JACKSON, Wyo. — The Wyoming House approved Senate Bill SF21 Wednesday, which would authorize using and enforcing High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes in Wyoming.
HOV lanes are lanes that are reserved for cars with more than one occupant. Providing preference for carpoolers is a tool used by highway engineers to incentivize drivers to ride with others, ultimately decreasing the total number of cars on the road and resulting in less congestion.
According to the Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance, state lawmakers have been reluctant to authorize the enforcement of HOV lanes for various reasons. Chief among them is that highway congestion is relatively rare in most places in Wyoming, so there has been little impetus to create them.
Last year, Natrona County Rep. Jerry Obermueller voted against HOV lanes because they would slow down drivers who prefer a solo commute.
“So, while there has been some acceptance of HOV lane legislation, the capacity for local jurisdictions to enforce HOV violations through fines and citations has not been approved until now,” said JH Alliance.
The local environmental nonprofit added that Teton County would likely be the only county that would build HOV lanes.
“This is a win for Teton County, the only county in Wyoming that may want HOV lanes, and only on Highway 22 which suffers from traffic congestion during peak summer seasons when visitor traffic can bring the road to a crawl at certain times,” JH Alliance said.
The Alliance’s recently released Jackson Hole Transportation Study addresses Highway 22 traffic problems and recommends the consideration of HOV lanes as a possible solution to the congestion. The passage of SF21 would allow WYDOT to include HOV lanes in its deliberations.
The bill now returns to the Senate.
