Barbara J. Hamby

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Gridlock Grumblings

We spent two hours of our precious time today playing parking lot on the I-205 and I-5 freeways. It took 20 minutes to drive to Oregon City. We observed a semi-truck accident blocking the opposite lanes on our way to an eye appointment. Leaving Oregon City two hours later, we felt confident that the highway would be cleared by then. Wrong.

Not only were I-205 and I-5 blocked, but traffic was backed up on any exit we might have taken to get out of the mess. At the site of the accident, all lanes were blocked. Three lanes of traffic were being funneled onto the left shoulder to go around.

This accident occurred sometime in the morning and we were in the thick of the traffic during the Noon hour. I shudder to think how much worse it could have been during rush hour.

While we were inching along, Al suggested that, if there were a disaster requiring evacuation in any of our big cities, traffic would be totally crippled. I seriously doubt that any governmental officials are working on that problem. If there is to be any effective cure, the public should be educated ahead of time. I have seen no evidence of any such information.

Maybe instead of having second cars, we should all have motorcycles. Not too much fun in rain or snow, but much more maneuverable than autos and trucks.