Alternatives to Driving: Transit on the Tollway

The Illinois Tollway’s board of directors recently approved Tomorrow’s Transportation Today, a $1.8 billion plan to relieve traffic congestion by investing in key Interstate to Interstate interchanges and creating dedicated Green Lanes that will encourage more Tollway commuters to consider carpooling, vanpool programs, and express bus services. Green Lanes combine the functions of high-occupancy toll lanes (HOT), high-occupancy vehicle lanes (HOV), and carpool lanes – all of which are helping uncork bottlenecks in states across the country by squeezing more capacity out of existing roadways through variable tolling. The investment includes $1.4 billion for interchange improvements, as well as $400 million to support new transit alternatives for Tollway commuters who don’t want to pay more to drive alone.

From L.A. to North Carolina, other U.S. regions have had success with similar programs. Seattle’s HOV/HOT lanes move the equivalent capacity of four regular lanes during rush hours. In Houston, more than 40,000 daily commuters use the express transit buses – up from virtually zero transit riders since HOV lanes were first introduced in 1979. North Carolinans who carpool, vanpool, or ride transit cut their commuting costs by approximately $3,000 each year. Both HOV lane users and non-users gave Los Angeles’ system an 88 percent public approval rating. By encouraging carpooling, increasing transit options, and improving connections between tollways and transit routes, commuters benefit from a wide menu of options to fulfill their transportation needs.

The Green Lanes also provide a new opportunity for Pace to help meet the region’s rising transit demands without taking on significant new capital expenses. Express bus service along the Tollway’s dedicated Green Lanes, coupled with new park-and-ride facilities and intermodal centers, will provide commuters with more reliable and accessible transit options and help reduce regional congestion. In coordination with Pace, the Regional Transportation Authority, and Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, the Illinois Tollway's Green Lanes Plan will help strengthen the connectivity between existing transit services and future regional transportation and land use improvements. As planners explore new alternatives to fight gridlock, making the most of existing infrastructure is an important part of a cost-effective system.

Photo Courtesy of Washington State Department of Transportation

For Additional Information:

Tomorrow’s Transportation Today: A Progressive Improvement Plan – Illinois Tollway Press Release
Green Lanes Plan – Illinois Tollway
Personal Benefits of HOV Lanes – North Carolina Department of Transportation

NEWS

Local News

Group declares infrastructure deficit severe – Beacon News “The discussion was about how America, and the Great Lakes region, could help fix the crumbling economy and crumbling infrastructure at the same time.”

Green Lanes are a go – Chicago Tribune “The Illinois State Toll Highway Authority gave the green light Thursday to the $400 million congestion-relief project.”

RTA Sees Embedded Cards As Universal Fare Cards Solution – WBBM 780 “Top Regional Transportation Authority officials say if the CTA opts to replace its existing fare cards with standard credit cards embedded with a smart chip, that Pace and Metra also must get on board.”

The oh-no zone – Chicago Tribune “By a vote of 49-1, the City Council on Wednesday approved the 2009 budget, which included raising the parking tax and the cost of residential guest parking permits, lowering the ticket threshold for cars to be boot-eligible, and using the proceeds of leasing the city's parking meters to a private operator.”

Density envisioned around future el stops – Chicago Journal “City planners are imagining future Green Line el stations in the South Loop as surrounded by dense, mixed-used towers that would support retail and inspire residents to avoid using their cars when traveling downtown.”

Illinois has road map for tollway traffic fix - Q & A: How a Green Lane system could work - Chicago Tribune “The governor has dubbed them ‘Green Lanes,’ but most transportation experts refer to them as HOT lanes, for high-occupancy toll.”

Our energy future – Chicago Tribune “If major trucking companies were to replace vehicles using (foreign) diesel with trucks using (domestic) liquefied natural gas, it would provide an immediate and dramatic impact on America's oil imports.”

Mass transit services latest to feel financial hit from state – Southern Sprinfield Bureau “Add this to the list of problems a tight state budget is causing: Some transit systems throughout Illinois haven't received the cash they're due from the state, leaving local officials wondering how to keep their buses running.”

World News

For New Transportation Secretary, a Hard Road Ahead – Washington Post “Transportation experts, both parties in Congress and the current White House agree that the traditional ways of easing congestion and funding transportation are not working and that a fundamental overhaul is needed.”

Planners to consider S.F. congestion charge – San Francisco Chronicle “The idea of making San Francisco the first city in the nation to combat congestion by imposing a toll on motorists who drive on the local roads is "totally doable" from an administrative standpoint, a top city transportation official deemed.”

Obama Stimulus Spending Will Target Roads, Bridges, Public Transit, and Energy Projects – U.S. News & World Report “The money would go for infrastructure projects including roads and bridges, public transit, and items in line with President-elect Barack Obama's plan to spend $150 billion over 10 years on renewable energy and energy efficiency projects.”

A Costly City Tries Pricing Its Parking by Popularity – New York Times “Under a trial plan passed Tuesday by the board of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, 6,000 of the city’s precious parking spots will be priced on a sliding scale depending on how popular they are.”

Gas prices not luring everyone back to their cars – Los Angeles Times “The agency sees it another way: Ridership is up from a year or two ago, suggesting that people are either shifting to transit or the number of transit-dependent is growing.”

Piling up Monuments of Waste – New York Times “Government agencies usually don’t even have to do a rigorous analysis of a project or how it would affect traffic and the environment, relative to its cost and to the alternatives — before deciding whether to proceed. In one recent survey of local officials, almost 80 percent said they had based their decisions largely on politics, while fewer than 20 percent cited a project’s potential benefits.”

Raise the gas tax – Washington Post “In a perfect world, we'd like to see a gas tax that was the equivalent of oil at $100 per barrel.”

Resources

The Impact of Fuel Prices on Consumer Behavior and Traffic Congestion – NIRIX National Traffic Scorecard
Critical Issues in the Trucking Industry – American Transportation Research Institute

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Contact Information

For comments, suggestions or submissions, please contact Emily Tapia Lopez, Associate, at etapia@metroplanning.org or 312-863-6047.