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Continued from page 17 fore toll lanes were settled on.
Why is GDOT not placing tolls on existing lanes instead of building new toll lanes?
GDOT cites a combination of practical and regulatory reasons. In practice, converting four lanes of Ga. 400 to tolls would reduce capacity by about 40 percent and make congestion worse, GDOT says. In addition, GDOT is operating under a policy requiring that any new lanes it builds must be tolled, and a federal restriction on converting generalpurpose lanes to toll lanes. The policy could be changed and there are exemptions to the federal rules that could apply locally. But for now, the political climate is against changes following removal of toll booths elsewhere on Ga. 400 in 2013 and a 2011 controversy over converting an I-85 HOV lane to a tolled lane.
How do the toll lanes work?
The tolls would only be collected on the newly built toll lanes. Drivers have the choice of whether to use the lanes. Using the toll lanes requires a Peach Pass, an electronic tag registered to a vehicle. The price would vary and would be set by the State Road and Tollway Authority in real time depending on the level of congestion on the lanes. The idea behind the variable pricing is to keep traffic flowing in the lanes faster than in the regular lanes. Giving drivers the option to have a faster trip time on the toll lanes is expected to lower congestion in the regular lanes as well, according to GDOT.
Toll Lanes Briefs D O R AVILLE CITY CO U NCILM EM B ER SPEAKS O U T AG AINST I - 2 8 5 TO LL LANES
WE CAN HELP YOU FIND IT call us at one of our convenient locations ATLANTA NORTH 770-622-3081 ATLANTA PERIMETER 770-394-2131 BIG CANOE® 770-893-2400 BLAIRSVILLE 706-745-3000 BLUE RIDGE 706-632-7211 BUCKHEAD 404-233-4142 BUCKHEAD NORTH 404-814-9000 BUCKHEAD NORTHWEST 404-261-2700 THE COLLECTION AT FORSYTH 770-497-2000 COBB MARIETTA 770-422-6005
Doraville City Councilmember Joseph Geierman is publicly speaking out against the planned I-285 “top end” toll lanes, which are expected to begin construction in 2023 and which state officials say will cost nearly $5 billion. Building more lanes, Geierman said, even if they are toll lanes, will only bring more traffic. He also criticized what he said was a secretive process of informing the public about what is happening. “It’s infuriating to me that the state is spending billions on this project ... that I guess is an Atlanta Regional Commission plan published years ago,” he said. “It was mostly developed by engineers at the Georgia Department of Transportation
and ARC and then socialized into certain groups but never made public.” The “I-285 Top End Express Lanes” project focuses on adding two new elevated, barrier-separated express lanes in both directions on I-285, alongside regular travel lanes. They could stand 30 feet or higher. GDOT says the added toll lanes would alleviate traffic on one of the most heavily traveled and congested highways in the country by allowing motorists to pay a fee to drive in less congested lanes. ARC and GDOT adopted its “express lanes” strategy in 2013. Adding more lanes, even if they are toll lanes, will not alleviate congestion along I-285, Geierman said. Adding other ways for people to get around, such as multiuse trails or even dedicated bus lanes, are options that could be explored. He said he knows “sweeteners” such as adding bus rapid transit on the Ga. 400
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