He says burgeoning traffic on the state's roads is actually a symptom of a much bigger problem - that people can't afford to live where they work, so they spend hours on the road in vehicles that many times are not in very good condition.

Unsolicited but very welcome. I'm glad to see someone reading some of the crap I post.

:-)

I know the article said that more roads aren't the answer. Have you heard any suggestions that sounded like they might work?

[–] PhunkyPlatypus 0 points (+0|-0)

Edited

A couple, none would totally fix the issue though. All would come at a massive cost.

If they could create a bypass strictly for the military base that would decrease the choke point there around tacoma.

They could double the light rail infrastructure along that part of the I-5 corridor. This would get more cars off the road. But this ain't Japan and everyone would rather drive than take public transit.

Or they could change the housing market around the cities so people could afford to live closer. I've known a couple people near Olympia who commuted to Seattle every day. That's over 120 miles round trip.

These would all take years and billions of dollars. And I have no clue how much they would help. Basically it's just all pretty fucked.

[–] [Deleted] 1 points (+1|-0)

I hear ya. Having lived in the NYC metro area for most of my life I'm all too familiar with traffic and poor public transportation options. A number of large companies have moves into the suburbs over the years, but not nearly enough. Besides, that had the effect of putting traffic onto local and county roads that weren't designed for the load. It moved the cars from one set of roads to another.

Weren't we all supposed to be working from home by now?

He says burgeoning traffic on the state's roads is actually a symptom of a much bigger problem - that people can't afford to live where they work, so they spend hours on the road in vehicles that many times are not in very good condition.

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/s/politics