Las Vegas city councilman wants to do away with 24/7 restrictions on carpool lanes

LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — It could bring another big change to your commute.

Las Vegas City Councilman Stavros Anthony wants to do away with 24/7 restrictions on the new carpool lanes.

If Anthony had his way, the carpool lanes would go back to the way they were.

It used to be the HOV lanes were regulated from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday.

These days, the lanes are enforced 24/7.

“I see empty lanes. I don’t see any cars driving on them,” said Anthony, who added that if it were up to him, carpool lanes wouldn’t exist.

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“I think I represent tens of thousands of people in this valley that do not want these HOV lanes. They’re taxpayers that pay for these roadways, and they want to use them. That’s what I’m hearing from everybody I talk to,” explained Anthony.

But the Nevada Department of Transportation defends the 22 miles of new carpool lanes.

NDOT officials argue they serve a worthwhile purpose, reducing crashes and cutting your commute.

Back in June, News 3 asked Kristina Swallow, the director of NDOT, about why the carpool lanes are needed.

“We need HOV lanes because we’re a growing community,” said Swallow.

News 3 asked her if the department would be studying the lanes to possibly make changes based on the habits of drivers.

“We’re going to be monitoring it to make sure we made the right decision, and if we need to change anything, we will at some point,” explained Swallow.

Anthony said now is the time to make a change.

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“What I want to do is ask our city council to pass a resolution to at least go back to the way it was before, where there were hours in the morning and some hours in the afternoon where they were HOV lanes," said Anthony.

“But at noon and 2 AM, they should just be regular lanes people can use,” he continued.

A resolution would go to the Nevada Board of Transportation which has the authority to make the change.

"I think this is an easy fix," said Anthony.

That’s his pitch on carpool lanes, and on Wednesday morning we will find out how the rest of the city council feels.

“People pay taxes for these roads. They should be able to use them,” said Anthony.