I told you...
- wadE
Per usual with a gambit from me... go here
and come back.
Greaaaaat.
So what you're telling me is that traffic for reverse commuters (such as myself) has gotten worse?
And even better, the mentally challenged folks at MnDOT knew that beforehand.
I realize that making the toll lanes apply 24/7 makes for nice easy enforcement, but these lanes
had been around for a decade under the previous enforcement system. People were already use to
when you could and couldn't use the lanes. Why change?
It certainly wasn't for easier enforcement, or for the public benefit. It was so they could
squeeze a little more money out of people.
Sunday afternoons after a Vikings game where 394 becomes a parking lot of drunken fans streaming out
of downtown...before you could use the carpool lane... now, that'll cost you. And if you think it'll
only be 25 cents, you're gravely mistaken.
On a related note: This morning while I enjoyed my reverse commute, which would be a few minutes
quicker if I could use the far left lane, I noticed for the first time since the new system
came into effect, that 394 was really backed up. It was backed up well to the west of 169.
As I drove west,
I glanced back over my shoulder to see what was being charged. Last few times I've looked, I've
seen prices in the $1.50 (to Hwy 100) and $1.75 (to downtown) range. This morning, $4.50 and $4.75.
$4.75?!?
Funny enough, I saw several single drivers using the car pool lane...and it was (NOT) so surprising
that all of them were late model foreign cars.
Lexus Lane, indeed...
What do you think? Drop us a line at webmaster@simpleprop.com and give us some
feedback. Maybe we'll even run your letters in future Gambits. 'The Daily Gambit' is updated every weekday.
