CONTINUOUS-ACCESS OR HVO CARPOOL LANES?
Traffic in southern California is world famous. Los Angeles and Orange Country residents have to allow substantial amounts of time to get to and from destinations. As a solution to help reduce traffic, county officials have considered various solutions to lessen traffic. Widening freeways, like the 5-year project to widen the 405 freeway, or the implementing carpool lanes are just some of the methods used, but not all carpool lanes in California are created equally. Carpool lanes are designed to encourage ridesharing to alleviate heavy traffic and reduce pollution. There are two kinds of carpool lanes: Continuous-access and HVO.
Eight years ago, Orange County implemented the use of continuous-access lanes that allow drivers to enter and exit the carpool lane as they wish. Los Angeles, however, has not yet implemented this practice. Instead, there are HVO lanes, which designate areas that allow for entering and exiting the carpool lane. So why is one city using continuous-access and the other using HVO?
The reasoning behind continuous-access lanes is that they will reduce accidents and pollution. Frequently drivers will swerve or rapidly accelerate to change lanes, making driving more dangerous. A 2007 study conducted by the UC Berkeley Safety Center reported that overall California's HVO lanes had more accidents than continuous-access lanes. And environmentally, continuous-access lanes reduce air pollution. A separate study conducted by UC Riverside showed that continuous-access lanes led to more free flowing traffic, which reducde exhaust emissions from heavy traffic. LA County, however, is not convinced. A UC Irvine study that reviewed the 55 and 57 freeways was inconclusive as continuous-access lanes were beneficial on one freeway, but worse on the other.
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