Ummm.........lexus lanes, lexus lanes, lexus lanes.......
QuoteDon't call them "Lexus lanes." Try express lanes or managed-traffic lanes. But not Lexus lanes.
"Really, that's not what it is," said Ananth Prasad, secretary of the Florida Department of Transportation.
Starting in 2014, Prasad's agency intends to build four new toll lanes down the middle of Interstate 4 through downtown Orlando, part of a $2 billion makeover of Metro Orlando's main transportation artery.
Critics call such roads Lexus lanes because people pay to use them to avoid the congestion in so-called free lanes. Opponents contend only drivers with plenty of money are willing to pay the tolls, leaving the jammed lanes to the less well-heeled.
But Prasad rejects that notion, saying the tolls initially envisioned for I-4 â€" about $3.60 for a trip between Kirkman Road to State Road 434 â€" are not so high that only the rich can afford them.
He points to I-95 in Miami-Dade County, where the state has been charging tolls for a 10-mile stretch for more than two years. "Everybody uses it," he said.
That's true, but only to a point, according to a survey FDOT ordered in October 2010.
full article: http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2012-07-20/news/os-lexus-lanes-interstate-4-20120720_1_lexus-lanes-toll-lanes-free-lanes
Yeah...I expect some of this push for managed express lanes (Lexus lanes) is going to blow up in FDOT's face
Let's break this down into its simplest form...somebody wants to spend a boatload of cash to create these special toll lanes that are going to get us from Point A to Point B much more quickly...but you have to pay (we're talking probably around $6 one way, like the Bee Line in Orlando) to use that lane. People are probably going to save their $12 round trip and use the regular, free road. Other people catch on and soon no one is using the toll road. Toll road is not paying for itself. "Somebody" is out of money and can't pay for the toll roads, so they raise our taxes on us again to make up for the shortfall. Sounds like a stupid plan to me, and I don't even have a college education. ::)
the I-95 example in Miami shows that people will pay to go faster in the toll lanes....since the price of those lanes varies depending on the level of congestion in the free lanes.
But that's the key...there is plenty of congestion on I-4 so the concept could work there....but I'm very skeptical that on success here in Jax.
btw...folks should understand that the tolls will NOT pay for the cost of building the new lanes...just the annual operating & maintenance costs
New toll lanes on I-4 make perfect sence, especially since they're dropping a boatload of money on Sunrail. Sure, continue to shoot smart transportation in the foot for the sake of the ROADS!
Quote from: tufsu1 on July 25, 2012, 08:36:29 AM
Yeah...I expect some of this push for managed express lanes (Lexus lanes) is going to blow up in FDOT's face
I fully expect some yahoo at FDOT or the governors mansion to try and explain why these lanes 'make money' and are thus good policy, while at the same time explaining why rail isn't good policy or 'profitable.'
When these arguments arise the full cost of construction, operations and maintenance will be calculated for rail, while only the operations and maintenance of the roadway will ever be mentioned.
Pretty strange math.
actually Ock they've been somewhat honest so far....making it clear that toll revenues will only pay for operations & maintenance, not the initial capital investment