Silent MTA and a Caltrans plan to add another lane to the 10 Freeway

The plan to convert existing carpool lanes into toll lanes might have some interesting implications for the 10 Freeway: specifically, Caltrans, the state's highway agency, wants to add an extra lane to the 10 Freeway. The upside to this plan is that apparently the freeway is wide enough to accommodate the extra lane already (I am guessing because the bus lane on the left side is HUGE and has sort of a unnecessary buffer zone that takes up a lot of space.)

The unresolved question at this point is whether the extra lane will become an extra toll lane or an extra lane for general traffic. A Caltrans spokeswoman said it is not yet clear but added that "potentially" it could be a toll lane. I take that to mean that nothing is set in stone yet, but that the agency's intent is to make it a toll lane.

Caltrans was extremely forthcoming in answering my questions on the subject, even though it was clear that the public information office did not yet know a lot about the plan. MTA public information, on the other hand, is not commenting for tomorrow's story on the toll lane project, and still refuses to give any details on who may or may not get to use the toll lanes for free, even though an agency report says they are looking at allowing three-person carpools for free on the 10 Freeway during peak times, and two-person carpools on the 110.

I have said it before, but I think the MTA's refusal to talk about the details of the plan has been the major roadblock to its completion....however, even though they won't talk to me, they are at least now talking to state legislators, which is why the toll lane plan passed through the Assembly Transportation Committee unopposed yesterday.

UPDATE: No sooner had I posted this entry, I got a call from a MTA spokesman to, at last, confirm that three-person carpools will be able to use the 10 Freeway for free, and two-person carpools will be able to use the 110 Freeway for free. I'd like to think they were responding to the blog entry, but nobody I talk to MTA has ever given me reason to believe they read this blog. Of course, that does not mean that they don't, but I am chalking it up to a coincidence.