For the week of April 3 - 9 , 2002

Michael asks support for HOV lane study

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By PETER BOLTZ
Express Staff Writer

Blaine County Commissioner Sarah Michael asked the Wood River Regional Transportation Committee on Thursday for its support for a study of an "incremental implementation" of high-occupancy vehicle lanes on Highway 75.

Although there was no quorum of the committee at its March 28 meeting, the members present expressed support of the study, which would be conducted by the Idaho Department of Transportation.

There are several stretches of the highway between Hailey and Ketchum where there are three lanes of traffic.

Michael has been promoting the idea of using one lane as an HOV lane, which she said she hopes would in turn promote carpooling and a commuter bus.

A new Highway 75, the object of a National Environmental Policy Act study being conducted by the ITD, may have HOV lanes from Timmerman Hill to Ketchum.

But before a new highway is built, Michael and other proponents of HOV lanes want to incorporate them into the highway before changes are made in the highway. Thus the qualifier of "incremental."

The Department’s District 4 engineer, Devin Rigby, said his department would like to see "fairly unilateral support of HOV lanes" before conducting the study.

"We don’t want to come in and impose our ideas on the Wood River Valley," he said. "We’ve learned our lesson."

The transportation committee is an advisory committee to the Blaine County Commissioners. It will be up to the commission to give the ITD the go-ahead on the study.

 

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