Tolls to limit rush hour driving?

[hvatum]

Originally Posted by Duffman

I agree.
But in some places though there is poor trafic engineering that could help congestion problems. The point I was making (and this is specific to california) is they dont have a car problem, they have a people problem. It is so easy to say exhaust emmisions are the problem (& I acknowledge there is room for improvement there) but what california needs to do is say, we're full, nobody else is moving in. To deny people the use of roads is stupid, roads have a pretty fundemental use in the economy, moving goods and people for commercial purposes and you need cars and trucks to make this happen.

North America is a really big place and there is lots of other room for people to live in but its just not good politics to face reality sometimes.

The problem with California is that it's transport system is rubbish. The problem isn't people, per se, but the combination of people with a totally car driven culture where people often live very far from where they work. Add to that extended distances of low density development and you have a traffic nightmare. The attitude that "America is big so we might as well spread out" is actually a big contributer to traffic. Things being far apart means that people need to drive further to get to them. I suppose if you mean that people should move out to Montana and build a new city there, then yeah that would help. But LA is already spread out enough.

Other cities with higher population densities, such as Berlin or even Tokyo, have fewer traffic problems than Los Angeles.

Atlanta is an even more egregious example, 1/6th the population density of LA but the traffic still sucks. Just goes to show you that a low density city is not the solution. More cities might be though. Or an intelligently designed transportation system with staggered work days, congestion fees, efficient public transportation and so on.

Originally Posted by Lost Cause

The potential carpoolee could be a billionaire or the president of the universe, but if he's human he deserves no preferential treatment. I say get rid of the carpool lane and let everyone share the road equally. The solution should be applied to all, not a select few.

If they're willing to subsidize our roadways, and their time is worth enough that they'll pay extra, why stop them? This of course assumes that the government will actually spend the fees on improving transport systems. But, assuming they do that means more money for improving roads, getting more people on buses and such and a faster commute for you. And all it cost you was perhaps a bit of annoyance that rich people get to drive faster than you. I'm all for it. The fees could be a bit higher though.