AB 210, as introduced, Gatto. High-occupancy vehicle lanes: County of Los Angeles.
Existing law authorizes the Department of Transportation to designate certain lanes for the exclusive or preferential use of high-occupancy vehicles. When those exclusive or preferential use lanes are established and double parallel solid lines are in place to the right thereof, existing law prohibits any person driving a vehicle from crossing over those double lines to enter into or exit from the lanes, and entrance or exit from those lanes is authorized only in areas designated for these purposes or where a single broken line is in place to the right of the lanes, except as specified.
This bill would prohibit, commencing July 1, 2016, any high-occupancy vehicle lane from being established on specified portions of state highway routes in the County of Los Angeles, unless that lane is established as a high-occupancy vehicle lane only during the hours of heavy commuter traffic, as determined by the department. The bill would require any existing high-occupancy vehicle lane established on the specified portions of these routes to be modified to conform with those requirements. The bill would authorize the department, on or after May 1, 2017, to reinstate 24-hour high-occupancy vehicle lanes on the specified portions of these routes if the department makes a specified determination and would require the department to report to the Legislature on the impact on traffic of limiting the use of high-occupancy lanes only during the hours of heavy commuter traffic, as provided in the bill.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
Section 149.2 is added to the Streets and
2Highways Code, to read:
(a) Notwithstanding any other law, except as otherwise
4provided in subdivision (d), a high-occupancy vehicle lane shall
5not be established on State Highway Route 134 between State
6Highway Route 170 and State Highway Route 210, or on State
7Highway Route 210 between State Highway Route 134 and State
8Highway Route 57, unless the lane is established as a
9high-occupancy vehicle lane only during the hours of heavy
10commuter traffic, as determined by the department.
11(b) Any existing high-occupancy vehicle lane located as
12described in subdivision (a) shall be modified as necessary to
13conform with subdivision (a).
14(c) (1) The
department shall report to the Legislature on or
15before January 1, 2018, on the impact on traffic of limiting the use
16of high-occupancy vehicle lanes only during the hours of heavy
17commuter traffic as provided in subdivision (a).
18(2) The requirement for submitting a report imposed under
19paragraph (1) is inoperative on January 1, 2022, pursuant to Section
2010231.5 of the Government Code.
21(3) A report to be submitted pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be
22submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government
23Code.
24(d) On or after May 1, 2017, if the department determines that
25there is an adverse impact on safety, traffic conditions, or the
26environment by limiting the use of high-occupancy vehicle lanes
27only during the hours of heavy commuter traffic as provided in
28subdivision (a), the department may submit to the
Assembly
29Committee on Transportation and the Senate Committee on
30Transportation and Housing a notice of that determination and
31intent to reinstate 24-hour high-occupancy vehicle lanes. The
P3 1department thereafter may reinstate 24-hour high-occupancy
2vehicle lanes.
3(e) In addition to the routes identified in subdivision (a), the
4department is encouraged to introduce offpeak hours on other
5high-occupancy vehicle lanes in the County of Los Angeles in
6order to provide greater mobility benefits to the community.
7(f) This section shall become operative on July 1, 2016.
8(g) This section shall become inoperative 60 days after the date
9the Legislature receives the notice described in subdivision (d)
10and is repealed on January 1 thereafter. The department shall post
11the date that the Legislature receives this notice on the
department’s
12Internet Web site.
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