Congestion

Gail Achterman, State Transportation Commissioner, said in a presentation at the Oregon Planning Institute in Eugene last month, that studies show 50% of congestion is the result of ‘non-recurring events’ – accidents, weather, animals/debris on the road, etc. She said the smartest way to reduce congestion is to deal with issues unrelated to capacity.

For instance, I-5 would flow better if area residents chose to use local arterial streets instead of the Interstate for trips of less than five miles. Of course, many of us already rely on other routes, especially at rush hour. Gail suggested that with so many people moving to our region, repeated public awareness campaigns might be helpful to inform new residents of good driving/transit/bike/walking routes.