Evacuation Suggestions

[Tempest]

We in Charleston SC learned prior to Hurricane Floyd that our roads were unable to handle a mass evacuation. The people from Florida and Georgia were evacuating ahead of the Carolinas as Floyd meandered up the coast.

No one wanted to take the initiative to order a contraflow that had never been tried before. Our only interstate I26 intersects with I95 fifty miles nw of the city. I95 was also jammed so it didn't take long to back up to a standstill.

NOW... we have a plan.

Every spring we have a rehearsal of sorts. The state police have prearranged places to be stationed on the highways. They go to their assigned positions, the highway dept goes to their assigned positions and I'm sure there are other civic departments involved too. There are removable barriers at the cloverleaf interchange that intersects the highway that services the coastal communities. The police and others practice what they will do and where they will be should an evacuation be ordered. The decision to go all lanes out to I77 in Columbia (100 miles) would be made much earlier.

Obviously, there will still be problems with traffic and we have not been put to the test yet (thankfully) but it's GOT to be better than it was before.

[gabrielle01]

"I have a City of Galveston sticker on my windshield. These stickers are for re-entry after a storm. Galveston's evacuation planned worked well -- until we got stuck in Houston traffic."

Same thing for St. Augustine Beach, Florida. We got issued hurricane evacuation vehicle tags (to be hung on windshield rearview mirror) for local residents and businesses to ensure smooth re-entry before 2004 hurricane season started. It worked beautifully for voluntary/mandatory evacuations of beaches and low-lying areas in southern St. Johns County when Frances and Jeanne came thru east central Florida.

All local intracoastal bridges must be shut down once sustained winds exceed 40 mph. Three intracoastal bridges are only way to reach this barrier island (Anastasia Island). Only residents with those special tags are allowed back by local authorities immediately after bridges reopen. Looting and unwanted problems with tourists, non-residents, etc. were basically non-existent after storms thanks to local police controlling evacuations and re-entry.

[conestogo_flood]

I think every hurricane prone city should build an evacuation route only road. Maybe an elavated highway, using contraflow. Conestogo's evacuation route is only opened during chemical spills, its a two lane road that takes you to Highway 85(major interchange road).

[Downdraft]

Come on folks the creative juices are flowing here! Why wait for government to come up with a plan since they will probably screw it up anyway. Let's give em some practical ideas.

[stormie_skies]

the state can't stop someone from trying to evacuate...
even if they aren't in an evatioation zone... that's never
gonna happen. also... what about the tourists...

No, but the state could designate certain roads (i.e. interstates) as evacuee only.

And (a response to a post above) it is possible to do the checking electronically, by embedded RFIDs, so that no one would have to stop. Those cars that don't have the right RFID could then be approached by the police. If they have a good reason, they would be allowed to continue, if they do not, they could be escorted off the highway.

no way... no way. If I live 30 miles from the coast and i feel like my family and myself are in danger even though the NHC and the state and
the president don't think I am... I can use any road that anyone else can
to evacuate... no one can keep me from evacuating. You can request
that I wait... you can't MAKE me wait...

I think its been clearly stated several times that no one is trying to keep you from evacuating completely....many of us just want to ensure that those in coastal areas who need to escape storm surge have a safe, quick way to get out. I frankly dont see how having "madatory evacuee only" lanes would be any different from the HOV lanes many cities employ daily.... people who live in surge prone areas could even be issued an EZ-Tag kinda thing, that would automatically register them as an evacuee when they entered the HOV/contraflow lanes. Then the police would only have to chase the cheaters ... and if cheaters knew they would likely be caught, Im sure most of them would stick to the main lanes anyways. Something like that might also solve the problems with tourists....hotels could be issued a handful of these tags to give to their customers in case of an emergency, and hotel shuttle buses could have them, too.

It always surprises me that governments in these areas don't do any of these things .... I've seen so many good ideas here in just a few threads over just a few days.... lets hope the local, state and federal governments are taking notes!!

[yzerfan]

I've left more than five times for storms, only hit one traffic jam, before Andrew. My strategy: get on the road late, even after midnight and DON"T take the expressway in the middle of an evacuation. No matter how bad surface roads are, there's often more choices for avoiding jams. If you break down, might be better off on a road through towns than an expressway.

Definitely avoid the expressways and interstates. I consider a good state/regional road atlas to be an essential part of the evacuation kit because most people won't even think of hitting the back roads.

[hicksta]

Now there's a really good idea!

One could maybe restrict lane usage based on decal (like cities do with HOV lanes now during commuting hours). For example, one could only allow cars with decals in the contraflow lanes.

HOV- bad idea.. 1 person broke down is horrible for everyone

[Hou~TX~Mama]

Definitely avoid the expressways and interstates. I consider a good state/regional road atlas to be an essential part of the evacuation kit because most people won't even think of hitting the back roads.

Well, we thought of hitting the back roads and had it all planned out. Until we got there and the
COPS HAD IT BLOCKED OFF and we were forced to take a main highway.
That was the beginning of our problems.

[Recurve]

Definitely avoid the expressways and interstates. I consider a good state/regional road atlas to be an essential part of the evacuation kit because most people won't even think of hitting the back roads.

Well, we thought of hitting the back roads and had it all planned out. Until we got there and the
COPS HAD IT BLOCKED OFF and we were forced to take a main highway.
That was the beginning of our problems.

Oh, that does suck. Any reason why? Do you look like an advance party of looters?

[Hou~TX~Mama]

Definitely avoid the expressways and interstates. I consider a good state/regional road atlas to be an essential part of the evacuation kit because most people won't even think of hitting the back roads.

Well, we thought of hitting the back roads and had it all planned out. Until we got there and the
COPS HAD IT BLOCKED OFF and we were forced to take a main highway.
That was the beginning of our problems.

Oh, that does suck. Any reason why? Do you look like an advance party of looters?

No idea why. And the cops didn't look like they wanted to be asked why. There were already several cars ahead of us that were arguing with them. Apparently we weren't the only ones with the same idea, so maybe it was just too much for them to deal with.

[GalvestonDuck]

Definitely avoid the expressways and interstates. I consider a good state/regional road atlas to be an essential part of the evacuation kit because most people won't even think of hitting the back roads.

Well, we thought of hitting the back roads and had it all planned out. Until we got there and the
COPS HAD IT BLOCKED OFF and we were forced to take a main highway.
That was the beginning of our problems.

Oh, that does suck. Any reason why? Do you look like an advance party of looters?

No idea why. And the cops didn't look like they wanted to be asked why. There were already several cars ahead of us that were arguing with them. Apparently we weren't the only ones with the same idea, so maybe it was just too much for them to deal with.

Was this before or after 6PM Wednesday when the mandatory evac took effect? We had no problem getting to back roads from 45 and heading to Kemah, Seabrook, and beyond. Plus, weren't they only going to block exits up to Conroe/Huntsville after 6PM? So, once you got past there, you *should* have been able to take back roads (at least, that's what I thought the plan was).

[Hou~TX~Mama]

Was this before or after 6PM Wednesday when the mandatory evac took effect? We had no problem getting to back roads from 45 and heading to Kemah, Seabrook, and beyond. Plus, weren't they only going to block exits up to Conroe/Huntsville after 6PM? So, once you got past there, you *should* have been able to take back roads (at least, that's what I thought the plan was).

We tried to get on 1462 (down by Alvin) at 6:30 AM Thursday morning. We were going to take 1462 to 36(?-I think) going toward SA. They wouldn't let us get on 1462 and forced us on to 288. Actually I think we were already on 1462 but they wouldn't let us continue on it under 288.

[jax]

the state can't stop someone from trying to evacuate...
even if they aren't in an evatioation zone... that's never
gonna happen. also... what about the tourists...

No, but the state could designate certain roads (i.e. interstates) as evacuee only.

And (a response to a post above) it is possible to do the checking electronically, by embedded RFIDs, so that no one would have to stop. Those cars that don't have the right RFID could then be approached by the police. If they have a good reason, they would be allowed to continue, if they do not, they could be escorted off the highway.

no way... no way. If I live 30 miles from the coast and i feel like my family and myself are in danger even though the NHC and the state and
the president don't think I am... I can use any road that anyone else can
to evacuate... no one can keep me from evacuating. You can request
that I wait... you can't MAKE me wait...

I think its been clearly stated several times that no one is trying to keep you from evacuating completely....many of us just want to ensure that those in coastal areas who need to escape storm surge have a safe, quick way to get out. I frankly dont see how having "madatory evacuee only" lanes would be any different from the HOV lanes many cities employ daily.... people who live in surge prone areas could even be issued an EZ-Tag kinda thing, that would automatically register them as an evacuee when they entered the HOV/contraflow lanes. Then the police would only have to chase the cheaters ... and if cheaters knew they would likely be caught, Im sure most of them would stick to the main lanes anyways. Something like that might also solve the problems with tourists....hotels could be issued a handful of these tags to give to their customers in case of an emergency, and hotel shuttle buses could have them, too.

It always surprises me that governments in these areas don't do any of these things .... I've seen so many good ideas here in just a few threads over just a few days.... lets hope the local, state and federal governments are taking notes!!

there are no HOV lanes in LA, MS, AL...

[stormie_skies]

the state can't stop someone from trying to evacuate...
even if they aren't in an evatioation zone... that's never
gonna happen. also... what about the tourists...

No, but the state could designate certain roads (i.e. interstates) as evacuee only.

And (a response to a post above) it is possible to do the checking electronically, by embedded RFIDs, so that no one would have to stop. Those cars that don't have the right RFID could then be approached by the police. If they have a good reason, they would be allowed to continue, if they do not, they could be escorted off the highway.

no way... no way. If I live 30 miles from the coast and i feel like my family and myself are in danger even though the NHC and the state and
the president don't think I am... I can use any road that anyone else can
to evacuate... no one can keep me from evacuating. You can request
that I wait... you can't MAKE me wait...

I think its been clearly stated several times that no one is trying to keep you from evacuating completely....many of us just want to ensure that those in coastal areas who need to escape storm surge have a safe, quick way to get out. I frankly dont see how having "madatory evacuee only" lanes would be any different from the HOV lanes many cities employ daily.... people who live in surge prone areas could even be issued an EZ-Tag kinda thing, that would automatically register them as an evacuee when they entered the HOV/contraflow lanes. Then the police would only have to chase the cheaters ... and if cheaters knew they would likely be caught, Im sure most of them would stick to the main lanes anyways. Something like that might also solve the problems with tourists....hotels could be issued a handful of these tags to give to their customers in case of an emergency, and hotel shuttle buses could have them, too.

It always surprises me that governments in these areas don't do any of these things .... I've seen so many good ideas here in just a few threads over just a few days.... lets hope the local, state and federal governments are taking notes!!

there are no HOV lanes in LA, MS, AL...

I wasn't saying that HOV lanes would have to be used (that kinda answers hicksta's question, too ... the HOV lanes here in Houston are ridiculous and good for nothing, IMO).... I was saying that the concept would be kinda like the concept of HOV lanes, or even tollways, for that matter. Certain lanes or freeways would be designated for use only by those from coastal areas, and it could be enforced by license plate decals, EX Tag kinda things or maybe something better (I dunno what). Heck, here in Houston, we could just designate all the toll roads as evacuee-only, and use the existing EZ Tag system to check for cheaters if the system can be set up to recognize a different kind of tag.

I'm not saying any of these ideas are set in stone or are in workable condition....but they are ideas, and thats a start, right?

[GalvestonDuck]

Now there's a really good idea!

One could maybe restrict lane usage based on decal (like cities do with HOV lanes now during commuting hours). For example, one could only allow cars with decals in the contraflow lanes.

HOV- bad idea.. 1 person broke down is horrible for everyone

Nobody said to use the HOV lanes. They suggested to have special lanes *like* how HOV lanes are used. There's only one HOV lane along 45 in Houston and goodness knows one lane, surrounded by barricades, would certainly not be enough.

[eyesurvivor]

We tried to exit off Highway 6 out of Alvin at about 2:30 P:M on Wednesday and the cops wouldn't let us. We were on the highway for 23 hours before reaching our destination just outside of New Waverly. One of our dogs died from the heat in the back of our truck camper. Needless to say it knocked the stuffin out of me and my brother, We still aren't back up to snuff yet. If they have no way to figure this problem out next time I think I'd just as soon stay home.

[Roxy]

We tried to exit off Highway 6 out of Alvin at about 2:30 P:M on Wednesday and the cops wouldn't let us. We were on the highway for 23 hours before reaching our destination just outside of New Waverly. One of our dogs died from the heat in the back of our truck camper. Needless to say it knocked the stuffin out of me and my brother, We still aren't back up to snuff yet. If they have no way to figure this problem out next time I think I'd just as soon stay home.

I am so sorry for your loss, that's horrible.

My fiance met a woman this weekend who lost BOTH of her doggies while evacuating.

So sad.