Jerry Summers
Another innovative and proposed creative way to alleviate traffic snarls on the interstate highway systems in the Volunteer State due to increasing car, truck, tractor trailers to welcome migrants from other locales and to help locals to timely arrive at their chosen designations is- “Choice Lanes”.
In a glowing endorsement on March 21, 2024 a Deputy Governor and Commissioner of Transportation enthralled a captive audience at a local civic club of community leaders with his alleged comments that the “state will prioritize Choice Lane projects that will quickly pay for themselves.”
According to the Transportation Modernization Act (TMA) of 2023 promoted by the current leader of the pack in Music City, public/private funds “to design, build, operate and maintain new traffic lanes and change a user fee” are on the agenda.
A Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) definition of the proposed project as on the website:
“Choice Lanes are new, additional lanes that use pricing to proactively manage demand and provide travel-time reliability. Choice Lanes allow motorists to maintain consistent travel speeds even when the adjacent existing lanes are congested. Choice Lanes are new lanes and typically operate at around 55 mph during rush hours when traditional lanes are barely moving or even at a standstill during peak periods. They are not the same as a toll road where all motorists are required to pay a fee to use any travel lane.”
The current and long time benefits of Choice Lanes are many:
“1. Provides more balance to quality of life due to less time spent in traffic;
2. Offers enhanced transit options are transit buses can use the lanes to also benefit from the reliable travel speed and travel time;
3. Impacts regional economic prosperity;
4. Improves air quality due to less idling as a result of reduced traffic congestion;
5. Generates revenues from the customers of the lanes that can be used to offset the costs of the lanes.”
(It is also suggested that the proposed route in Region 3 (Chattanooga area) will be in the I-24 area which should be welcome news to both sides of the community discussions in 2024 as to what should be done in the future at the present site of Moccasin Bend Hospital.)
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Jerry Summers
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