All traffic on a congested section of the M62 in West Yorkshire should benefit from the motorway network’s first car-share lane, according to the ~Highways Agency~.
Transport secretary, Alistair Darling, this week announced the go-ahead for the £2.5M scheme, designed to improve journeys on the M606 and M62 between Bradford and Leeds. When operational in 2007, the one-mile lane will reduce average journey times by eight minutes during peak periods, the HA predicted. It will allow vehicles carrying more than one person to bypass congestion at junction 26 of the M62, and gain priority entry to the eastbound M62. ‘
Other vehicles on the M606 and M62 will not suffer from additional delays and should also benefit from improved journey times,’ the agency said. Traffic on the M606 southbound experiences delays of up to 15 minutes when joining the M62. At peak times, 84% of vehicles at this point of the busy commuter route have no passengers. The HA is said to be considering camera enforcement, but a spokeswoman said West Yorkshire Police had agreed to enforce the restriction.
A combined ‘manpower and technical’ solution was most likely. An infra-red camera system was trialled previously on ~Leeds City Council~'s high-occupancy vehicle lane on the A647 (Surveyor, 30 September 2004). Further modifications are about to be tested in-house by Vehicle Occupancy, following trials last year of Cyclops on the Forth Road Bridge.
Business development manager, Tim Ballantyne, said the results would determine when the product went to market. Engineering technology group Avingtrans has agreed to manufacture and sell the system. Amid strong interest from others in the UK and overseas, there were ‘unofficial discussions’ with the HA, he said. Innovative measures such as car sharing ‘can help make better use of the road space available,’ but would not solve congestion, said Darling, reaffirming the need to pursue road pricing.
Transport 2000 said the lane would only be a success if the DfT and local authorities worked with local employers to introduce travel plans. Spokesman Steve Hounsham said: ‘There should clearly be a car-share lane on all our motorways. However, a car-share lane on its own is a dead-end without measures to sell car-sharing.’ The trans-Pennine motorway is earmarked for widening from three to four lanes. A second HOV is planned for the M1 near Hemel Hempstead, after a scheme to widen the motorway between junctions seven to 10 – which got under way this week – is completed in 2008.
Register now for full access
Register just once to get unrestricted, real-time coverage of the issues and challenges facing UK transport and highways engineers.
Full website content includes the latest news, exclusive commentary from leading industry figures and detailed topical analysis of the highways, transportation, environment and place-shaping sectors.
Use the link below to register your details for full, free access.
Already a registered? Login
