I-85 HOT Lane Falls Short

One year later, the controversial HOT lane is making money, but not nearly as much as projected.

  After one year of operating, the I-85 HOT lane is making money but falls short of even the lowest revenue predictions, the AJC reported. The controversial toll lane was unpopular with drivers as soon as it was rolled out on Oct. 1, 2011, forcing the state to lower the tolls in order to attract cars into the lane, according to the AJC. But drivers are using the HOT lane. Thousands have signed up for the Peach Pass, and in the first 11 months, that brought in $3.05 million. That's short of the projected revenue of $3.3 million to $6.7 million, according to figures from the AJC. But income is increasing, and if it continues, revenues might eventually pay for the costs of operating the lane. That wasn't the reason for creating the toll, …

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Rates Reduced on Express Lanes for Off-Peak Hours

SRTA has reduced toll rates from 10-90 to 1-90 cents per mile, effectively reducing the cost to ride in the I-85 express lanes when the traffic is lighter.

The State Road and Tollway Authority announced it has reduced the cost of driving on the I-85 Express Lanes. Instead of paying between 10-90 cents per mile depending on traffic flow, drivers will pay between 1-90 cents per mile. So now when the traffic flow is light, it will cost you less to drive in the toll lanes. According to a news release on the Peach Pass website, this went into immediate effect when passed by the SRTA Board on Friday. “We are pleased to institute this operational improvement for our customers,” SRTA Executive Director Gena L. Evans said in the release. “Now motorists using the Express Lanes during off peak hours could pay as low as 16 cents for the full distance of an Express Lanes trip.” Rates given as typical off-…

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Are Reversible Lanes a Good Idea on I-85?

Lt. Governor Casey Cagle says he’d like to add movable barriers to help the flow of traffic. What do you think?

With the public still reeling from the HOT lane project on I-85, Lt. Governor Casey Cagle has brought a new idea to the table: creating “reversible” lanes that widen one part of the highway during the I-85 commute. The Gwinnett Daily Post reports that the “grandiose” idea may be even more real the earlier thought, with county officials saying that the reversible lanes have been discussed by an advisory group whose report could be ready as early as March.  The idea is to add movable barriers that would change some northbound lanes into southbound lanes in the morning, and vice versa in the afternoon.  Some say they are all for any measure that would improve commutes—and have commended the idea for its creativity.  Others have said it is …

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Don W.

7:56 am on Friday, December 30, 2011

Well said! It's a never ending cycle it seems that has to be shaken up by truly different ideas. Until we get some of those, we will be stuck in traffic...   more ›

Feds Deny State's Request for Waiver on HOT Lanes

A request to lower the limit to two people instead of three in a car in order to qualify to ride in the express lanes on I-85 has reportedly been denied by the Federal Highway Administration.

CBS News Atlanta is reporting that federal authorities have denied Georgia’s request for a waiver on requiring three people in a car in order to qualify to ride for free on the new I-85 toll system. The state made the request following an outcry from the public after traffic backed up on the toll portion of I-85 through Gwinnett and Dekalb counties when the new system went into effect Oct. 1. According to reports, in denying the request, U.S. Department of Transportation officials said it is too early to evaluate the effectiveness. A waiver would have allowed cars carrying two people to also use the lanes for free. About 10,000 a day are reported to now use the express lanes. Although use has increased since it was first launched, members …

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HOT Lane Protest Groups Form Coalition

Against the Peach Pass, Stop the HOT Lane and Stop Peach Pass organizers have joined forces to oppose the use of HOT lanes in Georgia.

In an effort to address a controversial issue with a single, stronger voice, organizers of three groups opposed to the controversial I-85 toll lanes have joined forces to create StolenLanes.org. Victor A. Ramkisson of Against The Peach Pass, Howard Rodgers of Stop the HOT Lane! and Chris K. Haley of Stop Peach Pass hope to solidify the community’s opposition to the HOT (High Occupancy Toll) lanes. According to StolenLanes.org, nearly 10,000 people have rallied behind the cause. "The number of citizens represented by our combined coalition is a force to be reckoned with," said Rodgers in a released statement. "The number of people opposed to the recent implementation of the HOT lanes keeps growing," added Victor Ramkisson. "This is not a …

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HOT Lanes - Just Another Government Boondoggle?

Pay-as-you go express lanes aren't working says one state senator.

By Sen. Curt Thompson (D-Tucker):  “Something is happening here But you don’t know what it is Do you Mr. Jones?” --Bob Dylan, Ballad of a Thin Man It feels Dylan-esque these days. Maybe it’s watching the return of the protest movement by Occupy Wall Street that brings Dylan to mind.  But sitting at a standstill in my district watching the HOT Lane boondoggle—not reduce—traffic is what really has me asking, “What’s happening here?” It’s not just the concentration of wealth among a few that is fueling the large scale support of the protestor’s message of “We’re the 99%.” It’s a real sense that the folks running our government aren’t even slightly interested in making government work for us. Sitting on I-85 at 4:30 p.m. looking at an unused …

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Local Senator Co-Hosting HOT Lane Forum

Curt Thompson will hold a town hall meeting about the hot-button issue on tonight.

Sen. Curt Thompson (D-Tucker) will be co-hosting a town hall meeting to hear feedback on the I-85 HOT lane project tonight, Thurs., Nov. 17, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Thompson, who has an office in downtown Norcross and represents parts of the area, said in a release that he has received a record number of emails and phone calls about the new high-occupancy toll lanes.   "I want to ensure these people are being heard,” said Thompson in the release. “We are looking for constructive criticism that can be used to ease congestion problems on Interstate 85.”  The town hall, which will be co-hosted by Sen. Renee Unterman (R-Buford), will be held in the main auditorium of the Gwinnett Justice and Administration Center at 75 Langley Dr.  State Road …

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Question of the Week

Are HOT Lanes Catching On?

The state reports that HOT lane usage has tripled in the first month. Does this mean HOT lanes are working?

Every week, Patch asks the community at large to weigh in on an issue in the news.  Four weeks after they opened, the Gwinnett Daily Post reports that HOT lanes have tripled in usage. More than 10,000 drivers used the high occupancy toll lanes last Thursday, they wrote, supporting officials' expectations that the usage would pick up.  Public outcry about the new lanes prompted Gov. Nathan Deal to lower the rates and pursue changing the number of passengers required to be expempt from the toll charge.  What do you think? Are HOT lanes working for you, now that a few kinks have been worked out? Or are they nothing more than a headache that drivers are getting used to? Tell us in the comments. 

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Things Get Heated at HOT Lane Town Hall

Some Gwinnett County residents say they felt duped and didn't get their concerns heard.

Gwinnett County residents were invited by State Senator Renee Unterman to attend a Town Hall Monday evening to discuss the HOT Lane. When residents arrived at the event in NorthView Church in Buford, many told Fox 5 Atlanta they were duped and could not speak out about the HOT Lane. The meeting was originally scheduled to be a Republican Town Hall, but Unterman invited residents so they could discuss the HOT Lane.  WSB-TV says many people who attended the event called it "a waste of time." Channel 2 says the first hour was spent listening to politicians and only a half hour was set aside to answer questions about the HOT Lane. However, officials only answered questions submitted in advance in writing. "They bamboozled us," Grayson resident…

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One Man's Fight to Stop the HOT Lane

A Lawrenceville man made it his mission to put the brakes on the new HOT Lane on I-85.

Howard Rodgers is tired of traffic. He believed the newly opened HOT Lane on I-85 would ease his commute from Lawrenceville to Atlanta. Instead, he says his commute has doubled. “It’s gone from taking me 45 minutes in each direction to get home, to over an hour and a half, two hours each commute.” So Rodgers started a grassroots campaign to put the brakes on the HOT Lane. On Sunday, Rodgers and his family—who are also tired of the commute—set up camp outside of the Gwinnett Justice and Administration Center. They were asking other commuters who were fed up with the HOT Lane to sign a petition. Although “Stop the HOT Lane” only received a few dozen sign-ups in that day, according to the group’s website, more than 1,100 people have given …

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