Court Hearing Stalls Opening of Newest Car-Pool Lane : Freeway: The 14-mile strip through Irvine was to open today. Caltrans postponed the debut until a safety issue raised by opponents is resolved.

The opening of a northbound car-pool lane on the San Diego Freeway through Irvine was postponed by Caltrans officials Thursday until after a court hearing next week on the safety of such lanes.

The 14-mile strip, from Interstate 5 to the Corona del Mar Freeway, was ready to open by today. But attorneys for the California Department of Transportation decided to delay the opening until after a hearing April 19 on a lawsuit by car-pool lane opponents, said Albert Miranda, a Caltrans spokesman.

“The reason we are waiting until after the hearing to open the freeway is to satisfy everyone’s concerns about the safety of the car-pool lanes,” Miranda said.

Miranda said that Caltrans has already met all the standards set by the federal and state governments.

But the lawsuit disagrees. Filed in Orange County Superior Court by Drivers for Highway Safety, the suit claims Caltrans has not adequately studied the safety and efficiency of car-pool lanes, said Bill Ward, a leader of the group.

Ward said he was afraid the public would blame Drivers for Highway Safety for prolonging the wait to open the extra freeway lane.

“It’s not us who’s delaying the opening. It’s Caltrans,” Ward said. “We want it open, and we want it opened for everyone,” not just car pools.

Although John Lenz, transportation coordinator for AVCO Financial Services, opposes Drivers for Highway Safety, he agreed that the group should not be blamed for stalling the opening of the freeway. He too blamed Caltrans.

“I’m terribly upset,” Lenz said. “We want these lanes opened now. . . . I don’t see what’s taking Caltrans so long to open them.”

Lenz, who said 125 employees at his Irvine company would use the car-pool lane, said he was circulating a petition Thursday among transportation coordinators from several companies to urge Caltrans to open the lane. He said he had started the petition before he learned that Caltrans decided against opening the lane.

Cheryl Cohen, executive director of the Cypress Business Park Transportation Management Assn., said she also was disappointed by Caltrans’ decision.

“It’s a public-relations stunt,” she said. “Caltrans does not want to get a bad public image” by opening the lane while facing a lawsuit.

Construction on car-pool lanes in both directions from the Corona del Mar freeway to the El Toro “Y” began in January, 1988, Miranda said. But it has taken until now to buttress the freeway’s shoulders, paint new lines and make sure the center lanes were ready to support cars with more than one passenger. Some minor construction remains to be completed on the southbound car-pool lane.

Supporters and opponents of car-pool lanes faced off Monday in a protest atop a pedestrian bridge over the San Diego Freeway in Irvine. The two sides ended their demonstration only after a California Highway Patrol officer pulled into the car-pool lane below them and told them they were disrupting traffic and would have to disperse.