O.C. OFFICIALS SEEK TO EASE CAR-POOL RULES STATEWIDE.Byline: SUE DOYLE Staff Writer To keep traffic moving on Orange County freeways, officials there propose opening car-pool lanes to all drivers during nonrush-hour travel times and want the plan to expand statewide. Making high-occupancy-vehicle lane rules consistent across county lines would speed traffic flows throughout 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, , transit authorities argued as they presented the plan to Metro's board of directors Thursday. "There are now more people commuting from Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. to Orange County for work," said Carolyn Cavecche, chairwoman of the Orange County Transportation Authority The Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) is the public sector transportation planning body and transit service provider for Orange County, California. Its ancestor agencies include not only the prior Orange County Transit District but also such diverse entities as . "Having a system that is consistent throughout would be a benefit to all of those commuters." Easing restrictions on car-pool lanes began as a pilot program a few months ago on the 22 Freeway, and Orange County transit officials want to broaden the plan to include the 405, 57 and 91 freeways. Whether the idea will catch on in Los Angeles remains to be seen. Metro's board on Thursday did not endorse the proposal, but is interested in studying the issue. "If there is a bottleneck during off-peak hours and all of a sudden it opens up in Orange County, I think that's reason to really sit down and look at it," said Yvonne B. Burke, Los Angeles County supervisor. So motorists can easily merge in and out of car-pool lanes, Orange County officials also want to get rid of the double lines that separate them from other lanes. The change will help reduce car accidents, said Arthur T. Leahy, CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. of the Orange County transit agency. "If you get stuck in HOV lanes HOV lane n. An expressway lane restricted to vehicles with at least a set minimum of occupants, usually two. and the free lanes are moving, sometimes people jar over the lines and other people don't expect that," said Leahy. "That is even more dangerous." Already 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 , solo drivers at certain times of the day can ride in car-pool lanes. But before going ahead with the plan, Caltrans has asked the Orange County transit agency to wait for a study that evaluates the safety of these car-pool lane changes. The proposal also needs approval from the Federal Highway Administration The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is a division of the United States Department of Transportation that specializes in highway transportation. The agency's major activities are grouped into two "programs," The Federal-aid Highway Program and the Federal Lands Highway , which in June told Caltrans that segments of the state's car-pool lanes are moving too slowly because so many cars are in them, making the lanes out of compliance with federal law. sue.doyle@dailynews.com (818) 713-3746 |
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