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people dont wanna car pool including me. who wants to drive to work with 2 or 3 schmucks you dont even know??? suppose your nads itch or something boy wouldn't you feel stupid trying to be incognito by saying your looking for change in your pocket. i like to drive with pantera or mudvayne at earsplitting levels, cant do that in a car pool. maybe i wanna think outloud, pick my nose, scratch my butt, or i'm stuck in traffic and i gotta pee in my coffee cup, or i wanna check out the hot babe in the next car over. giving up all that aint worth saving a few gallons of gas<br>
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I lived in So Cal from 1947-1990, and again from 1999-2004 . I drove all of the freeways from their beginnings. Watched them go from a great way to get somewhere in a hurry, to parking lots. I was even a truck driver in the LA area from 1980-85. So I speak from experience when I say that those car pool lanes are one of those ideas that sound good on paper buy don't work in real life. Thousands of time's I noticed that the car pool lane had very few cars almost empty and the few cars that were using it were flying along at like 70mph, and all of the other lanes were stop and go. Sometimes out of frustration people will illegally enter the car pool lane, creating a deadly scenario. It just makes sense to me to open all of the lanes to help disperse the traffic as much as possible.<br><br>
I would love to see a huge monorail system that uses the space over the existing freeways. Now that would cut down on traffic.
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<blockquote>With all due respect, my cycling brother, but why'd you have to go an'
start that?? The discussion is obviously going to lead to nothing
productive...</blockquote><br><br><br>With all due respect...one shouldn't badmouth another members post...<br><br>with all due respect., of course.<img src="http://static.yuku.com//domainskins/bypass/img/smileys/wink.gif"><br>
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You're right, Jeff.<br><br>
And to t'other Jeff: I was wrong to criticize your thread, and I apologize. Last year I was all too familiar with that agitated, out-of-sorts place... I'm with you...
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A traffic jam here is 15 cars. I sometimes chuckle at that. I'll be sitting there and saying "what in the world is the hold up" while being able to count the cars holding me up. <img src="http://www.ezboard.com/images/emoticons/happy.gif">
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Jeff, everything's cool. I got a chuckle that Greg noticed the thread was out of character for me.<br><br>
But back to the actual topic, which I've been avoiding. I think for the Twin Cities area, the theory's been great but the actual implementation hasn't come close to what they were hoping for. No one's really changed their mentality (for a host of reasons--some just attitude, and some quite legit) so the lanes are very under utilized. They opened them up as toll roads for single occupancy and that really brought out a big debate about "lanes for the rich." MNDOT has their hands tied, because the feds tied the existing lanes (I394) to federal funds. I35W south of downtown Minneapolis is getting new HOV lanes, opening up the great debate about how effective they'll be. At the same time though, they're an additional lane, so they aren't "taking away" existing capacity.<br><br>
I think they're a great idea, and I wish/hope they could work everywhere. I'm also a realist, so get torn about where I actually stand, given the complexity of everything involved. Clear as mud?
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This thread so far is productive...lots of thoughts about it I see...got my puter up and running again, so here goes...<br>So let's see...the low emission cars get to use the carpool lanes with one or more occupants. One? Why one? What good is that? Why shouldn't they be in the regular lanes like other people with one occupant? THAT seems like stupid logic (or no logic) to me, zero. That solo person is paying the same amount of gas tax as the cars in the stop and go lanes, actually less since they are getting more miles per gallon, thus paying less taxes. The cars in the other lanes are paying the same taxes per gallon, yet they can't use that one lane that hardly anyone uses. I believe that to be an infringement of the rights of the people in the stop and go lanes. They pay the same tax per gallon! Why is it fair for everyone to pay the same tax for the road, yet not have access to the entire roadway??? <br>I think it makes more sense for the low emission vehicles to only be allowed in the non carpool lanes since they emit less pollution. Think how cleaner our air would be if we did that? The higher emission cars wouldn't be in that stop and go mode emitting more pollution than necessary. When the traffic flows, it creates LESS pollution. Stop and go actually creates more pollution, so I say open up the road to all people who pay the same gas tax per gallon, and watch the traffic flow much better, and we can "save the planet" at the same time.<br>What is to argue about that?<br>Vote for me for King, and I'll make all your wildest dreams come true...<br><br>Here's an example of rush hour(s) traffic on Highway 50 near my house. 3 lanes of pavement, only two lanes for single drivers, the left lane for low emission cars, and two or more occupants in other vehicles. Two lanes of stop and go, wasting fuel and emitting planet killing fumes...the "carpool" lane has a car whiz by once in a while...see any in the mirror? See any in front?<br><img src="http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y103/ScottWheels/IMG_5582.jpg" alt="image"><br>It's pretty darn frustrating to pay for all the road, yet confined to designated lanes only. Not everyone can carpool or afford a new low emission car. I can't work out of one anyway, like so many other business owners or employees...<br>It's a plain...shame...<br>More government control for "feel good" legislation that is ineffective and silly...in my opinion of course!!<br>FREE OUR CARPOOL LANES!!!<img src="http://www.dodgetalk.com/forums/images/smilies/gr_bs.gif"><br>
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<blockquote><b>SHEEPERS FOR KING!!!!!!!</b></blockquote>
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<font size="1"><blockquote>people dont wanna car pool including me. who wants to drive to work with
2 or 3 schmucks you dont even know??? suppose your nads itch or
something boy wouldn't you feel stupid trying to be incognito by saying
your looking for change in your pocket. i like to drive with pantera or
mudvayne at earsplitting levels, cant do that in a car pool. maybe i
wanna think outloud, pick my nose, scratch my butt, or i'm stuck in
traffic and i gotta pee in my coffee cup, or i wanna check out the hot
babe in the next car over. giving up all that aint worth saving a few
gallons of gas</blockquote><br>Did I really have to hear about nads, boogs , butt and pee all in the same thread? <img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v67/chickluu/hee%20hee%20stuff/giggy.gif" alt="image"><br>I love this place...<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v67/chickluu/hee%20hee%20stuff/smileys/emoticon-0136-giggle.gif" alt="image"><br></font>
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