Hey, loot rail fanantics... can you explain this?

Man.... light rail in Portland has made ALL the difference... Or has it?



Local Angle: Portland-Clark County traffic ninth-worst in U.S.

Tuesday, May 10, 2005
The Columbian

Rush-hour traffic in the greater Portland area, which includes Clark County, ranked ninth-worst in the nation, according to the Texas Transportation Institute's Urban Mobility Report, released Tuesday.

Driving in rush hour takes 1.37 times longer than it would without traffic, according to the report, based on 2003 data. That means a trip that takes 20 minutes in free-flowing traffic takes about 7 minutes longer during rush hour.

Among 85 urban areas, Portland tied with Las Vegas for rush-hour congestion. Portland's congestion grew slightly more between 1982 and 2003 than Seattle's, which ranked 11th.

In the transportation institute's report based on 2001 data, Portland ranked eighth in terms of rush-hour congestion.

Motorists spent 39 hours delayed in traffic in 2003, according to report, which ranked Portland 26th by that measure. That's an improvement over the previous year, when Portland motorists lost 41 hours to traffic delays.

Portland motorists collectively spent 33.4 million hours delayed in traffic, consuming an extra 21.9 million gallons of fuel. The delays cost an estimated $569 million. In these measures, the report ranked Portland 25th.