High-occupancy vehicle lanes: County of Riverside.

Existing law authorizes the Department of Transportation to designate certain lanes for the exclusive or preferential use of high-occupancy vehicles. When those exclusive or preferential use lanes are established and double parallel solid lines are in place to the right thereof, existing law prohibits any person driving a vehicle from crossing over those double lines to enter into or exit from the lanes, and entrance into or exit from those lanes is authorized only in areas designated for these purposes or where a single broken line is in place to the right of the lanes, except as specified. Existing law authorizes a regional transportation agency, in cooperation with the Department of Transportation, to apply to the California Transportation Commission to develop and operate high-occupancy toll (HOT) lanes, including administration and operation of a value pricing program and exclusive or preferential lane facilities for public transit. Existing law authorizes a value pricing and transit program involving HOT lanes to be developed and operated on State Highway Route 15 in Riverside County by the Riverside County Transportation Commission. This bill would prohibit all high-occupancy vehicle lanes in the County of Riverside, except for HOT lanes, from using double parallel solid lines to restrict the entrance into or exit from those lanes, and would require any existing double parallel solid lines to be removed. The bill would require the department to replace the removed double parallel solid lines of a high-occupancy vehicle lane with the appropriate markings and signage, as specified in the California Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the County of Riverside.