BILL ANALYSIS Ó ----------------------------------------------------------------- |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2542| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- 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: AB 2542 Page 2 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 AB 2542 Page 3 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) AB 2542 Page 4 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 **** END ****