By Ed Jones, LNA Chair
We are only weeks into the Bridge Avenue closure and already St. Johns seems much farther away than it used to. Those quick trips to Safeway or the post office have turned into 30 (or more!) minutes of waiting in line. June looks far away, too. ODOT claims to have learned from the prior closure, but nothing seems to have changed.
What could have been done, and still could be done, is to add some cameras to the ODOT traffic cam program that would allow us, from home, to see how long the lines were at each end of the bridge: two at the far end, showing the lines to the south and north on Ivanhoe, and one on our side, showing the line waiting to go up Bridge from downtown Linnton.
They could be installed in 30 days at a cost tiny in comparison to the community aggravation they would avoid. It will still be a mess, but at least you could know what was happening before you had to get in line.
I have asked ODOT about more cameras but have been told “it isn’t in the budget.” ODOT recommends the Live Traffic feature on their website. They claim it updates every two minutes and will be useful, which I have not yet tested, and which seems unlikely, but we’re happy to try it. More on that later.
Ellen Waters, the ODOT Community Affairs Coordinator, spoke at a recent LNA meeting. She heard this camera proposal but would be pleased to hear from neighbors who think it is a good idea. Her email is ellen.waters@odot.oregon.gov.
Another step that would alleviate traffic issues on Bridge Avenue (even after the closure has ended) would be to make left turns onto Germantown impossible. Vehicles waiting to make that turn are a constant problem. Prohibiting those turns would force vehicles to go south to Burnside or Hwy 26 or to go north to Cornelius Pass to reach Beaverton or Hillsboro, which would relieve the pressure on Germantown in addition to improving Bridge Ave. Vehicles descending Germantown would be forced to turn right and either cross the bridge or use the (now temporarily closed) part of Bridge to head towards downtown Portland.
Just a wild idea, thanks for listening, I will honk when I see you in line with me on the bridge.
ODOT Trip Check – Zoom in for three St. Johns Bridge and Hwy 30 cameras updating every two minutes. https://www.tripcheck.com