Sorry, single drivers, but you're still stuck on the outside of that most coveted freeway feature: the carpool lane. On Monday, Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed a bill that would've opened up two LA-area carpool lanes to all drivers outside of rush hour.
Had it been signed into law, AB-210 would have allowed all drivers to use the carpool lane on the 134 between North Hollywood and Glendale and the 210 between Pasadena and Glendora during off-peak hours. It's not too different from how our northerly neighbors in San Francisco already operate their carpool lanes, but apparently traffic here in LA is different.
"I continue to believe that carpool lanes are especially important in Los Angeles County to reduce pollution and maximize the use of freeways," wrote Brown in an official message (PDF). "Therefore, we should continue to retain the current 24/7 carpool lane control."
And with that, the High Occupancy Vehicle lanes will remain for carpooling and electric vehicle drivers only at all times. Anecdotally, we've found off-peak traffic on the 134 light enough that opening up the HOV lane to everyone wouldn't seem to be a disaster—but we guess we're all for promoting carpooling and Tesla sales instead.
In other news, the governor also signed into law a few traffic-related bills, including expanded vehicular manslaughter legislation and highway-based alert systems for missing persons and hit-and-run accidents.