Archive for the 'Dundee Traffic' Category

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Traffic woes and dumb signs

Published on August 22, 2008 in Dundee Traffic and Rants. 1 Comment

The anonymous DundeeParkingLot people are being counter-productive.

This week the back-up from Newberg to Dundee has been bad as usual, but I observed several times already that the slowness is partly a result of those dumb “DROP DEAD” signs that the DPL people have put up. You see, there seems to be a spat going on between them and the Newberg Graphic Newspaper (which I won’t go into now!) but the signs are getting lots of press.

While I agree with them that a regional bypass is the best solution (connect McKay Road to McDougal Corner), I think they’re going about it in completely the wrong way. Making the traffic slower is not a good way to make friends and get people on your side.

Today traffic crawled along at about walking speed for the mile-and-a-half drive. As soon as I passed the DPL signs, it sped up to 25, and I cruised on into my little village! People are slowing down to read, and it is making the back-up even worse.

For more on why the little town of Dundee has it’s own big-city traffic problem, check out the map I posted here late last year.

There, I vented.

Dundee Traffic

Published on November 12, 2007 in Dundee Traffic and Rants. 3 Comments

Friday afternoon before a 3-day weekend… the worst time for traffic back-ups between Newberg and Dundee, my hometown.

I decided to make a map to illustrate why Dundee, Oregon is the bottleneck that it is.

It’s pretty simple. Our little town is located right between the most populated area of the state and some of the most popular places in the state to visit. To get from the Portland metro area to wine country, the Central Oregon Coast, the Spruce Goose, or Spirit Mountain Casino (the most visited tourist destination in the state), you have to go through Dundee… unless you want to go the long way around!

Dundee traffic map

(Click on the map to enlarge it)

The transportation planners of the state of Oregon just haven’t put a very high priority on funding the roads that this area needs. On Highway 99W in Dundee, traffic jams are a daily occurance. Cars, trucks and RVs are quite often lined up for a mile and sometimes two. It happens on both ends of town too—depending on the time of day.

Time spent waiting is just one of the problems: police officers and EMT’s are kept busy with the very frequent “rear-enders” that happen on this stretch of roadway; businesses are reluctant to set up shop here since drivers don’t want to lose their place in line; tempers sometimes flare as drivers cut in instead of politely merge; and an awful lot of fuel gets burned while people idle along at walking speed.

On the upside, since I work in Newberg (a 5 mile commute), it does give me a little more time to relax before I get home!

I got the idea to make this map from a very interesting blog that I follow called strange maps.