Just Moved to Beaverton from Vegas - Questions About Lake Oswego, Other Areas, and the Greenbelt

[bler144]

Personally I think the UGB gets too much blame for the traffic. From my perspective the much primary culprits are topography and poor layout.

A big part of the issues around TV highway are that the 8/10/217 juncture is a design mess for through traffic, even before you consider that a significant amount of shopping/dining is squeezed in there (not to mention downtown, a high school, etc.) to make it a destination for local traffic just to clog things up as much as possible.

26 is an even better example. You have a fairly major highway that what, bounces across a ridge line and then down a big winding hill (fun when it's icy or pouring) into a tunnel and then very suddenly 'ends' for all practical purposes. All traffic going southbound on I-5, eastbound on I-84, or locally across Ross Island is crammed into a single lane (to merge onto a major interstate across a lane of traffic that is trying to exit).

The northbound onto I-5 in theory isn't too bad, except that the bigger picture is that you're funneling northbound traffic INTO the south end of your urban center before sending it northward. But there's no logical bypass at all because of the mountain and the river.

And all this inefficiency filters back into the local roads, that end up carrying loads they really aren't designed for as people try to get onto or bypass the backed up major roads.

[eabcan]

Originally Posted by Usagi182

Lol...nope, fleas do not live in the dry Vegas heat.

That's odd. We lived in a high desert area in Mexico for 2 years (extremely hot, dry and dusty all the time) and that's where we got our dog. The fleas there were terrible and we had to use flea prevention on a regular basis. We moved back here 2.5 years ago with the dog and have not had a problem with fleas at all. He loves to sit in our mulched flowerbed and regularly rolls around in the grass and leaves and we've never had an issue.

Must be a different breed of fleas in Vegas???

[Usagi182]

That's odd. We lived in a high desert area in Mexico for 2 years (extremely hot, dry and dusty all the time) and that's where we got our dog. The fleas there were terrible and we had to use flea prevention on a regular basis. We moved back here 2.5 years ago with the dog and have not had a problem with fleas at all. He loves to sit in our mulched flowerbed and regularly rolls around in the grass and leaves and we've never had an issue.

Must be a different breed of fleas in Vegas???

I did a quick Google search. Seems like it is possible to get fleas in Vegas, but not common. We took our cats to the vet often, and flea medication was never even mentioned.

Regarding my original post..we have been exploring the areas mentioned. Thanks again for the suggestions and advice on traffic.

[hamellr]

Originally Posted by bler144

And all this inefficiency filters back into the local roads, that end up carrying loads they really aren't designed for as people try to get onto or bypass the backed up major roads.

This right here is the biggest problem. Portland has a 1950's Freeway system that was never meant to carry the capacity it has now. And as you mentioned the geographic problems means it never will without substantial amounts of money being spent.