BILL ANALYSIS �
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair
AB 2200 (Ma) - High-occupancy vehicle lanes.
Amended: August 6, 2012 Policy Vote: T&H 7-1
Urgency: No Mandate: Yes
Hearing Date: August 6, 2012
Consultant: Mark McKenzie
This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill Summary: AB 2200 would require the high-occupancy vehicle
(HOV) lanes on eastbound Interstate 80 in the San Francisco Bay
Area to be open to mixed-flow traffic during morning commute
times until January 1, 2020.
Fiscal Impact: One-time costs of up to $175,000 in 2012-13
(State Highway Account) to replace 45 barrier-mounted and
ground-mounted signs and 3 overhead HOV signs, including costs
for traffic control measures, and a public information campaign
to alert motorists of the change. Equivalent one-time costs in
2019-20 to replace signs when the statute sunsets.
Background: Existing law authorizes the Department of
Transportation (Caltrans) and local authorities to permit
preferential use of highway lanes for HOVs under specified
conditions. Prior to establishing an HOV lane, Caltrans or the
local entity must perform engineering studies to evaluate the
impacts of the lane designation on safety, congestion, and
highway capacity.
In the San Francisco Bay Area, the Interstate 80 corridor from
the Carquinez Bridge to the Bay Bridge is notorious for
congestion during commute hours. While most HOV lanes in
California require a minimum of two occupants, the minimum in
this corridor is three occupants. Restricted use of this HOV
lane is in effect during the weekday peak commute periods in
both directions, but not during off-peak hours or on weekends.
HOV lanes are often underutilized in the reverse commute
direction when mixed-flow lanes are generally free flowing.
However, the westbound HOV lane in the Interstate 80 corridor
operates with some delays in the reverse commute direction
(during p.m. commute times), primarily because of congestion in
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mixed-flow lanes caused by the bottleneck at the three-lane
connector to eastbound Interstate 580 and southbound Interstate
880.
Proposed Law: AB 2200 would suspend the operation of HOV lanes
on eastbound Interstate 80 within the Metropolitan
Transportation Commission's (MTC's) jurisdiction during the
morning commute hours of 5 a.m. to 10 a.m. until January 1,
2020.
Staff Comments: Caltrans collected travel time data in the
reverse commute direction for the most congested portion of the
Interstate 80 corridor in May of 2012. The data indicates that
in the eastbound direction, mixed flow lanes experienced mostly
free flow conditions, with the exception of two periods of about
30 seconds of delay, and the eastbound HOV lanes operate without
any delay during the a.m. peak period. During the p.m. peak
commute period, the westbound mixed flow lanes experience delays
of three to seven minutes approaching the bottleneck at the
Interstate 580/880 connector, and the HOV lane in the same area
experiences delays of up to three minutes during the p.m.
commute periods. Based on this data, Caltrans concluded that
elimination of the HOV lane in the eastbound direction during
the morning commute would have neither positive nor negative
impacts. On the other hand, eliminating the westbound HOV lane
during the evening commute would result in significant adverse
impacts in the HOV lane, no congestion relief in the mixed flow
lanes, and an overall reduction in person through put.
The removal of eastbound HOV lanes during the morning commute
period would require replacement of signage in the Interstate 80
corridor at a cost of approximately $125,500 in the 2012-13
fiscal year, and again in 2019-20 when the statute is repealed.
The majority of these costs, approximately $100,000 of the
total, would be related to lane closure and traffic control
measures in both directions for replacement of barrier-mounted
signs. Caltrans indicates that the left shoulder is very narrow
and will require workers to be in the shoulder on both sides of
the barrier. There are 45 barrier-mounted signs and three
overhead signs that would need to be replaced. Additional costs
would be incurred by Caltrans to conduct public relations and
outreach efforts to alert motorists to the change. These costs
are estimated to be up to $50,000.
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As noted above, mixed flow lanes in the eastbound direction
during reverse commute periods experience only minimal
congestion and the HOV lane is free flowing. The Committee may
wish to consider whether the costs associated with sign
replacement and the diversion of department staff from other
activities justify the insignificant improvement in traffic
flow.