I suppose the Wizard is a little late on commenting on Harris County Metro's decision to use Obama money - aka federal stimulus funds - to convert its current HOV lanes to high occupancy toll (HOT) lanes. I was thinking of not posting anything at all on the subject on the grounds that I did not have anything new to say about the matter that somebody hadn't groused about before - that the lanes were allegedly not going to help with traffic congestion, that the lanes were allegedly not being used enough already, that HOT lanes are only for owners of Lexus vehicles and not for the rest of us, and so on.
However there is one aspect of the HOV lane issue that has not been addressed in this recent spate of stories and public commentary and that, gentle readers, has to do with HOV lanes and the 2003 bond election ballot. You remember that election, don't you? The one where you, dear Houstonian, thought that you were voting for rail - right? Well, maybe its time we jar our memories and revisit some of what Metro proposed during the November 2003 bond election.
What few people remember is that there were several components in the November 2003 bond election ballot language. One of those components (we will leave out the others so as to not complicate things here) was that Metro said it would double the lane mileage of HOV lanes that would be available, via modifying the current HOV network to make it two way reversible.
Some months ago, former Houston mayoral candidate Bill King spoke before the Houston Property Rights Association about transportation. The Wizard queried Mr. King about the issue of reversible or two way HOV / HOT lanes. The Wizard inquired about the idea of reverse commutes whereby some people commute in the opposite direction simply because they live in the inner part of the urbanized area, but commute towards jobs that are located further out from the urban core. King stated that one aspect of HOV lanes operating only one way at a time, then reversing lane operations in the opposite direction for evening hours was that this reflected 1970's style thinking. The incorporation of two lanes of HOT lanes operating at all hours in both directions along the Katy Freeway reflects more modern thinking on urban mobility. The idea is to simply expand on this concept and push it all the way throughout the Houston area.
Poor people will in fact pay to use lanes, if it is important enough for them to use them. One of my many vivid memories of living in China 17-18 years ago was the willingness of ordinary Chinese, who at that time were making probably $40 - $50 per month, to pay for taxi trips when they really needed to get somewhere in a hurry. Even fairly short taxi trips in Beijing or Shanghai could set my Chinese friends and acquaintances back a full 1-2 days pay, but it never ceased to amaze me how many times they whipped out their purses and wallets to pay for a cab ride when they really wanted or needed to get somewhere fast. People really do make their decisions on the margin.
Then there are issues of legality. Arguably, since Metro stipulated that expanding the HOV / HOT lane concept was to be a part of the 2003 bond election, then the agency is obligated to actually come through with this promise. The agency has already effectively reneged on its promise of 50 percent more bus service in the metropolitan area. Not going through with doubling the number of route miles of HOV / HOT lanes would destroy what remains of the agency's credibility, reopening the charge that the 2003 bond election was nothing but about desperately desiring rail lines and condemnation zones for redevelopment.
The Chronicle editorial, published March 20th, 2009, stated that Metro would get to keep toll road monies raised. One aspect of the HOV / HOT lane conversion is that there are clearly some areas where it is going to be difficult to add an extra lane through reconfiguration of what is already there. One example of this is the buried stretch of Interstate 59 which runs through midtown Houston from downtown through the Greenway Plaza area, and onto IH-610 Loop. Monies raised through the collection of tolls should be dedicated towards widening the freeway, if need be, to accommodate the extra lane of traffic.
Next: We talk about the proposed regional crime lab.
Wizard