Letter: Mill Plain extension poorly designed
Friday, June 10, 2011
In a June 6 letter, Bruce Courtway has a problem with “Truck traffic heavy again on 4th Plain.” Truck traffic to and from the Port of Vancouver has increased a lot since the Mill Plain extension. This is a good thing. More freight means more jobs and more taxes to keep those streets in great shape.
The extension was a great concept. Two lanes in either direction to quickly move freight to I-5. Sounds simple doesn’t it? And it probably was until engineers, designers and politicians got hold of the plan. Everyone decided that instead of building a functional roadway, they’d build it pretty, too. So, they spent extra cash on pretty little shrubs, now overgrown with weeds. They spent money on pretty little lights, now blocked by growing trees. Then they installed a lot of traffic lights between the port and the freeway. Traffic lights, the sworn enemy of trucks. Stop, go, shift and shift again. These lights allow only one or two trucks at a time through, preventing any smooth flow of cargo. So there you go. A few reasons why there are more trucks on Fourth Plain.
Don’t blame the trucks as they are just trying to make a living by taking the quickest route. Mill Plain isn’t it.
Ron Abbey
Vancouver
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