To fix L.A.'s traffic, we need tolls

I'm convinced that the agencies involved with traffic problems don't understand shit about traffic, and this article is one example why.

They mention HOT lanes. I need to see exactly where, and what time of day they used to get their stats, because I can tell you, HOT lanes don't do shit if you allow carpoolers on for free. The idea of the carpool lane is a nice thought, but in reality it's a joke.

Any time there is actual "red" traffic (as you would see in Google maps), the carpool lane(s) are just as backed up as the rest of the traffic. The only time I've seen moving traffic alongside red traffic, is from a pure toll lane alongside a regular highway, like The 91 FasTrak lane. And even STILL, those lanes can be backed up during peak times.

Ask yourself, who uses carpool lanes? Carpoolers? Hardly. It's mostly families, who will be on the road anyway. Then you have work vehicles, who naturally have multiple people, and the ever annoying buses. My point is, the vast majority of those who use carpool lanes were going to be on the highway anyway. There aren't people saying to each other "hey, lets carpool so we can use the carpool lane and get places faster". Even if for some reason we decided to start doing this as a society, we would then realize it's bullshit because the carpool lane just doesn't work.

Here's an idea: 1) set up cameras or road strips at several places along problem highways 2) create a computer model using the traffic data 3) try out road configurations using this data until you find something that works really well. Or at least, use the traffic data to identify what's actually causing traffic problems.

My guess is most of the time it's the shockwave effect from bad or desperate drivers. It happens to all of us, even the experienced drivers, where we suddenly need to get off the highway and we have to cut off people, which inevitably results in a shockwave effect. Adding lanes isn't going to help this, in fact it will probably hurt this particular problem. And now think about this problem combined with carpools, where at least here in SoCal, don't let you get off when you want. So now you are in the carpool lane, unable to get off, and finally when your offramp is 1 mile away you are able to get off, what are you going to do? You have 3+ lanes of traffic to get over. Good luck and please drive nicely!

When I see these giant highway structures built for a single carpool lane [1], it really depresses me. How did we allow it to happen?

[1] (two lanes, one for each direction of traffic) https://www.google.com/maps/@33.6871144,-117.8750226,97a,20y...

I would say building out a comprehensive subway/commuter rail network will make a much bigger difference. Being able to park your car at the nearest suburban station's parking garage and taking the train from there will make it so that cars/buses are only a "last mile" mode of transport.

Not to mention, trains are a way more space efficient way to move people, and aren't at the mercy of traffic jams caused by car accidents, construction, and bottlenecks. Granted, this hasn't completely solved the traffic problem in the NYC metro area, but without it, traffic would be a nightmare, and having the option to bypass it is great.

The fact that I can take a 15 min walk to my suburban town's train station, take it to Jamaica, Queens, transfer to the Airtrain and arrive at JFK airport without ever stepping foot in a car is something every city needs. Also, buses are notoriously unreliable schedule-wise, and people dont like having to wait in bad weather (not as much of a problem in LA) for it to arrive.

I guess the way it is now, property taxes go into a common municipal budget and then a share gets put toward road maintenance, right? I wonder if it would work to reduce property taxes by the amount that's currently spent on roads, and replace it solely with tolls that go into a fund that is dedicated to road maintenance and nothing else. So taxes for everyone would fall by 43% or whatever it is, and only drivers would pay tolls. I suspect it wouldn't work because current property taxes are already insufficient to pay for roads. I still like the idea though.

I've never been to LA so I'm speaking from ignorance but some of the objections raised in this thread seem like they have obvious solutions to me.

1) Tolls are regressive. I believe cities in the US have power over some taxation so why not offset the extra cost by reducing another tax? e.g. property taxes in low value areas could be cut, or sales taxes. Alternatively spend all the toll revenue on heavily subsidising public transport so that it is cheap and plentiful.

2) Other cities have had tolls and it did not effect the traffic. Why not just raise the toll until it does effect the traffic? In London the charge for breaking Ultra-Low Emission Zone requirements will be £130/$160 after 2020. Raise the toll to $100 and it will have an effect.

Sounds though that the underlying issue is that LA's urban geography doesn't lend itself to public transport so that whatever you do people will still have to use cars if they want to travel any reasonable distance. Short of undertaking a Shanghai-metro level of construction (from nothing to the world's largest rapid transit system in 20 years.)

I disagree that the reputation of buses is the reason why more people don't take them in LA. Driving in traffic might be bad, but taking a bus in that same traffic is usually even more inconvenient, efficient and less economically viable.

Taking a bus within the same city has never been a problem and these routes are typically pretty full. However, once you're going from one city to another, within LA county, the added time of transfers and making dozens of stops on city streets really starts to add up. A trip that might take 45 minutes by car sitting in traffic could easily take 2+ hours by bus. Nobody who values their time would choose the bus option if they can afford a car.

People don't avoid the bus because many of the passengers are downtrodden. Many of the passengers are downtrodden simply because anyone who isn't chooses the quicker more efficient option of driving.

The buildout of rail and the addition of more express buses I agree will help alleviate a lot of traffic issues. Buses can be the solution to the last mile issues. But like you said, there needs to be a lot more of them to cut down on waiting time.