Utahns split on open access to HOV lanes

Utahns are split over whether high-occupancy vehicle lanes should be opened to all drivers during non-rush hour times, according to a new poll.

Fifty-one percent believe HOV lanes should be opened, 45 percent believe they should not be opened. Three percent did not know, according to the Dan Jones & Associates Poll for the Deseret News and KSL-TV.

The pollster surveyed 419 Utahns on Jan. 12 and 13. The margin of error is plus or minus 5 percent.

The poll comes just before Monday's opening of the Utah Legislature. Legislators are expected to consider a bill this session that would make HOV lanes open to the general public during all times except from 6-9 a.m. and 4-7 p.m., when the lanes would be exclusively for carpoolers or drivers who pay the state $50 a month to use the lane. SB 38 is sponsored by Sen. Karen Morgan, D-Salt Lake City.

Currently, entering and exiting HOV lanes is restricted to certain portions of I-15, marked by dotted lines. Morgan's bill would make the entire HOV lane dotted, open for traffic to enter or leave where drivers prefer.

Morgan's bill comes months before the Utah Department of Transportation begins installing a $14 million electronic tolling system along the lanes that will communicate between vehicles equipped with transponders and antennas along the side of the freeway. Drivers can choose to pay $30 to get the transponders, and when they cruise on the HOV lane, will be charged roughly 25-cents to $1 for each of the four segments of HOV lanes on I-15. Charges will vary depending on traffic. Tolls will be low when there's light traffic on the HOV lane, and high when there's heavy traffic.

Although the Dan Jones poll shows Utahns are almost equally split on the HOV lane issue, both Morgan and UDOT said they're fulfilling the public's wishes.

Morgan said her bill is the result of "the e-mails I'm getting and the telephone calls I'm getting" from the constituents who complain they cannot use lanes their tax dollars paid for.

UDOT officials also said they considered public comment.

"Years ago, when we were going to this system, we made presentations on this subject to the Legislature, and to the public in general," said Adan Carrillo, UDOT spokesman. "We asked them to come in and give input, which is one of the reasons we're moving forward" because the public said they wanted electronic tolling.