Illinois Governor Rod R. Blagojevich (D) has revealed plans to create “High Occupancy Toll (HOT) lanes” on the Illinois Tollway system. “I am proud to announce that we will be constructing Green Lanes on the Illinois Tollway,” Blagojevich said in a statement. “Not only will these Green Lanes and new interchanges help commuters, but will also pay real dividends to Illinois’ communities and businesses through massive new business development.” The Illinois Green Lane project promises to reduce road congestion by establishing three classes of motorist. Group one: carpools registered with government authorities. They could use the privileged lanes after paying the regular Illinois toll rates. Group Two: drivers in politically favored vehicles designated as “green.” They have the option of paying regular Illinois toll rates plus a reduced “variable fee” to use the Green Lanes. Group three: everybody else. These third-class motorists could use the Green Lanes by paying regular Illinois toll rates plus a full, second toll that would increase during the most congested hours. The impact of “Tomorrow’s Transportation Today” program after the jump…
By taking over lanes currently dedicated to general purpose traffic, the plan guarantees that cars not paying the extra toll will experience increased congestion. by design. On the Tri-State Tollway, for example, the plan would reduce capacity for the regular toll lanes by twenty-five percent. This, Illinois officials argue, would provide an incentive to drivers to either pay the special fees or purchase the favored vehicles needed to avoid the new congestion.
The infrastructure required to administer the complex program and designate existing lanes as “Green Lanes” will cost an estimated $400m on a 41-mile stretch of Interstate 294. To help defray the expenses, the governor’s plan calls for a sixty-percent toll hike on commercial vehicles used by businesses throughout the state. After the first increase, the rate will increase yearly at an amount tied to the inflation rate. Although the rate hikes are not scheduled to go into effect until 2015, Blagojevich will spend that money today by issuing bonds that borrow against the expected future returns. Blagojevich also promised to use state police and high-tech automated cameras to enforce the new lane restrictions, generating additional revenue.
“We’re going to enforce some of those who try to get around this law with phony blow up dolls,” Blagojevich told WGN radio yesterday. “They have a new technology that can actually sensor that. So any scofflaw who has a blow up doll in his or her car, beware.” (ED: Damn!)
There will be one public hearing on the new proposal before the Illinois Tollway Board of Directors votes to approve the project in November. Green Lane tolling is scheduled to begin in 2010, starting with the heaviest traveled routes in the state.
“Green lanes.” Hey, I like that. In this case, though, he forgot to mention that he is referring to the color of money, not to the environment.
More congestion = more idling, more accelerating = more gas consumption = more pollution…..good work boys!
Gov Bad Hair is a total nut. Anyone ever been to any other city (besides LA) where the HOV lanes do nothing but cause everyone else to sit in gridlock (polluting excessively and wasting fuel) while a few hybrids and carpools get to fly by in the HOV lane?
I don’t know how the Illinois Toll Roads are managed, but I pray it isn’t all in the gov’s power. I suspect this will result in worse gridlock, more pollution, and more wasted fuel. But hey “green” sounds good right? Both to environmental nuts who think anything dealing with carpools and hybrids saves the earth and to those Illinois politicos who do nothing but come up with new revenue sources.
And new interchanges?! Who’s gonna pay for all this crap?!
No WAY!! I commute on 294 daily….and now I have to buy an “environmentally friendly” car (or pay a higher toll) if I don’t want to be in the traffic that typically plagues this stretch of road? There goes any thought of owning the new Camaro…Or maybe I’ll move.
This is just further proof of why my home state of Illinois is in the toilet.
Pch101 :
“Green lanes.” Hey, I like that. In this case, though, he forgot to mention that he is referring to the color of money, not to the environment.
You totally beat me to it.
The “free pass” for “green cars” in the HOV lanes is complete BS. It does nothing to promote congestion reduction (which is why HOV lanes exist). Now the lanes will be clogged full of single-pax Priora trying to hyper-mile each other.
And you have a 10% sales tax too.
In Minneapolis a couple years back they turned their HOV lane into a toll road which the media quickly dubbed the “Lexus Lane.” Carpools and motorcycles (not sure about the Prius crowd) can still ride for free, but if you want to go solo you pay a toll which varies depending on time of day, traffic, etc.
As a carpooler who has used the HOV lane both before and after, the system works very well. Takes enough traffic out of the normal lane to be noticed and the center lanes still run faster with the increased traffic.
The thing I hate is how gov’t is making HOV lanes a subsidy for hybrids where a carpool with 3 adults is probably getting better passenger miles per gallon, i.e. more green than your Prius. Secondly, since carpools are more effective at reducing congestion and theoretically save gov’t from building more lane miles those people should ride for free. Last, soaking commerical traffic with higher fees is just another excuse for them to leave the state and further sink the IL economy. Yes, restrict truck traffic so it doens’t coincide with rush hour, but give ’em a break on the fees – after all, they are the employers that everyone is driving to anyway.
Right hand, meet left hand.
Reduce congestion? Increase air quality? Increase standard of living? Reduce gas consumption? Incentives for living closer to work?
What problem are they trying to solve?
Crickets….
When I visit my folks in western Michigan, I zig-zag from Kankakee, Ill. to Michigan City, In. explicitly to avoid the Illinois section of 80/90.
Now, apparently, I have another reason to avoid that part of the toll road. Cool!
Bruce
The cost of overpopulation. And by 2050, according to the Pew Research Center, the population will have grown from the current ~303 million to 438 million. (439 million according to the Census Bureau.) The source of 82% of that growth, according to Pew? Mass immigration. If you want to fight it, go to numbersusa.com, and get on their email list. They let you know when an important issue comes up, and have you fax (it’s really easy the way they have set it up) or call your representative. The reason amnesty hasn’t become law despite the fact that senators from McCain and Larry Craig to Obama and Kennedy have been pushing “comprehensive immigration reform bills” for the last four or five years is that people alerted by numbersusa.com have been telling their representatives they don’t want amnesty everytime the bill comes up.
WELCOME TO ILLINOIS
WELCOME TO THE TOLL ROAD
PAY TOLL 1 MILE
As an Illinois resident, let me share a tidbit that nobody has hit on yet: construction beginning in 2010 won’t finish until, conservatively, 2058.
In the meantime, we’ll all have spent a number of hours equivalent to 2nd Grade sitting in construction traffic, because the entire job went to the governor’s aide’s girlfriend’s brother’s construction firm. In the name of reducing congestion, of course!
Based on what I’ve seen of efficiency in Chicago construction, it’s anybody’s guess whether this project will be finished before the advent of personal transporters like on “Star Trek.” Only time will tell! Time, and large piles of your tax dollars!
David Holzman :
The cost of overpopulation.
And here I thought it was the cost of elected officials with the brain activity of an autistic three-year-old. Interesting theory, however! What did you smoke to come up with it? Also: spamming on this site is not allowed, just to let you know why your comment faces imminent deletion.
And here I thought it was the cost of elected officials with the brain activity of an autistic three-year-old. Interesting theory, however! What did you smoke to come up with it?
It is another cost of overpopulation.
John
Greed Lanes?
Why is gov’t so damn expensive these days?
Let’s scale back to those steel desks that last 50 years, IBM electric typewriters that last decades, and do away with all of the computers…
The spending is way, way out of hand!!!
They need to follow Indiana’s (or Mitch Daniels) Major Moves which as been a big success for money to improve roads and create jobs in the process.
According to the link below…
When Mitch Daniels took office as Indiana’s governor in 2005, he inherited a transportation system in crisis. The state was a whopping $2.8 billion short of resources for its roads.
Daniels’s options included a significant hike in the state’s gas tax, a big increase in the state’s debt, or, doing as his predecessors had done, ignoring the problem and making piecemeal improvements to the state’s roads as money became available. Instead, he proposed leasing the Indiana Toll Road (ITR), a 157-mile stretch of highway running between Indiana’s northern-most borders of Illinois and Ohio, to a private company. Operated by Indiana’s Department of Transportation it had lost more than $16 million in 2005.
After considering a pool of bidders, Daniels accepted a $3.85 billion offer to maintain and operate the ITR for 75 years from the Indiana Toll Road Concession Company (ITRCC), a consortium of Cintra, a Spanish toll road operator, and Macquarie, an Australian infrastructure group.
(more)
http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/015/672azvxl.asp
But I know Illinois will never want to do something like this with the party that runs that state. Tough place to live indeed…
Juniormint & David Holzman: Not to worry, our problems are all solved….just have to wait on the funding
NYT Article
Website
JuniorMint: I could not have said it any better myself. My daily commute route for the past 5 years has included this wonderful tollway.
They have actually rebuilt parts of it twice due to poor planning. Imagine the same 5 mile stretch of highway under construction for 5 YEARS Straight! And now old governor Blago wants to rip it up again! ARRRRRGGGGHHHH!
Nice Try, But your picture is in INDIANA
I too drive 94. Living thru construction now, I guess it will go on forever!! Actually the north end in Illinois is in pretty good shape, and drive thru tolling seems to work well.(at least less hassle)
@fourbangersforbidden:
What’s up my fellow I-294 commuter!
If I rear end you in stop and go traffic during a miserable cold and rainy rush hour grind home,
it’s just my way of saying hello!
@CoffeeJones:
Sounds good! My rear bumper is all messed up anyways, so feel free to say Hi!
Seriously though, I don’t know how much more of this traffic I can take. Sometimes, I’m in over 2 hrs of traffic just on my way home!!