The Orange County Register reports, “It’s the latest episode of state vs. local control of Orange County’s freeways. Caltrans staff on Monday [December 12] presented their draft Managed Lanes Network Study to the Orange County Transportation Authority board, detailing recommended system changes to address slow travel speeds in high-occupancy vehicle, or carpool, lanes.” According to The Register, the study finds that most of Orange County’s HOV lanes operate in a “degraded” condition (average traffic speed drops below 45 mph on more than two weekdays a month, triggering a federal mandate for improvement), and Caltrans recommends two responses, both involving increased use of HOT lanes. OCTA board members “who spoke up were not pleased,” the newspaper reports. Click here and scroll down to PDF file page 581 to read an OCTA staff report and the Caltrans study draft.
