By Rep. TOM MIELKE
and Sen. DON BENTON
Talk about adding insult to injury. The new high-occupancy vehicle lanes, a part of the $50 million I-5 project from 99th Street to the Main Street interchange opened Oct.29. What a mess.
On the edge of the 33rd Street overpass on Interstate 5 in Vancouver, anyone could see the traffic crawling by on the first two mornings the new HOV lanes were open. From that vantage point, this "experiment" was government waste at its worst.
First, we would like to debunk The Columbian's myth that "showed motorists using the lane at a rate of 400 vehicles per hour." At least the newspaper was honest by saying it used only a five-minute sampling. For those that watched on the overpass for an hour -- the count was only 180 vehicles.
The Federal Highway Administration requires 600 vehicles per hour for a federally-funded HOV lane. Why didn't the Regional Transportation Council (RTC) and Washington State Department of Transportation (DOT) know this lane wouldn't meet that requirement? Or did they simply ignore the warnings?
Besides the few cars driving in the HOV lane, there were numerous car accidents, frustration, road rage and progressively solid traffic backups from Delta Park to Hazel Dell. People were angry -- rightfully so. And, for those few who were using the HOV lane, it was more than difficult to get off the freeway. The people in the HOV lane couldn't get over to the exits and off the freeway. What an excruciating experience. And, for the "adding insult to injury" part -- we"re all paying for this debacle.
Okay, RTC and DOT, we understand this is only a one-year experiment. And yes, we realize it takes people a while to change their habits. But, how can we endure such a negative impact on our commuters for 12 months? Our sources tell us the DOT will be spending $90,000 more of your money to monitor their "experiment." Frankly, this is an audition none of us can afford.
Each of us is living through tough economic times. What is the DOT going to tell the single mother who shows up late for a job interview only to find she's out of luck? What about the business owner who misses an important call at the office?
"Sorry" is not an acceptable response from a state agency supported by taxpayer dollars. This expensive experiment must stop now.
We had other options to this HOV lane -- options the DOT refused to consider. The option to build the park-n-rides necessary for people to use the HOV lane are, unfortunately, somewhere in the planning phase and could be two to three years down the road.
Why did the DOT push the HOV lane ahead of the rest of the plan, which would have allowed for smoother transition and less congestion? Why wasn't this considered before making life more difficult for commuters? Or, did they? Are commuters experiencing part of the agenda of frustration in order to force drivers into a new way of thinking? Do the RTC and DOT consider social engineering part of their jobs?
Too many questions remain. We must make the logical choice of reopening the HOV lane to ALL drivers, 24 hours a day. We hope other local leaders join us in this common-sense solution.
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