In New Jersey, diamonds aren't forever.
On Monday, the state plans to open up diamond lanes, previously restricted to car-poolers, to all drivers, moving into the fast lane a debate over whether California should proceed with its multibillion-dollar plan to add hundreds of miles of carpool lanes to freeways.
In California, the diamond lane's glitter definitely is in the eye of the beholder.
Diamond lanes are strongly supported by the California Department of Transportation. Convinced that the lanes have prevented even worse congestion, Caltrans plans a substantial increase in the number of freeway carpool lanes.
But California foes of diamond lanes are taking heart from the New Jersey action.
Orange County, which has more diamond lanes per mile of freeway than any county in the state, has produced strong opposition from a county supervisor and a vocal citizens transportation group.
As the county prepares to complete its network of diamond lanes by adding some to the Garden Grove Freeway in a $212-million project, some local transportation leaders have expressed second thoughts about the project and the entire concept of high-occupancy vehicle, or HOV, lanes.
"There's a big push in Orange County to finish the HOV system and then study whether or not they're effective," Supervisor Todd Spitzer said. "We're spending all this money and we just don't know if HOV is working. No one knows. But there's this momentum to keep going anyway."
Critics point out that despite its wealth of carpool lanes, Orange County has the region's lowest number of car-poolers per capita.
San Fernando Valley Assemblyman Tom McClintock (R-Northridge) plans to reintroduce a bill to study whether the lanes work and to declare a "diamond lane holiday."
"The moment any of these lanes is opened to all traffic, the difference is going to be so dramatic that their days will be numbered in California," said McClintock, whose bill to study the lanes sped through the Assembly but stalled in the Senate this year.
New Jersey is the first state to petition the federal government to forgive repayment of $240 million provided for construction of its carpool lanes.
A Federal Highway Administration spokeswoman said the agency is considering the request, "mindful of the public policy implications that [it] has for [diamond lane-style] projects around the country."
