Davis Vetoes Funds to Value 91 Toll Lanes

State lawmakers who say they want to ease traffic congestion reacted with mixed emotions Thursday when the governor vetoed $500,000 to appraise the toll lanes along the Riverside Freeway.

The money would have helped set a price for the toll lanes, which were put on the sales block last year by the private firm that operates them. Some elected officials are pushing for the state to buy the lanes and open them to all motorists.

Gov. Gray Davis, explaining his veto, said he would personally help raise $250,000 for the job but that local government should kick in the rest for an appraisal.

Sponsors of the measure, Assemblyman Rod Pacheco (R-Riverside), Assemblywoman Marilyn C. Brewer (R-Newport Beach) and Sen. Joe Dunn (D-Santa Ana), were at turns pleased and disappointed by the news. The lawmakers say congestion has become a chronic problem for a quarter-million motorists who drive through Santa Ana Canyon each day. They claim the 91 Express Lanes toll franchise has contributed to the problem.

“Half a loaf is better than none,” Brewer said of the governor’s action. “It’s a good start.”

California Private Transportation Co. had tried to sell the operation for $220 million. Amid the furor, some elected officials in Riverside County urged the state to buy the lanes but were skeptical of the price and wanted an independent appraisal.

“If it were up to me, I’d have the state buy the toll lanes and open them up to the public,” Pacheco said.

Pacheco said he’s frustrated with an agreement between the toll franchise and the state that prevents Caltrans from adding lanes to the freeway. Riverside County officials have challenged the toll company’s franchise in court, saying the company illegally uses public carpool lanes adjacent to its own.

Greg Hulsizer, general manager of the toll lane operator, declined Thursday to say directly if the company is willing to sell the operation.