Hwy. 290 drivers, including those who live in the Cy-Fair area, attended an Oct. 11 public meeting hosted by the Texas Department of Transportation to gather input on a proposal to convert one Hwy. 290 main lane into a lane for high-occupancy vehicles during off-peak hours.

TxDOT officials said the proposal—which would entail turning the left outbound main lane into an HOV lane during a set time period each weekday morning and the left inbound main lane into an HOV lane during a set time in the afternoon—is intended to help carpools and buses get to their destinations faster.

"We're giving special attention to the buses and HOV drivers because they're taking vehicles off the road," TxDOT Public Information Officer Deidrea George said.

The proposal targets the portion of the highway between W. 34th Street in Houston and Barker Cypress Road in Cypress. George said TxDOT is still working with the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County to finalize the plan, and the exact times the HOV lane would be offered have not yet been determined.

Hwy. 290 is currently under construction as a part of a project to widen main lanes between Loop 610 and the Waller County line. The widening project already includes plans for a single reversible HOV lane in the center of the highway to cater to rush hour traffic, allowing drivers to travel inbound in the mornings and outbound in the evenings.

If TxDOT moves forward with the off-peak HOV concept, it would not be implemented until work on the Hwy. 290 main lanes is completed, which is not expected until the end of 2018 at the earliest.

Event attendees were able to learn more about the proposal and speak with TxDOT and METRO representatives. Drivers who were both against and in favor of the proposal attended the event.

Jack DeBoer, who owns two businesses near the Hwy. 290 and Jones Road intersection and uses Hwy. 290 to deliver products, said he thinks TxDOT should hold off on implementing the change at least until they have a better idea of how traffic will flow once work is finished on an ongoing expansion project.

"They want to take a lane away, but there's no data showing we have a problem," DeBoer said. "If you take a lane away, are you going to slow down everyone else? Let's look at this a year or two from now when we have some history."

George said TxDOT analyzes other highways in the Houston area to get an idea of how traffic flows during off-peak hours. She said converting a main lane into an HOV lane would not make congestion worse on Hwy. 290 for other drivers, emphasizing it would only go into effect during off-peak hours, when traffic is lighter.

Donna Flock, a Cy-Fair resident who uses the HOV lane daily, said she thinks the proposal does not go far enough. She said she would like to see TxDOT provide a dedicated HOV lane for each direction.

"I think it's a good idea, but it's a shortcoming," she said.

Drivers can learn more about the proposal at www.my290.com and can continue to submit comments through Oct. 26. Comments can be submitted via email to [email protected] or online. Comments can also be mailed to the TxDOT Houston District Office, Director of Project Development, P.O. Box 1386, Houston, TX 77251.

After the public comment period is closed, George said TxDOT will take all comments into account before making a decision on whether to move forward with the proposal.