Davis Unveils New Addition to Area’s Carpool Lane Network

Touting the success of a new carpool lane on the southbound San Diego Freeway, Gov. Gray Davis announced Friday that he will allocate $90 million toward building another carpool lane for the freeway’s northbound drivers.

The northbound lane, scheduled to open in 2007, will run between the Santa Monica and Ventura freeways, one of the most congested corridors in the state.

The planned lane is part of a larger effort to double the number of carpool lanes for all freeways in Los Angeles County by 2015, officials said at a news conference in Sherman Oaks. Los Angeles County currently has 396 miles of carpool lanes.

“We’re trying to spend money to speed people to work,” Davis said.

The 7.8-mile, $20.5-million southbound lane, which opened 11/2 months ago, is already saving the average user 18 minutes every ride, Davis said.

Across Los Angeles County, 51 miles of carpool lanes are now under construction, according to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which provided 90% of the money for the southbound San Diego Freeway lane. The MTA also is helping to pay for another 301 miles of lanes that are in the planning or design phases.

In December, carpool lanes, or high-occupancy-vehicle lanes, are scheduled to open on the Antelope Valley Freeway at the Foothill Freeway, according to the MTA.

By summer 2004, more carpool lanes will open on the Santa Monica and San Diego freeways. Others in the works include carpool lanes for the Golden State Freeway between the Antelope Valley and Ronald Reagan freeways, and along the San Diego Freeway between the Santa Monica Freeway and Los Angeles International Airport.

All are part of a plan for a “total network” of carpool lanes throughout Southern California, Caltrans Director Jeff Morales said. Final costs for a northbound lane on the San Diego Freeway are not yet known, he said.

Davis and other officials praised Caltrans for completing the southbound lane five months ahead of schedule.

Caltrans “shocked physicists around the country” for opening the lane well before politicians got the chance to cut the ribbon for it, quipped Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Sherman Oaks) at the Sherman Oaks Galleria event, which was billed as the “official grand opening” of a lane that has been in public use since Jan. 8.

Because of their low usage in some spots, carpool lanes have angered drivers on the regular, more congested lanes. Three years ago New Jersey converted some carpool lanes back to regular use.

Southern California’s 24-hour carpool lanes, at odds with rush-hour-only restrictions on Northern California freeways, also have stirred resentment among drivers.

“To have it vacant during non-rush hour is a waste of taxpayers’ money,” said Richard Close, president of the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Assn. Close is trying to form a coalition of community groups to lobby officials to open the San Diego Freeway carpool lane during non-peak hours.

Caltrans is reviewing its 24-hour restriction policy for Southern California to determine what needs to be changed, Morales said.

Most people in L.A. seem to like carpool lanes, according to the MTA. A recent agency survey showed that of 3,273 residents, 89% believed a countywide carpool system should be completed. And 72% agreed or strongly agreed that carpool lanes are more efficient than regular lanes.