- cross-posted to:
- toronto@lemmy.ca
- cross-posted to:
- toronto@lemmy.ca
cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/44426628
Ford government says allowing single drivers in high-occupancy vehicle lanes will help fight gridlock
Highway lanes designated for carpoolers will soon be opened up to solo drivers at certain times of the day, Ontario’s transportation minister said Tuesday.
The Ford government’s latest attempt to reduce gridlock — which has included an ongoing effort to remove bike lanes in downtown Toronto and a $9-million study on the feasibility of digging a subterranean highway under Highway 401 — will allow anyone to use high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes during off-peak hours, Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria said in a news release.
HOV lanes, as described on the province’s website, are already intended to help manage congestion. They are also designed to encourage carpooling and reduce “transportation-related” emissions by getting more cars off the road.
Single-occupant vehicles made up 72 per cent of traffic on provincial highways as of 2022, according to government data shared in the release Tuesday.
Right now, only vehicles with two or more occupants, buses, licensed taxis, green-plate vehicles, airport limousines, motorcycles and emergency vehicles can use HOV lanes.
HOV lanes are already available to some solo drivers, depending on what they’re driving. If you’re in a low-carbon vehicle like a plug-in hybrid or electric car, you don’t need a passenger.
Commercial vehicles longer than 6.5 metres would still be restricted from using HOV lanes under the proposed changes.
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This is how the hov lane has always been where I live…
Some roads have permanent HOV, some have HOV only during peak hours. There are always cheaters.
That makes no sense. A special lane for carpooling and taxis and such is only useful when there’s congestion so why would anyone want the extra lane if it’s not congested? What braindead government official wou—Rob Ford’s brother. I see.
The same guy that now allows drinking in parks. 99% of his days are spent trying to keep Ford Nation drunk.
Charge people money to drive on these lines during off peak hours (variable pricing to levels of congestion) then use that money to find public transportation.
Thank you for coming to my TED talk.
How will that cycle stay profitable if we build transit and people stop paying the premium for the lane? /s
Shrink the highway by one lane (saving 25-75k$ / lane km / year; i don’tknow the amortized captial and operational expensesfor this highway) and do it again
They already charge for HOT permits. The money is going into a Spa and filling in Lake Ontario.
If the highway is crowded enough that the non-HOV lanes are gridlocked, that’s a peak hour. This would be funny to watch, if it didn’t mean that Ford and Sarkaria will plan for yet another highway expansion when this inevitably leads to worse gridlock.
Congratulations now HOV lanes are effectively useless, granted they always were. Hmmm I wonder if there’s a type of road that’s high occupancy and cant be used by cars, oh right its called rail.
