Why are HOV lanes on provincial highways separated from general traffic by a buffer zone, rather than a physical barrier?
The Ministry of Transportation (MTO) is committed to safe highway operation. MTO’s HOV lanes have been designed to a high safety standard, based on the proven best practices from over 30 years of HOV operation in other jurisdictions. Many of our highway corridors have limited rights-of-way — a barrier-separated HOV lane would reduce the widths of our highway shoulders, enforcement areas, and lanes, and would make it much more difficult to remove snow. Further, using a painted buffer zone to separate HOV lanes from general traffic lanes permits a greater number of entry and exit locations along the highway than a physical barrier, allowing carpools to enjoy the convenience of HOV lanes and still have access to their desired exit along the way. Finally, the painted buffer permits entry/exit locations to be more quickly adjusted to respond to changes in traffic patterns and volumes.
Related Questions
- Municipalities have had HOV lanes for years but they don seem to be enforced. How are provincial HOV lanes different?
- Are the HOV lanes really a strategy to make traffic so bad that voters will support light rail to Clark County?
- Why do HOV lanes use the left lane on highways and the right lane on city streets?
