Jerry Brown: Don’t tinker with L.A. carpool lanes

For the second year in a row, Gov. Jerry Brown on Monday vetoed legislation that would have opened Los Angeles-area carpool lanes to regular traffic at night.

Assembly Bill 210, by Assemblyman Mike Gatto, D-Los Angeles, would have limited controls on portions of the Ventura (134) and Foothill (210) freeways to heavy commute hours.

In his veto message, Brown wrote, “I continue to believe that carpool lanes are especially important in Los Angeles County to reduce pollution and maximize the use of freeways.”

Proponents of the bill said lifting restrictions on carpool lanes would help alleviate bumper-to-bumper traffic that Southern California motorists sometimes suffer even at night.

But Brown’s veto was expected. The Democratic governor has been promoting carpool lanes since he was governor before, when his administration’s “Diamond Lanes” became a source of controversy in the 1970s.

This story was originally published September 28, 2015 at 3:08 PM.