Are the HOV lanes really a strategy to make traffic so bad that voters will support light rail to Clark County?
No. The HOV lane in Washington is created by the I-5 widening project. The new travel lane is being designated as an HOV lane only during peak travel times. The lane provides a time-savings to encourage people to carpool and take transit as a means to better manage both congestion and air pollution. Short of a major capital investment in the corridor, the Vancouver I-5 HOV project results in a two directional bi-state facility in the corridor with a morning southbound lane in Vancouver and a evening northbound lane in Oregon. It offers an immediate opportunity to improve travel mobility in the corridor without replacing the Interstate Bridge. There is no one solution to travel in the corridor. Other studies, including the I-5 Transportation Partnership Study, are exploring light rail, HOV, and other transit solutions, as well as roadway improvements, in the I-5 corridor to address transportation needs in the corridor. This study is analyzing wide variety of transportation and land use
