Turning Quadra Street curb lanes over to buses and high-occupancy vehicles during morning and evening rush hours would probably create more problems than it would solve, say city engineering staff.

The idea was promoted last month by Mayor Dean Fortin, a member of the city's transit commission, as "a big-city idea whose time has come."

Fortin noted Quadra is the third-most-used transit route in the city. Turning the curb lanes into HOV lanes makes sense and would not be significantly different than parking restrictions now in place, he said.

But city engineering staff say the move could have a number of impacts, not the least of which would be the potential for more congestion on Quadra -- likely prompting some drivers to take shortcuts through neighbouring residential streets.

City staff say it would be more appropriate to evaluate the benefits of giving buses traffic-signal priority at intersections along the corridor. That would allow buses to extend green lights at such intersections to remain on schedule.

Whatever works, Fortin said.

"The whole thing is about increasing public transit -- having the buses run more frequently and efficiently. That's what we want to accomplish," he said. "If [city] staff and transit think they can accomplish that, great."

A staff report outlines a number of concerns with the HOV lanes. One is that the speed limit through the Quadra Village was reduced to 40 km/h in 2000 to improve safety and reduce collision rates. Increased congestion could contribute to higher collision rates.

There also would be difficulty in explaining the rules of the road to drivers, the report suggests. If the HOV lanes were created, vehicles would have to be allowed to use them to make right-hand turns into driveways and at intersections. Enforcement issues would arise.