The Feb. 28 Herald contained an editorial entitled “HOV rules meant to be broken, at least reviewed.” It observes that “any number of motorists have asked, does it make sense to limit the lanes to carpools and buses 24 hours a day seven days a week?” It then provdes us the “correct” answer as “almost certainly no.” It concludes by accusing the state Department of Transportation of being “locked in a pattern of dogmatism that contributes to our patterns of political and transportation gridlock.” Give me a break.
This piece rides the populist sentiment that those darn diamond lanes are the cause of all our transportation woes. It panders to the driving frustrations felt by each and every one of us. But what a load of hooey it is. The outcome would be to clog the only clear lane left on the freeways and remove any incentive for any of us to take some personal responsibility to become part of the solution. “Ride the bus. That way you can be stuck in the same traffic jam with a large group of strangers.” There’s a winning transportation strategy that illustrates the short-sightedness of the policies promoted by this editorial.
I am a SOV (single-occupancy vehicle) commuter by the nature of my work. I used to subscribe to this sort of backwards thinking. But then, a single, wise, succinct, near-brilliant statement (paraphrased) from WSDOT changed my entire view. Despite its conflict with my own personal situation, I found it impossible to argue with its logic. WSDOT Secretary MacDonald would do well to display some leadership here and recognize the folly of throwing open HOV lanes to all drivers, as would the editorial staff at The Herald.
If traffic is heavy to the point that an additional lane would make the difference, that is the precise moment for which HOV lanes exist, and if not, the additional lane is not needed.
Do we need more lanes? Desperately. We need a whole lot of more general purpose lanes. Constructing these provides a solution. Co-opting the HOV lanes into yet another lane of parking lot traffic gridlock does not. All it accomplishes is the attainment of the lowest common denominator. The question is a classic one of supply and demand. Nearly all efforts are directed towards the supply side of the equation. HOV lanes stand distinctively as the lone effort and incentive to reduce demand. For that reason alone they should be sacrosanct.
But if that’s not reason enough, then how about the fact that without them emergency vehicles cannot make use of most of our best highways when a crisis happens to occur during rush hour, a condition whose definition is rapidly approaching full-time? Is it in the highest public interest to ensure that at least one lane remains relatively clear 24 hours a day seven days a week? The answer is most certainly, Yes!
Stanwood
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