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MnPASS I-394 High Occupancy Toll (HOT) Lanes

MnPASS I-394 High Occupancy Toll (HOT) Lanes. http://511mn.org/default.asp?area=TC_Metro. Case Study 7 group: Brendon Slotterback Chris Romansky Feng Xie Gabe Gubash. http://www.dot.state.mn.us/tmc/trafficinfo/metrocams/cameras/c906.html.

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MnPASS I-394 High Occupancy Toll (HOT) Lanes

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  1. MnPASS I-394 High Occupancy Toll (HOT) Lanes http://511mn.org/default.asp?area=TC_Metro Case Study 7 group: Brendon Slotterback Chris Romansky Feng Xie Gabe Gubash http://www.dot.state.mn.us/tmc/trafficinfo/metrocams/cameras/c906.html http://www.dot.state.mn.us/tmc/trafficinfo/metrocams/cameras/c911.html

  2. History • Authorized by 2003 Minnesota Legislature • Conversion of existing HOV lanes to HOT lanes • First of its kind in Minnesota • Could open in Spring 2005 • Public/private partnership between State and Wilbur & Associates

  3. Goals • Maximize corridor capacity • Reduce construction of new infrastructure • Improve carpool and bus service

  4. What is this thing? • Based on the premise of congestion or “value” pricing • Price is dynamic, based on congestion levels and distance from CBD • “…a way of harnessing the power of the market and reducing the waste associated with congestion.” - valuepricing.org • Lanes for carpoolers will now be priced for SOV trips • Buses have free access

  5. Demand / Price / Operations Equilibrium $1.00 $2.00 $3.00 Traffic In Managed Lanes Speed In General Purpose Lanes

  6. Why I-394? • Location selected based on 4 criteria: • Does the proposed project solve a problem? (congestion) • Revenue Potential • What will it take to build? • What are the system configurations?

  7. Congestion I-394

  8. Other considerations

  9. HOT lanes schematic

  10. Hours of Operation – Current Hours • East of Highway 100 (Reversible Section) • Eastbound: 6 AM – 1 PM • Westbound: 2 PM – Midnight • Weekends – As Needed • West of Highway 100 • Eastbound: 6 - 9 AM • Westbound: 3 - 6 PM

  11. Existing High Occupancy/Toll (HOT) Lanes Source of all photos: SR91 official website, CA

  12. Existing HOT Lanes • Only 4 HOT lane facilities are currently operating in the US: • State Route 91 (SR 91) Express Lanes at Orange County, CA; • I-15 FasTrak, at San Diego, CA • Katy Freeway QuickRide, and • Northwest Freeway (US 290) QuickRide, both at Harris County, TX

  13. State Route 91 (SR 91) Express Lanes

  14. State Route 91 (SR 91) Express Lanes • The first privately funded and operated electronic variable toll facility in the US • A 10-mile, four lane, HOT facility • Toll rates vary from $0.75 to $4.75 by time of day and day of the week • Tolls for HOV2+ vehicles are reduced by 50 percent.

  15. I-15 FasTrak

  16. I-15 FasTrak • Sponsored by the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) and the local metropolitan planning organization (MPO) • Peak-period reversible HOT lanes converted from an underutilized preexisting eight-mile 2-lane HOV lane • SOVs pay a toll ranging from $0.50 to $4.00 to use the HOT lanes while HOV2+ vehicles may use the facility at no cost

  17. Katy Freeway QuickRide I-10Northwest Freeway QuickRide US 290

  18. Katy Freeway QuickRide • Sponsored by Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) and the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, TX (METRO) • An existing highway with a 13-mile, 6-lane freeway with 1 reversible HOV lane initially operated at HOV 2 and then at HOV 3 • The QuickRide program allows HOV 2 vehicles to pay $2.00 per trip to use the facility during peak periods, while HOV 3+ vehicles continued to use the facility at no cost

  19. Northwest Freeway (US 290) QuickRide • A HOT converted from a 1-lane, barrier-separated, 15.5 mile, reversible HOV facility • From 6:45AM to 8:00AM, when the facility serves inbound traffic, HOV3+ vehicle may use the lane for free • Vehicles with 2+ occupants must pay $2.00, while SOVs are never allowed to use the lane

  20. Existing HOT Lanes in Summary • Physical similarities: • HOT lanes rely on electronic payment systems or paid monthly passes during test pilot periods • All systems have fixed and variable signs to provide information about access, hours, prices, etc • HOT lanes are physically separated from the parallel general-purpose lanes by continuous concrete barriers or a fence of collapsible pylons • Creation: • HOT lanes may be created through new capacity construction or conversion of existing lanes • Conversion of existing HOV lanes to HOT operation is most common

  21. Existing HOT Lanes in Summary • Occupancy Requirements: • Qualifying HOVs are allowed to use HOT lane facilities at no cost or at a reduced toll. HOVs are usually defined as vehicles carrying 2+ or 3+ persons • Pricing Systems: • Toll levels are set to limit the number of users by willingness to pay • The fee structure may be fixed, varying by time of day, or dynamic, varying in response to real-time traffic conditions.

  22. HOT Lane Benefits • Retains benefits for HOVs: Fees are reduced or eliminated for HOVs • Congestion pricing control: Toll levels can be set to limit throughput to ensure free flowing conditions on HOT lanes

  23. Benefits of HOT Lanes… • Increased utilization of existing infrastructure • Recent decline in HOV lane use • HOV lanes may not best serve the public • SOV freedom vs coordinating carpool • HOV users may already carpool without the benefit of exclusive facilities (i.e. family, workers, etc)

  24. Benefits of HOT Lanes… • Availability of Technology: • MnPASS avoids toll booths through remote fee collection • Saves time for users • Avoids paying toll collector employees • Maintains current infrastructure: • Mn/DOT maintenance objective • Improve existing facilities before building new • Save expense and complications of acquiring new right of way

  25. Negatives Regarding HOT Lanes

  26. Merging Problems • Traffic flow impeded by merging traffic will decreasefree-flow speeds • Merging will cause an increase of interactions among cars and therefore increase the probability of accidents • The HOT lanes will be the interior lanes of the freeway; this will result in people crossing multiple lanes to enter the HOT lanes from entrance ramps and exit from the HOT lanes. This could contribute to more accidents.

  27. Costs • Initial costs: $11 million • Annual operating costs: $1.5 million • Minneapolis would need congestion levels similar to Chicago in order for lanes to fund themselves with tolls alone • Some private or government money would need to be raised in order for lanes to remain functional. • The cost may deter high occupancy vehicles from using the lane that would otherwise use the lane

  28. Loss of HOV lanes • Bus lanes and HOV lanes would be replaced with the toll lanes • Any busses and HOVs would have to deal with higher levels of congestion in the lanes • New busses would have to be commissioned to compensate for traffic level increases caused by people choosing to drive SOVs as apposed to HOVs.

  29. Questions… • Should MnPASS be implemented even if it cannot pay for itself? • Should the lanes be priced even when demand is very low? • Do benefits outweigh the costs? • Might this have implications for land use? If so, what are they? • Shouldn’t we be able to drive wherever and whenever we want? • Should private investors contribute to the project? • Who will be responsible for system losses not recovered by the tolls? • Equity issues with using HOT lanes • Accessible to all income brackets? • Will it discourage current HOV users? • Will it optimize throughput on the freeway or will it be underutilized? • Are other transportation services more worthy of funds? • Bus • Rail • Freeway

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