CAR-POOL LANES TO BE OPEN TO ALL IN SOME HOURS RULES TO CHANGE IN 2001 IN VALLEY.Byline: Charles F. Bostwick Staff Writer PALMDALE - Motorists driving alone in their cars will be able to use the Antelope Valley This article is about the Los Angeles County region. For the census-designated place in Wyoming, see Antelope Valley-Crestview, Wyoming. The Antelope Valley Freeway's car-pool lanes outside rush hours, thanks to legislation signed by Gov. Gray Davis. Assembly Bill 1871, authored by Assemblyman George Runner George C. Runner, Jr. (born March 25 1952 in Scotia, New York) is a Republican California State Senator, who represents the 17th Senate District, which includes portions of Los Angeles County, San Bernardino County and Ventura County. , R-Lancaster, will take effect Jan. 1, but Runner said he doesn't know if the California Department of Transportation The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is a government agency in the U.S. state of California. Its mission is to improve mobility across the state. It manages the state highway system and is actively involved with public transportation systems in California. will have the necessary signs ready by then. ``Our next step is to get with Caltrans to help them expedite the process,'' Runner said. Signed Friday by the governor, the bill does not specify the hours the lanes will be open to single-occupant vehicles, leaving that decision to Caltrans officials. Traditionally, nonpeak hours have been from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. on weekdays, Runner says. ``I think it just doesn't make sense when there's no commuter traffic Noun 1. commuter traffic - traffic created by people going to or returning from work traffic - the aggregation of things (pedestrians or vehicles) coming and going in a particular locality during a specified period of time to have that vacant lane next to you,'' Runner said. The bill calls for a July 2002 report from the state legislative analyst evaluating the mixed-use lane's effects on traffic congestion The condition of a network when there is not enough bandwidth to support the current traffic load. congestion - When the offered load of a data communication path exceeds the capacity. . If the report is unfavorable, Caltrans would have the authority to return the lane to use only by high-occupancy vehicles only. Runner says he hopes the mixed-use concept will spread in Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, . It already is used on Highway 99 in Northern California Northern California, sometimes referred to as NorCal, is the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. The region contains the San Francisco Bay Area, the state capital, Sacramento; as well as the substantial natural beauty of the redwood forests, the northern , and all new car-pool lanes in Northern California will be for mixed use, he said. Runner said he also will try to persuade Caltrans officials to create more openings where motorists can enter and leave the car-pool lanes. Motorists can become stuck behind slower-moving vehicles for several miles. The bill originally called for four more spots to enter and leave, but that was eliminated in the state Senate after Caltrans estimated it would cost $5 million. ``We're going to . . . work with Caltrans to get them, on their own, to offer more ingress-egress,'' Runner said. |
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