VinnyVincent

I just read some info that would suggest that our elected officials have pushed for existing roads to be converted into access roads for the toll lanes that have been added. I understand this would be way off in the future for 288, but to me seems like that would be their eventual goal.

Here is some interesting discussion on this topic. Apparently I'm not in the vast minority as Houston2048327507437 and iron tiger would have you all believe: http://www.twtex.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-29701.html

No. No they don't. Stop lying.

And again, your entire post has absolutely nothing to do with their policy regarding motorcycles during HOT hours. You accuse me of lying when you're the one trying to intentionally mislead and confuse people.

Now you sound like a ridiculous child. My original statement was and still is true. You can not ride a motorcycle on the I10 HOV lanes for free during HOT hours. Whether it's in a motorcycle or a multi passenger car. You CAN ride on the 290 HOV lane during any time it is open, including HOT hours. It's really simple; Metro allows motorcycles on for free during HOT hours, HCTRA doesn't. No need to attempt to obscure that fact anymore than you already have. Stop trying to twist things around to discredit me and suit your bureaucrat troll road agenda.

Let's not waste time arguing over senseless technicalities. effectively, you would have to pay to get on the I-10 managed lanes during certain times on a motorcycle, where you can ride on the 290 lanes anytime they are open. Besides, it does not help your argument since you are now stating that HCTRA does not allow HOV PERIOD during toll hours. That's a lot worse than just cutting out motorcyclists. I'm sure they argued the HOV point when they were lobbying for the I 10 lanes too then they turn around and pull that BS. What a disgrace.

ANyhow I know we've gotten quite off topic but this was my original point that keeps getting disputed. People asked why I dislike HCTRA and I told them they don't have the best interest of the public in mind. A prime example would be the differing motorcycle policies when you compare HCTRA to METRO.

No worries I'm pretty sure Houston435438765298754 was just trolling/misleading people by making false claims to support his pro toll road bureaucrat agenda. I can see where you got mixed up for sure.

That's from metro's HOT 290 FAQ. http://www.ridemetro.org/Pages/HOVandHOTLanesFAQs.aspx

What you aren't understanding is the part that says "on all other harris county toll road authority facilities" 290 is not an HCTRA facility and therefor does not fall under that rule. It is free to use it during HOT hours on a motorcycle. End of story. I did it daily for years. Rode right past the metro police doing it...trust me its free.

Okay not sure where you got any of that from but if that's what you think after reading their website I think you may have some serious reading comprehension problems. but we aren't talking about HOV. We are talking about HOT hours. 290 is not ALWAYS HOV. What are you smoking? I ride past the sign that says "HOT: 5.00" daily. motorcycles are free on 290 during HOV AND HOT hours. They are not free on I-10 during their HOT hours. Seems to me like you aren't understanding the info you are reading correctly. Let me guess; you don't even live in Houston either?

Try to keep up... You do realize I have to drive home? I've already gone over those times...no one is lying here. If you were really trying to educate people on the facts, you would post where motorcycles are free during HOT hours as well.

Actually we've gotten quite far off topic here. (possibly iron tigers intention with his troll antics) I could make some points where it kind of isn't their intention, rather an excuse to make the road more profitable, but I'd rather go another direction... I understand that all that is a method to reduce HOV lane congestion.(at least it seems that way) What I don't understand is why 290 needs 3 "HOV" lanes when I ride my motorcycle down the HOV lane between 6:30-6:50 doing anywhere from 60-80 mph depending on who is leading the pack, meanwhile traffic in the main lanes is completely stopped for miles. It literally looks like driving by a parking lot that is miles long some mornings. After you witness that and then you read about a plan for them to expand the mainlanes by only one lane, all while adding two more "HOV" lanes that are actually just toll roads 90% of the time, it becomes quite obvious what they are trying to accomplish.

We can go back and forth on this but the bottom line is HCTRA and their proposal to put three "HOV" lanes in the center of 290 was nothing more than an attempt to turn 290 into a toll road. It's only an HOV lane for what 2 hours a day? The rest of the day it operates just like any other toll road. But dang how do they get all that traffic($) they are missing during rush hour? Oh thats right they change it to a three passenger minimum and charge everyone else who does't have three passengers, which is pretty much everyone. Call it an HOV lane to smooth it over with the sheeple(you apparently) and everyones happy. They get their toll road and you think they somehow compromised and actually care how long you sit in traffic and not anything more than how much they can extract...Why didn't I think of that?

Wrong. They can let me ride on their enclosed HOV lane which greatly reduces the risk of another car not seeing me and running into my lane, thus causing me to crash and not have the protection of airbags, seatbelt or a metal frame(thanks for pointing that out they didn't go over it in my MSF course) Apparently your opinion in this matter is the minority since your elected officials as well as elected officials in most states have decided to let motorcycles use the HOV lane for free in order to prevent accidents. Your friends over at HCTRA however decided to charge motorcyclists to the fullest extent of the law, so during the hours when it's a TOLL ROAD they charge motorcycles to use the lane, therefor most of them aren't going to pay since traffic is moving at full speed and thus are at higher risk. Thanks HCTRA. Metro doesn't extend such courtesy and instead they let motorcycles use the lane for free any time, and especially when it actually benefits them, which is when traffic is traveling at full speed.

I think you might be missing the part where I was referring to the time frame CLOSE to HOV only hours. AKA heavy traffic hours where there is stop and go trffic on main lanes, yet the HOV is open to single riders paying toll(HOT) Of course there's no traffic at 12P.M. in a lane you have to pay toll in(don't be silly) Which brings me to my whole point about motorcycles; The whole reason they are allowed on the HOV is a state thing that has to do with safety. However, rush hour is not the time when a motorcyclists life is in danger the most. That would be when traffic is heavy yet flowing at full speed...precisely the time when the kind folks at HCTRA are making cyclists pay a toll. Why do they do that you ask? Because during "HOT" hours it is legally a toll lane not an HOV, so no more state requirement to protect motorcyclists safety...thanks a lot for caring HCTRA at any rate, I wasn't referring to that time frame when I mentioned HOT congestion disrupting HOV users. HOV switches to HOT only at 4:30p.m. now(recently pushed back from 5p.m. due to complaints from HOV users sitting in HOT traffic) Try showing up at 4:10 and then show up at 4:45. You'll be waiting in line all the way back to I-10 at 4:10 VS driving right thru at 4:45 during HOV only hours. Things change fast in our city bro. You lived here for three months and then moved however long ago. Sorry bro but you likely know next to nothing about commuting in houston. I'm not exactly sure why you are participating in this discussion TBH when you have no real world experience in the matter.

Did you even read that link you posted? The "congestion" was in the Katy HOV lanes, not 290. They simply forced parts of the I-10 legislation onto the 290 lane which is the extent of 290 being mentioned in that article lol... Why are you trying to debunk this so bad? I'm telling you we are being pissed on and told it's raining. That freaking lane was NEVER congested until they made it HOT. Some .gov site mentions a different road nearby being congested and right away you think it applies to 290 and they have no reason to use some phony excuse to charge you extra taxes AKA tolls? Lol...I guess I should just give it up. Apparently everyone likes getting the shaft by their local government while they pretend they are being taken care of. WHat a joke.

I've lived off 290 back when it was only an HOV lane with not HOT option. It was never backed up until they made it an HOT lane. Period. End of story. I ride my motorcycle on the HOV lane during the time when it gets switched from HOT to HOV only. Sometimes I am there early and the thing is backed up all the way out of the park and ride station...show up a little late when it's HOV only and I ride right through without even slowing down. I'm speaking from real world experience here. You're somebody living out of state using google trying to tell me you know the road I commute on daily better than I do... Anyways try to read between the lines a little instead of being a total sheeple type. Read what you just said "switching to 3+ allowed the lanes to be used as HOT in the first place". Okay so traffic was too bad to allow single riders to pay toll so what do they do? Change the carpooling requirements so that virtually no one can use the car pool lane to allow room for single riders to pay toll...yeah that makes a lot of sense right? Maybe if you're the one collecting tolls it does...

Three months? lol I guess that means you're an expert. Contrary to you I have been commuting the stretch from barker cypress to 610 daily, during prime traffic hoursfor almost ten years now.its clogged up because metro opened the lanes up to use as an HOT lane. Period. The lane does not get backed up during HOV hours because hardly anyone carpools during their commute/rush hour. In other words it's clogged up because they decided to open it up as a toll lane. If they used the lane as as designed(an HOV lane not a toll road) one lane would be plenty. Instead of gee, I dunno adding additional main lanes, they decided to plan on adding more toll lanes.

You're the one talking out of your ass here. I commuted on 290 DURING the non HOV hours, in the HOT lane, for free. Personally did it on a daily basis for work...so not only is it an option to ride the HOT hours with metro, but metro doesn't give you the "bonus" of having to pay tolls like HCTRA does in I-10. You do realize that using the lanes during HOT hours "FOR A FEE" does not mean it's free right? I sure hope so...

Dude...read the information you just posted lol. It says "subject to tolls at other times". Meaning "not free". THat's not the case on the 290 HOV, it is always free. Trust me I would know, I commuted on a MC for years. Last I checked they were only expanding 290 one lane in each direction. Perhaps that info is outdated now since the whole thing has been a total train wreck and keeps changing as time goes by(likely due to HCTRA throwing a monkey wrench into the whole thing when they tried to scam us to begin with) So I really don't think it's fair to call me ignorant/dishonest when you didn't even read the HCTRA info you posted and if you are so aware of whats going on with the 290 project like you portray yourself to be, you would know good and well that it had been planned as a one lane expansion in each direction for quite some time. You sure you're from Houston or are yet another person who isn't even from here, who "rode on the HOV one time when traveling" and is getting the rest of their info from heresy and google?

"not necessarily toll lanes"??? Dude get real. I commute on 290 for it's entire congested section on a daily basis and I can tell you the you are way off on that brother. Let me break it down for you; read closely since you have now made it known that you don't even live in Houston but somehow know what's best for our local transportation... The single lane that it currently has is under-used during HOV only hours as it is. TO suggest that it "needed" two MORE lanes is totally absurd. There simply aren't that many people driving multi passenger vehicles during congested hours. It's about revenue plain and simple. THat's ALL and HOT lane is folks...it's a GLORIFIED TOLL ROAD Since you don't even live here you probably don't know the people who legitimately use the HOV have pushed back more than once when the HOT hours were being extended far into rush hour and causing the HOV drivers to have to sit in traffic caused by people paying the HOT toll. That should clue you in right there. The lane started as strictly HOV and motorcycles, then they saw an opportunity to make some money so made it an HOT, then they started expanding the hours to effectively make the lane a glorified toll road. Further more look at the I-10 lanes which are managed by HCTRA. They don't allow motorcycles on for free. Why is it that metro allows motorcycles on for free on the 290 HOT, but HCTRA charges motorcycles like cars on the I-10 lanes?....guess they don't care if motorcyclists die is the way I see it. They'd rather make that five dollars each way than save someone life. Can you believe that? As it stands, they are only expanding the main lanes by one lane in each direction. Adding two more HOT lanes would have effectively troubled the expansion efforts, correct?... why we they only contributing 400 million if the proposed effort was doubling the amount of development? Gee something is funny there. Wonder what the real reason they backed out was lol!

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