Tag Archives: Golden State Freeway

Public hearing next week on proposal to build HOT lanes on I-5 in Santa Clarita area

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I-5 HOT lanes meeting notice

The meeting notice is above; the meeting is from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. this Thursday, March 28, at Santa Clarita City Hall in the Council chambers.

The project proposes to accelerate the construction of 13.5 miles of HOV lanes by making them HOT lanes — i.e. lanes in which vehicles with one or two occupants would pay a toll (the toll would apply to two-occupant vehicles only at peak hours). Here’s a post with many more details about the project.

The hearing is required because the project’s environmental study, completed in 2009, must be amended to include the newly-proposed HOT lanes.

To accelerate the building of 13.5 miles of HOV lanes on I-5 in Santa Clarita area, Metro proposes charging tolls for vehicles with one or two occupants to use the lanes

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I5_project_map

Metro this month is providing key details on plans to accelerate an important Measure R project for northern Los Angeles County. The project would add carpool lanes for 13.5 miles in both directions to Interstate 5 through the Santa Clarita area. A toll for vehicles with one or two occupants (at peak hours only for vehicles with two occupants) would be charged to use the lanes — with the tolls being used to finance the construction of the carpool lanes about 30 years earlier than planned in Metro's long-range plan.

There's a lot more detail in the Q & A that follows in the post. The absolute crucial details: the lanes would be managed to maintain speeds of at least 45 mph, the number of general traffic lanes would remain the same and the new lanes will add capacity to the freeway, especially when coupled with the new truck lanes being built on either side of the Newhall Pass.

There are two community meetings scheduled this month to discuss the project. The public can ask questions and provide feedback. Content at all meetings will be identical; please attend the location most convenient for you. All meetings are open to the public and we urge you to invite your friends and neighbors.

Tuesday, February 26th, 2013, 6-8 PM
Sports Complex – City of Santa Clarita
20880 Centre Pointe Pkwy
Santa Clarita, CA 91350
Served by Santa Clarita Transit Lines 5 and 6

Thursday, February 28, 2013, 6-8 PM
Rancho Pico Junior High School
26250 Valencia Bl
Stevenson Ranch, CA 91381
Served by Santa Clarita Transit Line 7

Below is the Q&A on the project with a lot more detail and there's a short Power Point on the project after the jump. I'm interested in your thoughts on the project, particularly if you live in Santa Clarita or elsewhere in northern L.A. County.

What exactly is the project proposing to do?

The project would use a public-private partnership to build one carpool/toll lane in each direction to the I-5 freeway for 13.5 miles between the 14 freeway and Parker Road. A private firm would be hired to help fund, build and manage the lanes and be paid back with toll revenue. That would allow the project to be completed by 2019 instead of 2040 or later.

This stretch of freeway includes some of the fastest-growing areas in Southern California — the city of Santa Clarita has gone from 79,000 people in 1979 to more than 201,000 in 2012 and is expected to add 50,000 more people in the next 30 years, not including growth in the unincorporated parts of the Santa Clarita Valley. Not surprisingly, traffic congestion in the Santa Clarita Valley and surrounding areas has worsened; the average one-way commute time of 32.7 minutes for Santa Clarita residents is among the highest in Los Angeles County.

The carpool/toll lane will be used for free by those in cars with three or more passengers. Buses, van pools and motorcycles would also use the lanes for free. Cars with two people will be able to use the lanes for free outside of peak hours — during peak hours they will be charged a toll. Single motorists will be charged a toll at all times.

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Metro's highway program ramps up for big year

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Expanding the network of HOV lanes in L.A. County is a big part of Metro's highway program.

Metro issued a long news release today about its highway program — specifically the many projects either underway or in the planning stage.

As the release states, Metro’s highway program is often overlooked because of the agency’s transit programs. But the highway program is important. The most recent Census Bureau numbers show that almost 84 percent of workers in Los Angeles County drive to work.

Future transit projects may reduce that statistic. In the meantime, however, it also appears likely that given the sprawling nature of the county, its jobs and the affordability of vehicles and gas, people aren’t going to stop driving any time soon.

Here’s the release:

While public attention remains fixed on the dozen bus and rail projects mandated by L.A. County voters with the passage of Measure R, the half cent sales tax for transportation, Metro is working feverishly on a parallel track to accelerate its highway program.

This year that work will pay off as the agency launches an astonishing 18 new projects worth nearly $1.4 billion.

The goals are lofty but realistic, said Doug Failing, executive director of highway programs who joined Metro in 2009 following 30 years at Caltrans, most of the last decade as L.A./Ventura counties district director.

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The art of transit

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photo by Mick ㋡rlosky, via Flickr

We haven’t featured a freeway for some time in “the art of transit.” But given the weather we’re about to experience, I thought this shot taken last October of the Golden State Freeway south of Santa Clarita was an appropriate choice. It was taken with an iPhone4, with some very nice Photoshop processing.

To submit a photo or photos of something transportation-related, post them to Metro’s Flickr group or email them to sourcemetro@gmail.com. The photos we’ve featured can be seen in these galleries on Flickr. Or click on the ‘art of transit’ below.