Carpool lanes are being proposed along surface streets through downtown Los Angeles to connect a gap between two crowded freeways.
Transportation engineers are looking for ways to improve traffic flow, particularly through downtown, where four of the state's busiest freeways converge. Proponents say it is much cheaper to use city streets to connect the carpool lane segments between the freeways than to build new carpool lanes on existing freeways. Adding carpool lanes on the freeways would require widening or adding a deck to the road and cost nearly $1 billion. Re-striping existing surface streets for carpool lanes would cost less than $6 million, but would also eliminate or restrict parking on those streets.
Downtown residents and business owners are trying to make the area a cultural, commercial and residential center by reducing traffic speeds, converting one-way streets to two-way and adding more street parking. "This seems to be a step backward in our efforts to make downtown a more pedestrian-friendly area," said Tom Burrow, founder of the Historic Downtown Community Association.
Planners at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority will present the proposal in February. A final decision is expected in April. Seattle, New York and Alexandria, Virginia, also are testing carpool lanes on surface streets.
