I forgot last night to write a blog entry about the Post editorial from earlier in the week, "Blocking traffic," admonishing Arlington County for suing the State of Virginia over HOT lanes--high occupancy toll lanes--for I-95 and I-395 but the letter to the editor in today's paper, "What new HOT lanes mean for Va.," reminded me.
The editorial said that Arlington's justification is invalid and a waste of tax money. But the letter writer, Bob Hugman of Woodbridge, understands. He writes:
... I think this is instead an example of a county government that believes in the concept of carpooling and mass transit and is willing to take action to protect it.
Conversion from basic high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) to HOT lanes will encourage single-occupant vehicles, degrade the commutes of carpoolers and bus riders, and threaten a tremendously successful system. Twice per day during HOV restrictions, the current system moves something like 30,000 people in 10,000 cars. The addition of another narrow, dangerous lane by restriping the highway and removing a shoulder may allow 5,000 more single-occupant cars carrying 5,000 individuals during rush hour. That would be an increase in people movement of only 17 percent. To achieve that, existing carpools will be slowed from 65 to 45 mph, if we are lucky -- gridlocked if not. Many people will just give up carpooling if there is only a small difference from traveling in the regular lanes.
We carpoolers are the good guys here. Let's find another approach, especially during rush hour.
From the standpoint of consistent transportation policy, based on a transportation vision as expressed in a transportation plan, and effectuated and implemented through consistent and congruent goals, objectives, and actions, Arlington County's action makes perfect sense.
In the Master Transportation Plan Goals and Policies section, Goal 2 is stated as:
Move More People Without More Traffic. Provide more travel choices and reduce the relative proportion of single occupant vehicle (SOV) travel through Transportation Demand Management (TDM), telecommuting and travel shifts to other modes including transit, carpooling, walking, and bicycling.
Strategies
1. Implement land use policies such as transit-oriented and mixed-oriented and mixed-use development trat result in better access and use of the transportation system.
2. Focus on minimizing person delay across modes rather than focusing exclusively on minimizing vehicle delay.
3. Encourage the use of environmentally sustainable modes, including bicycling, walking, transit, carpooling, and telecommuting.
Transportation General Policy C states:
Manage Travel Demand and Transportation Systems
Influence travel demand generated from new development through County Board-approved conditions and actively manage County-controlled streets, parking, transit sesrvices, and commuter service programs to minimize the growth in single occupant vehicle trips and to promote the use of all other modes of travel. If not managed effectively, the project increase in demand on Arlington's transportation system from anticipated local and regional population growth will far exceed the existing or future capacity of the system. Therefore, it is vital to put into place a wide range of demand-management and system-management strategies. Many measures are proposed to achieve a shift away from use of personal motor vehicles towards greater use of transit, carpooling, bicycling, and walking. Taxis and car-sharing also offer opportunities to reduce auto ownership and dependence.
What I really like about the Arlington County Master Transportation Plan is how it is logically and internally consistent. The provisions of each element of the plan (for the most part, they couldn't be absolutely perfect in the section on Parking and Curbside Management because residential parking is the third rail of local politics) "cascade" from the Goals and Policies of the Plan, and each section is internally consistent in and of itself, and with the overarching vision, goals, policies, and strategies.
So what that means is that Arlington County chooses to maximize the throughput of people rather than vehicles. Hence, it means that it is logical for the County to oppose the creation of HOT Lanes as a transportation strategy that is counter to their policies of maximizing people throughput rather than vehicles that typically carry only one person.
It is the Post editorial page that is out of line, not Arlington County.
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