LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Every day, most drivers in the Las Vegas valley pass the carpool lanes on the I-15, U.S. 95, or Summerlin Parkway. Now, the Nevada Department of Transportation wants your feedback on whether these lanes should stay, change, or be removed altogether.

Currently, these lanes are reserved for vehicles with two or more passengers, motorcycles, and first responders. Introduced to the valley in 2007 with federal funding, southern Nevada now has over 20 miles of HOV lanes.

In 2023, the NDOT Board of Directors voted to change HOV lane operating hours to weekdays from 6 a.m. to 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. instead of 24 hours a day.

The board also directed NDOT to conduct a National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) study to determine the future of HOV lanes in Southern Nevada.

That study also involves gathering the public’s opinion on the lanes. A five-minute survey went live this fall.

Drivers like Jennifer Voschell think the lanes are beneficial.

“I think they are convenient and helpful especially when there is a lot of traffic,” Voschell said.

Kelsey McFarland, Public Information Officer at the Nevada Department of Transportation, explained that this survey will help decide the future of the lanes.

“There are a wide range of possibilities here. Whether that’s eliminating HOV lanes altogether, whether that’s changing the hours or locations or function of those lanes itself. We are not limiting ourselves to possibilities of what this could bring,” McFarland said.

Traffic and crash data will also be included in the survey results. The results will be passed to NDOT’s board, and then it will be years before drivers will see any changes to their commute.



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