BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2542|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 2542
Author: Gatto (D)
Amended: 3/15/16 in Assembly
Vote: 21
SENATE TRANS. & HOUSING COMMITTEE: 11-0, 6/14/16
AYES: Beall, Cannella, Allen, Bates, Gaines, Galgiani, Leyva,
McGuire, Mendoza, Roth, Wieckowski
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 7-0, 8/1/16
AYES: Lara, Bates, Beall, Hill, McGuire, Mendoza, Nielsen
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 78-0, 5/12/16 (Consent) - See last page for
vote
SUBJECT: Streets and highways: reversible lanes
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This bill requires that, prior to the California
Transportation Commission (CTC) approving a capacity-increasing
project or major street or highway lane-realignment project, the
California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) or a regional
transportation planning agency must demonstrate that reversible
lanes were considered for the project.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
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1)Vests CTC with responsibility to advise and assist the
Secretary of the California State Transportation Agency and
the Legislature in formulating and evaluating state policies
and plans for California's transportation programs.
2)Requires the CTC to, among other things, adopt the state
transportation improvement program and allocate transportation
capital funds to specific projects in the program, for each
major phase of a project.
3)Declares that it is the policy of the state that public
agencies should not approve projects as proposed if there are
feasible alternatives or feasible mitigation measures
available which would substantially lessen the significant
environmental effects of such projects.
This bill requires that, prior to the CTC approving a
capacity-increasing project or major street or highway
lane-realignment project, Caltrans or a regional transportation
planning agency must demonstrate that reversible lanes were
considered for the project.
Comments
1)Purpose. The author notes, "Existing law does not prohibit
the use of reversible lanes, but it also does not encourage
the use of them as well. AB 2542 will encourage the use of
reversible lanes when they are the best option. Reversible
lanes reduce congestion and prevent unnecessary road
expansions. Road expansions can exacerbate our infrastructure
backlog and have detrimental effects on the environment."
2)What are reversible lanes? Reversible lanes add
peak-direction capacity to a two-way road and decrease
congestion by utilizing available lane capacity from the other
(off-peak) direction. The lanes are particularly beneficial
where the cost to increase capacity is especially expensive
(e.g., bridges, dense urban areas).
3)Existing practices. The introduction of reversible lanes in
California occurred in 1963 when the Golden Gate Bridge
established this process to reduce severe traffic during peak
traffic times. Over the years, in addition to the Golden Gate
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Bridge, reversible lanes have been used on the San
Diego-Coronado Bridge, Interstate 15 in San Diego, and, until
recently, in the Caldecott Tunnel. Other states that utilize
reversible lanes on their highway systems include New York,
Florida, and Pennsylvania. Additionally, the use of
reversible lanes is increasing, for example, during large
sporting events, traffic incidents, construction, and
evacuations.
While Caltrans already provides guidance regarding
consideration for the use of reversible lanes, the concept is
not without its critics. Reports have indicated that
reversible lanes are specifically ideal only where a very
strong and defined travel pattern exists. Other shortfalls
include potential negative business impacts along the route
and an increased potential for vehicle accidents. However,
this bill merely requires Caltrans or a local agency to
demonstrate they have considered reversible lanes when seeking
the approval of specific projects from CTC.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.:
YesLocal: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
Minor and absorbable CTC costs to review project documents to
ensure that reversible lanes were considered (State Highway
Account).
Unknown, likely minor Caltrans costs to document that
reversible lanes were considered when submitting a project to
the CTC. Staff notes that Caltrans currently considers where
reversible lanes may be appropriate when developing proposed
projects (State Highway Account).
SUPPORT: (Verified8/3/16)
None received
OPPOSITION: (Verified8/3/16)
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None received
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 78-0, 5/12/16
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Arambula, Atkins, Baker,
Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Calderon,
Campos, Chang, Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper,
Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth Gaines,
Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson,
Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Roger
Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones, Kim, Lackey, Levine, Linder,
Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina,
Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Olsen,
Patterson, Quirk, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago,
Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber,
Wilk, Williams, Wood, Rendon
NO VOTE RECORDED: Burke, Jones-Sawyer
Prepared by:Manny Leon / T. & H. / (916) 651-4121
8/3/16 19:14:33
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