the fourth lane was available.
Caltrans is not so much rewarding the car-pooler as it is penalizing the majority of people who cannot car-pool. The car-pool lanes on the San Diego Freeway will simply add to this folly and fuel the ever-increasing debacle on our once-proud freeway system.
PAUL L. REILAND
Fountain Valley
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