This is a traffic and transportation column, not a political column. But, after hearing a story on Friday night, I feel the need to single out a politician today for a well deserved pat on the back. The politician is Georgia Governor Nathan Deal.
When the HOT-Express Lanes were first introduced, the pricing structure was way out of whack for commuters who were not used to paying to ride to work. As a result, the new lanes were under-utilized and traffic got a lot, lot, worse. In stepped Gov. Deal. He immediately slashed the prices of the Express Lanes. With the new lower prices, commuters started to use the lanes more frequently and eventually more and more vehicles started using them on a regular basis.
I truly believe that without that quick decisive action by the governor, traffic along I-85 would still be a nightmare.
The governor then asked the federal government for a special waiver allowing two person car pools to use the lanes for free along with three plus person car pools. His request was denied, but the governor wasn't finished with his involvement in the project.
WSB-TV's Lori Geary reported on Friday that Gov. Deal is requesting another waiver from the feds, which would allow vehicles to use the HOT lanes during non-peak times for free or for a greatly reduced rate.
Perfect. This is exactly the correct next step.
"The request as I understand it, has been submitted to the Federal Highway Department," the governor told Geary.
If the request is granted then single passenger or two passenger vehicles would be able to use the HOT lane for free or for a lot less than the normal rate.
"Which will induce people to use the lanes because it would either have no cost or a very low cost associated with it," Deal said.
The purpose of the HOT-Express Lanes was to get more people to use the previously under-utilized HOV lane. During rush hours, it has achieved this purpose. Commuters have gotten used to driving in the lanes and traffic patterns have changed as a result. During normal morning rush hours (no rain, no bad crashes) I-85 through Gwinnett and DeKalb counties recovers a lot faster than I-75 from Cobb County or Ga. 400 from Fulton County. That wasn't always the case in the past.
The problem now is during non-rush hour times. When traffic is moving smoothly along I-85 (during late mornings, at night, weekends) no one is using the HOT-Express Lanes because there is no need to pay for the privilege. Simply put, during non-rush hour times, the HOT-Express Lanes have become wasted pavement.
The easiest solution to rectify this problem is to make the Express Lanes active only during peak driving times. If it were up to me, I would open them up to all drivers, for free, outside of rush hours. That way there would be no wasted pavement.
Regardless what happens with Gov. Deal's latest request, it's great to see his continued involvement in making sure commuters are well served.
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