Roadshow: Irked over 880-237 express lane exits

Q What is the point of not allowing carpoolers and fee-payers to exit at Zanker Road and North First Street from the new toll lanes when they go from Interstate 880 south and then west on Highway 237? What kind of studies has the VTA made to make that decision? It does not make any sense to me. Before the toll lanes were added, commuters could utilize the carpool lane after 9 a.m. and exit at either First or Zanker. Traffic would gradually ease after 9 a.m. and is usually not a problem after 10 a.m. My experience in the last week is that traffic is still bad at 10:30 a.m.

I would like to think that I am not the only commuter feeling this way and the new lane is making the overall situation worse instead of improving it.

Vince Kan

Fremont

A Trust me, you are not.

Q Why is it that carpoolers from Calaveras Boulevard onto 237 cannot go in that carpool lane until after First Street due to the double white lines? This backs up traffic on Calaveras even more. Whose harebrained idea was this and what is the rationale behind it?

Jay Joglekar

Milipitas

A Caltrans and the VTA both looked at this and found the main congestion point is on west 237 as carpoolers veer across several lanes to try to exit before First Street.

By not allowing this anymore, they hope to free up that area. Changes like this take time to sort out, and as I reported on Monday they are going to monitor traffic for a few weeks after the toll lane opens March 15. They could decide to restore access to the First Street exit. Q Reading your recent columns regarding the complaining of motorists who whine about the toll/carpool lane on 880-237 makes me realize how little some drivers use critical thinking skills in our everyday driving lives. Drivers who use the carpool/toll lane can exit on Great America Parkway, turn south and re-enter 237 and backtrack to First Street for a whopping three-mile detour.

Another route is Great America to Tasman Drive, then right onto First Street.

I would happily take these detours any time of the day to avoid the traffic on this roadway and avoid the possibility of receiving a traffic citation with a moving violation.

Mike Melligan

San Jose

A The Great America back to east 237 option adds 2-3 minutes to one's commute, but it bypasses congestion that can keep a commuter stuck

at this interchange anywhere from six to 10 additional minutes. Here are a few more tips at 237-880.

Q Get off at Dixon Landing Road and take McCarthy Boulevard. ... Don't use the carpool lane. Duh!

Zeke Hana, Eamonn Gormley and more

A But a cautionary warning about Tasman Drive:

Q Tasman is a light rail route, therefore stoplights are quite frequent. I would advise taking Tasman only if there is a backup of three or more miles on 237, which only happens if there is an accident, or occasionally at the heaviest peak commute times. At other times, you're still better off slogging through the slow of 237 than driving this alternate route, because the stoplights and light rail signals usually add more time to your commute than you save driving in lighter traffic on this road.

Paul Wanless

San Jose

A My choice: Take the Great America exit and back east on 237.

Q Are there any plans to force drivers who use the Fastrak-only lanes on the Bay Bridge to remain in them through the toll plaza? It seems during every weekend backup, these lanes are clogged along with every other and as soon as we arrive at the toll plaza most people leave those lanes for the cash lanes. That is very frustrating to those of us with FasTrak.

Chris Diner

Concord

A I understand.

Q Have you heard about plans to install pylons on the approaches to toll plazas? I never see anyone getting pulled over for using the FasTrak lanes on the Bay Bridge or other bridges to get past 90 percent of the grind, who then dart out of the FasTrak lanes to pay the cash fare to get through the plaza faster than transponder holders. A recent weekend was a great example. I took the San Rafael Bridge and was held up by lots of traffic. Over 50 times I saw cars, trucks, and SUVs, in the last one-half to one-quarter mile to the toll plaza move out of well-marked FasTrak lanes into the cash lanes. Not one had a FasTrak tag in the window. It ticked us off a bit. The ironic part was that once they got out of the FasTrak lanes, they still went faster than us because there were five cash lanes and only two FasTrak lanes.

Mike Allen

San Leandro

A Bridge officials considered adding delineators back in 2007 when FasTrak lanes were added and clustered within each toll plaza. But the idea was not implemented because they couldn't solve several questions.

Where to safely start the pylons, because vehicles would very likely crash into them unexpectedly, especially at night. To do as you wish would make it more difficult to change FasTrak lanes to cash lanes when needed based on traffic patterns. And granting your wish could reduce speeds because drivers unfamiliar with the toll plaza could suddenly be trapped in the FasTrak lanes, perhaps coming to a complete stop to assess their options.

Bottom line, says Jeff-the-Bridge-Man: "Using FasTrak works as designed to get customers through the toll plazas faster. However, there are periods of heavy traffic throughout the week where traffic backs up at the plaza and cash customers use FasTrak approach lanes to save themselves time. We have analyzed the problem and cannot recommend a safe solution to prevent this from occurring."

Q I recently tried to contact SamTrans about 511.org real-time departure information for SamTrans and Caltrain. I read that both systems had GPS tracking installed for the purpose of updating riders with departure estimates. I've seen a couple signs on SamTrans that show departure times (like the one at Millbrae BART), but none of the information is on 511.org yet, and the number of signs is very limited. When can we expect to see departure time information online? Having an idea of when the next bus or train will arrive would make taking public transit so much less stressful.

Kris Adler

Redwood City

A It's coming. SamTrans real-time information was launched briefly on 511 last June. Unfortunately, service was suspended about a month later because of technical problems that were causing complete unavailability of real-time predictions throughout the 511 system. This glitch turned out to be more vexing than was initially assumed, but it should be fixed in May.

Work on Caltrain's departure information system is under way and could be done late this year.

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