North 16 Project (Austin: school, buses, public transportation)

[RyanRCB810]

Since it is back to school, I thought I would do this like a pop quiz.

Is the North 16 Project going to help ease congestion on 35?
a.) No
b.) Nope
c.) Stop being so cynical
d.) “All they have to do is add another lane instead of a toll lane"
e.) All of the above

On a more serious note, did anyone attend the meeting? And if you did what is your takeaway?

Story link: TxDOT wants to add express lanes to 16-mile stretch of I-35 | KXAN.com

[Westerner92]

I'll have to see how the Mopac express lanes work before I say for sure, but I've come around to the concept if for no other reason than it encourages public transportation usage by making buses more reliable. Once a road is jammed, it's almost impossible to unjam it, especially in fast-growing cities. The whole point of these lanes isn't to make traffic better, but to always have a reliably free-flowing lane for public transportation and emergencies.

[gabetx]

Lets see.... Has 130 or 45 had any benefit to traffic congestion in Austin?

Toll lanes do not work! How about HOV lanes or just adding a fourth lane like every normal large American city.

[Meaux]

If 45 had some non toll lanes (even as frontage) I bet it would have made a big impact. But it is 100% toll.

Same with the north section of 135.

We drive some crazy serpentine routes to avoid tolls ... definitely ADDING to the traffic.