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Add this to the cost of your Katy commute

6,159 Views | 57 Replies | Last: 8 yr ago by 88jrt06
aTm2004
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AG
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Make every day "take your kids to work day" so you can use the HOV lane.


If you read the article they are considering making a rule that someone has to be in the front passenger seat to use the HOV to cut down on people using the lane with kids in the back.

Sucks. I take the managed lanes home with a baby in the back but I guess she can ride up front if I strap the rear-facing seat in.

I don't think they really check though cause I've never been pulled over.
Kid passengers should not be included in the count because they are dependent on you to get around. HOV should be riders that carpool and cut down on the vehicles on the road. Your little crotch monsters in the backseat do nothing to help reduce traffic.
You know, I've thought about this, but they're people too. So, why shouldn't they count? If you set an age minimum, how will you enforce it?
RK
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AG
people trying to take away one of the few benefits of having children.
Texan76
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OTL problems.
Aggiethruthicknthin
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AG
i quit using the toll road there. nothing like getting stuck behind people driving way under the speed limit, or if you do get through it all, then you sit once you have to exit right after 6 anyways. The westpark sucks too, but it saves me 30 minutes a day on the way home vs i 10. If the westpark saves me 30 minutes a day then i must get home in 0 minutes....
Satellite of Love
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quote:
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Make every day "take your kids to work day" so you can use the HOV lane.


If you read the article they are considering making a rule that someone has to be in the front passenger seat to use the HOV to cut down on people using the lane with kids in the back.

Sucks. I take the managed lanes home with a baby in the back but I guess she can ride up front if I strap the rear-facing seat in.

I don't think they really check though cause I've never been pulled over.
Kid passengers should not be included in the count because they are dependent on you to get around. HOV should be riders that carpool and cut down on the vehicles on the road. Your little crotch monsters in the backseat do nothing to help reduce traffic.
You know, I've thought about this, but they're people too. So, why shouldn't they count? If you set an age minimum, how will you enforce it?
Why shouldn't they count? Because you driving your kids around doesn't impact the number of cars on the roads. They can't drive themselves, so using a lane that is design to encourage DRIVING-AGE ADULTS to reduce the number of cars on the road doesn't reduce any cars on the road.

How to enforce? They snap a photo of you as you drive through the toll booth. Use photo software to identify if there is a minimum of two adults in the car. Raise the fine for violating the rules to a point where people will learn to follow the rules.
Al Bula
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AG
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And how the hell is that any faster?
When did I mention anything about the route being faster?

I10 managed lanes and Grand Parkway are currently less packed than 290. Plus it breaks up the monotony a bit.
94chem
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They snap a photo of you as you drive through the toll booth. Use photo software to identify if there is a minimum of two adults in the car.


Got it - if I have to get my 18 year old to Texas Children's Hospital, I can use the HOV, but if it's my 12 year old, I can't. Some of you will rail all day about too much government, but God help us if they put YOU in charge of making up laws.
RK
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pretty badass software that will be able to distinguish a 15 year old from a 16 year old.
94chem
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Not really, it could all be fed into the FBI facial recognition database and matched to birthdates, etc. I mean, we are talking about COMMUTING VIOLATIONS. Think of the children!
zap
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What if I have a stripper riding with me? We all know they have no souls, but do you technically need a soul to be an HOV rider?
RK
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fair point that extends to gingers, as well.
HeightsAg
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and the Japanese
Texaggie7nine
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And people that wear crocs.
7nine
Ag03 CQE
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Hating babies.
Ag03 CQE
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AG
quote:
quote:
quote:
quote:
quote:
quote:
Make every day "take your kids to work day" so you can use the HOV lane.


If you read the article they are considering making a rule that someone has to be in the front passenger seat to use the HOV to cut down on people using the lane with kids in the back.

Sucks. I take the managed lanes home with a baby in the back but I guess she can ride up front if I strap the rear-facing seat in.

I don't think they really check though cause I've never been pulled over.
Kid passengers should not be included in the count because they are dependent on you to get around. HOV should be riders that carpool and cut down on the vehicles on the road. Your little crotch monsters in the backseat do nothing to help reduce traffic.
You know, I've thought about this, but they're people too. So, why shouldn't they count? If you set an age minimum, how will you enforce it?
Why shouldn't they count? Because you driving your kids around doesn't impact the number of cars on the roads. They can't drive themselves, so using a lane that is design to encourage DRIVING-AGE ADULTS to reduce the number of cars on the road doesn't reduce any cars on the road.

How to enforce? They snap a photo of you as you drive through the toll booth. Use photo software to identify if there is a minimum of two adults in the car. Raise the fine for violating the rules to a point where people will learn to follow the rules.


If the goal is to reduce the number of vehicles on the road, you can't limit passengers to driving-age adults, you have to limit it to licensed drivers who actually own a vehicle. Driving a blind person or someone who doesn't own a car doesn't get any vehicles off the road either.

Good luck enforcing that.
BrazosDog02
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AG
How about someone figure out how to keep the HOV Cheaters from getting on and not worry about kids in cars which, by definition, is a high occupancy vehicle. After you solve that problem, you can eliminate motorcycles from the list of those allowed to use it unless they have a ***** or a full sidecar. I mean, a motorcycle is by design a LOW occupancy vehicle. Why do we allow them again?
Al Bula
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I mean, a motorcycle is by design a LOW occupancy vehicle. Why do we allow them again?
Because a motorcycle is 100% occupied when driven. That's pretty high occupancy. Hell, if there is a passenger, it's 200% occupancy.
schmellba99
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I could.

But I don't have to, mostly because I don't live in Katy and I am not an ITL idiot, so I really don't have to mess wit this at all. And my company pays for my tolls, so there's that.

But aside from those points, it's the friggin principle behind it that pisses me off. I pay $9.50 in highway tax every single time I fill up my truck. And I"m one of about, what, 20MM people driving in Texas these days? Why the hell should any of us pay tolls on roads that should be funded by our highway taxes?
Texaggie7nine
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Why the hell should any of us pay tolls on roads that should be funded by our highway taxes?
It's kind of like why you would pay just to walk around on Pleasure Pier in Galveston.

It keeps at least a marginal portion of the undesirables out and it keeps it less packed than it would be if it were free to walk around it.
7nine
Texan76
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I mean, a motorcycle is by design a LOW occupancy vehicle. Why do we allow them again?
Because a motorcycle is 100% occupied when driven. That's pretty high occupancy. Hell, if there is a passenger, it's 200% occupancy.
schmellba99
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AG
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Why the hell should any of us pay tolls on roads that should be funded by our highway taxes?
It's kind of like why you would pay just to walk around on Pleasure Pier in Galveston.

It keeps at least a marginal portion of the undesirables out and it keeps it less packed than it would be if it were free to walk around it.

Slight difference - the Pleasure Pier is private property and not subsidized by tax payers. We already pay the taxes for the roads.

If you want to keep undesirables out and reduce congestion, make getting a DL at least somewhat difficult.
Texaggie7nine
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If you want to keep undesirables out and reduce congestion, make getting a DL at least somewhat difficult.

That's not going to give me an option to bypass traffic if I am in an unusual need to hurry situation.

Without the toll road, if you are in a situation where you absolutely need to get to Katy from midtown or visa versa during rush hour, you have no options whatsoever but to sit in traffic and take over an hour to get there. With crazy high toll prices on the toll road, you would have the option to make it in less than 30 mins if you are willing to pay the $.

As a taxpayer, I'm fine with setting up this option.
7nine
YellAg2004
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But aside from those points, it's the friggin principle behind it that pisses me off. I pay $9.50 in highway tax every single time I fill up my truck. And I"m one of about, what, 20MM people driving in Texas these days? Why the hell should any of us pay tolls on roads that should be funded by our highway taxes?
Not a single penny of that $9.50 goes to pay for the roads that the HCTRA tolls pay for. In fact, a good chunk of your tolls go back to the county precincts for use in their road and bridge improvements. Feel free to tell your commissioner that you don't want them to take that money. They're the ones who are ultimately over HCTRA.

Nobody likes paying taxes and nobody likes paying tolls. However, the truth is that if the funding were there for TxDOT and the counties to build all the roads that needed building, toll roads wouldn't be needed. But the funding isn't there so toll roads exist to bridge the gap.

As another poster said, at least this way you still have the option of paying to drive the managed lanes or staying in the free lanes if you don't feel the toll is worth the time saved.
88jrt06
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AG
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I mean, a motorcycle is by design a LOW occupancy vehicle. Why do we allow them again?
Because a motorcycle is 100% occupied when driven. That's pretty high occupancy. Hell, if there is a passenger, it's 200% occupancy.


Pavement-scraping don't come cheap, either. Then, the damn bike winds up hundreds of feet away.....$$$$.
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