  Novine Member Username: Novine Post Number: 915 Registered: 07-2007 |
Michigan gets first carpool lane "Gov. Jennifer Granholm Tuesday signed two bills into law that will temporarily designate a five-mile stretch of Michigan Avenue as the state's first high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes." http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.d ll/article?AID=/20081210/METRO /812100350/1016 | ||
Gravitymachine Member Username: Gravitymachine Post Number: 2432 Registered: 05-2005 |
weird, i figured they were official when they painted those diamonds in the road over the summer. | ||
Texorama Member Username: Texorama Post Number: 327 Registered: 12-2006 |
I think the idea is that there is now legal enforcement authority. What's not clear to me at this point is who can do the enforcing. Can the Detroit police enforce it? Will the city get a cut if there's ticket revenue? If so, I think we can expect to see a lot of tickets along there. Could be pretty wild, because with the shifting lanes on Michigan it's not always easy to tell when you're in the HOV lane. | ||
Spiritofdetroit Member Username: Spiritofdetroit Post Number: 1261 Registered: 11-2006 |
gravity, they painted and implemented the HOV lanes and then realized that Michigan law did not allow them. So, after a week of enforcement, they lanes were free to everyone until the passing of this legislation | ||
Bob Member Username: Bob Post Number: 1913 Registered: 11-2003 |
Wonder if anyone will/does actually use them. | ||
Fishtoes2000 Member Username: Fishtoes2000 Post Number: 756 Registered: 06-2005 |
Just to split hairs... The law did allow for HOV signage since at least 2005. However, it didn't specifically allow for HOV enforcement. Note that the HOV lanes on Michigan Avenue allow bikes since they are the rightmost lane on a road open to biking. Without that exception, cyclists would have to ride in a middle lane on Michigan Avenue. [Note to Michigan Avenue cyclists -- you owe me a beer. ;) ] | ||
Detroitnerd Member Username: Detroitnerd Post Number: 3881 Registered: 07-2004 |
Oh, we'll use them. Just wait until Officer Osborne starts pulling us all over.  | ||
Tkshreve Member Username: Tkshreve Post Number: 704 Registered: 07-2006 |
Why would they put these HOV lanes on roads when the Freeways are where the problem stems from? I think the HOV would have better effects if people who commute throughout the city via freeways were to see the advantages of carpooling. Not just along Michigan Avenue. I assume many more roadways and freeways are slated for HOV lanes? This just seems like a terrible starting place. | ||
Professorscott Member Username: Professorscott Post Number: 1726 Registered: 12-2006 |
Tkshreve, you're right, but you ignore politics. There is no opposition to putting HOV lanes on MI Ave. because it doesn't carry significant traffic. In order to put an HOV lane on a freeway you have to take away an existing travel lane, and I can't think of a freeway you could do that to where there wouldn't be a wailing and gnashing of teeth. So the justification for Michigan Avenue comes down to this: it's meaningless, therefore it was possible. | ||
Leland_palmer Member Username: Leland_palmer Post Number: 728 Registered: 08-2004 |
It was put in on Michigan with the idea that it help with congestion there during the Gateway Project. | ||
Novine Member Username: Novine Post Number: 916 Registered: 07-2007 |
The law allowing HOV restricts to only being on US-12 (Michigan Ave.) and in a city of population of at least 700,000, which means Detroit. It's not clear from reading the law if a local government could establish HOV outside of state trunklines (on a major County or local road). | ||
Busterwmu Member Username: Busterwmu Post Number: 595 Registered: 09-2004 |
Well, hopefully they will repaint the diamonds now. As someone said, it's sometimes hard to follow which lane the HOV lane is, because the lanes shift around so much on Michigan between Wyoming and well.... Campus Martius... | ||
Tkshreve Member Username: Tkshreve Post Number: 706 Registered: 07-2006 |
quote: The law allowing HOV restricts to only being on US-12 (Michigan Ave.) and in a city of population of at least 700,000, which means Detroit. It's not clear from reading the law if a local government could establish HOV outside of state trunklines (on a major County or local road). Laws can be changed..... right? So in other words, what I'm hearing here is local(?) government made an empty attempt at being innovative, and knew it would be pointless. Ok... got it. I guess I've never really seen diamond lanes except on freeways. I wouldn't even expect to see them anywhere else because it would be to cumbersome for city driving by having to turn and change through them. Then you tell me the city couldn't even paint a straight line. Brilliant! What's next...... 5-way stop signs and square round-abouts? | ||
Gravitymachine Member Username: Gravitymachine Post Number: 2433 Registered: 05-2005 |
quote: campus martius. we're half way there! | ||
Tkshreve Member Username: Tkshreve Post Number: 708 Registered: 07-2006 |
Yeah, Campus Martius is not a gimme if you've never been to Detroit. "Look kids..... There's the Compuware Center again" | ||
Turkeycall Member Username: Turkeycall Post Number: 98 Registered: 09-2008 |
When I lived in Houston in the '80s, there was a section of I-45 that had designated "contraflow lanes." There's nothing like driving in downtown Houston and having traffic coming at you in the third lane of your side of the expressway. It scared the hell out of me the first time I saw it. You get accustomed to it, though. | ||
Hamtragedy Member Username: Hamtragedy Post Number: 363 Registered: 10-2007 |
Bring back left turn lane control, make that the HOV lane and give out NO LEFT TURN tickets on a massive scale....like they used to. |
