Some like it HOT, HOT, HOT
Of course I’m referring to the new High Occupancy Toll (HOT) lanes which VDOT has recently started work on in Northern Virginia along the western side of the 495 Beltway. Essentially the HOT lanes allow folks stuck in traffic to electronically pay via EZ Pass, a toll dynamically set by real-time traffic conditions to drive in the HOV lanes. Personally, I believe such a system is long overdue. I know at Jim Moran’s town hall meeting on transportation a few months ago there were concerns from my neighbors, the fake Virginia, that HOT lanes would only serve the wealthy. While it is true that generally those with more disposable income will tend to use the HOT lanes more often, I believe it is a benefit to all the cars on the road. By reducing traffic on the regular lanes, the speed of traffic will increase. Also, the “rich” will subsidize the infrastructure used by everyone. And I’m pretty sure if someone was in an emergency (i.e. need to pick up a child from daycare, hot date) the driver wouldn’t mind paying a buck or two to expedite their trip.
My biggest fear however is that if the revenue for the HOT lanes are not strictly reinvested into public transit, roads, and other transportation related expenses, then the state will increase the fees disproportionately to the value it provides the citizens. To a lesser degree, there is also the concern of how more roads leads to more sprawl but I think recent history has shown flexible work weeks and telecommuting are ways to fight sprawl and in the future we may be able to add the Dulles Metrorail Extension.
Category: Government
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[...] Hot Lanes Coming To NOVA Jump to Comments From Amit at Bearing Drift: [...]
It is not a perfect solution but it is one thing that we need to do ASAP to help alleviate congestion.
You won’t have to worry about how the “state” reinvests this money, because it won’t be the state’s to handle. The toll money goes to the toll consortium to recover their construction costs and generate profit. That’s why they are building them, and that’s why they aren’t always such a great idea. What will they do in 20 years when they’ve hardly made any money back, and we still have congestion even in thier lanes?
The State will take ownership of the lanes in 99 years according to the agreements publicized.