Oregon

[stevashe]

It is in tons of cities have road sign with those speed limits Oklahoma and Dallas. It works just fine. It's completely acceptable.

Just because something exists, doesn't mean it's acceptable (!)

To be clear, there's two options here. Either properly design the road to support 45 to 55 mph by removing or eliminating driveways and coordinating the traffic signals so you actually gain time savings from the increased speed (example: St Rose parkway in Las Vegas), or design the road for a slower speed with a matching speed limit.

There are way too many roads in America that are poorly/lazily designed with the same cut and paste layout and no access control and that is a big reason why we have more serious crashes than some other countries.

[Bickendan]

As a local, I absolutely do not think McGloughlin between SE Park and I-205 should be 45. At most, it should be 40, and I'm happy with 35.

Most of this is pure ODOT -- this portion of McGloughlin is largely unincorporated Clackamas County, with it being the cities of Gladstone and Oregon City south of Gloucester.

[Quillz]

There are way too many roads in America that are poorly/lazily designed with the same cut and paste layout and no access control and that is a big reason why we have more serious crashes than some other countries.

I agree. I'm in Alaska right now and I've noticed both Anchorage and Fairbanks seem to have really focused on some good road design in recent years. Fairbanks has three west-east expressways, all with actual freeway exits, or fully controlled access junctions. Like with Airport Way, it now has Texas-style frontage roads where the main drive is six lanes wide, but there are two frontage roads for local businesses and homes. It does mean you need to go slightly out of your way to get to those places, but the tradeoff is you have a safer drive that can also support higher speed limits as a result.

I think the issue has always been so many roads were just built in the early 20th century when traffic counts were far lower, and there wasn't as much research done into speed limits and accidents. And the problem is you can't really upgrade those kinds of roads, you have to just tear them up and start over. Which takes a lot of time and money to do.

[vdeane]

Like with Airport Way, it now has Texas-style frontage roads where the main drive is six lanes wide, but there are two frontage roads for local businesses and homes.

Of course, it also has whatever this is... with that many odd movements with extra traffic lights, it might have been easier to just build an interchange (it appeared in some "top 10 innovative projects" or something list and my co-worker got anxiety just looking at it).

[Quillz]

Like with Airport Way, it now has Texas-style frontage roads where the main drive is six lanes wide, but there are two frontage roads for local businesses and homes.

Of course, it also has whatever this is... with that many odd movements with extra traffic lights, it might have been easier to just build an interchange (it appeared in some "top 10 innovative projects" or something list and my co-worker got anxiety just looking at it).

I've used it multiple times this week. It's far less imposing than it looks. It's basically a diverging diamond (of sorts) combined with what appears to be a Michigan left. I didn't find it confusing at all. As to what it replaced, I can't remember (I think it was just a standard intersection).

[Thunderbyrd316]

Was driving down SE 39th this morning and saw that PDOT lowered the speed limit on 39th south of I-84 from 30 (completely reasonable and the last correctly posted arterial street speed limit in Portland that I can think of off the top of my head) to 25! Signs were only posted southbound, still 30 north bound as of a couple of hours ago. I only drove as far south as Hawthorn but I assume the reduction goes all the way down to Woodstock.

[Bickendan]

Was driving down SE 39th this morning and saw that PDOT lowered the speed limit on 39th south of I-84 from 30 (completely reasonable and the last correctly posted arterial street speed limit in Portland that I can think of off the top of my head) to 25! Signs were only posted southbound, still 30 north bound as of a couple of hours ago. I only drove as far south as Hawthorn but I assume the reduction goes all the way down to Woodstock.

I wouldn't put it past PBOT, but I could also see them not being as concerned with Chavez south of Powell or Holgate. Then again, as 25 is justified between Woodstock and Crystal Springs, making the entirety of Chavez 25 would likely be enticing.

Now, not having driven any portion of Chavez in a few years, who knows if PBOT's done anything like a road diet, but given the narrow four lane configuration, while it should have remained 30, 25 is actually somewhat justified if annoying. If they did a road diet, that is, wider single travel lanes and a continuous center lane, I'd have to drive it to see how it feels.

[Sub-Urbanite]

Was driving down SE 39th this morning and saw that PDOT lowered the speed limit on 39th south of I-84 from 30 (completely reasonable and the last correctly posted arterial street speed limit in Portland that I can think of off the top of my head) to 25! Signs were only posted southbound, still 30 north bound as of a couple of hours ago. I only drove as far south as Hawthorn but I assume the reduction goes all the way down to Woodstock.

I wouldn't put it past PBOT, but I could also see them not being as concerned with Chavez south of Powell or Holgate. Then again, as 25 is justified between Woodstock and Crystal Springs, making the entirety of Chavez 25 would likely be enticing.

Now, not having driven any portion of Chavez in a few years, who knows if PBOT's done anything like a road diet, but given the narrow four lane configuration, while it should have remained 30, 25 is actually somewhat justified if annoying. If they did a road diet, that is, wider single travel lanes and a continuous center lane, I'd have to drive it to see how it feels.

No road diets (yet) on Chavez but the bikeys are clamoring.

[Plutonic Panda]

Oregon adding 24 EV charging stations around the state:

https://oregoncapitalchronicle.com/briefs/oregon-to-add-24-new-electric-vehicle-charging-stations-across-its-highways/

[pderocco]

Oregon adding 24 EV charging stations around the state:

https://oregoncapitalchronicle.com/briefs/oregon-to-add-24-new-electric-vehicle-charging-stations-across-its-highways/

126 new chargers. That oughtta save the planet.

[Plutonic Panda]

Oregon adding 24 EV charging stations around the state:

https://oregoncapitalchronicle.com/briefs/oregon-to-add-24-new-electric-vehicle-charging-stations-across-its-highways/

126 new chargers. That oughtta save the planet.

I will tell you I am not a fan of electric cars. But we do need to be looking at ways to reduce our carbon footprint and I think technology could potentially be part of the solution. Even driving in LA electric cars are a pain in the ass, especially if you don't have a dedicated charger at home.

[Max Rockatansky]

Oregon adding 24 EV charging stations around the state:

https://oregoncapitalchronicle.com/briefs/oregon-to-add-24-new-electric-vehicle-charging-stations-across-its-highways/

126 new chargers. That oughtta save the planet.

I will tell you I am not a fan of electric cars. But we do need to be looking at ways to reduce our carbon footprint and I think technology could potentially be part of the solution. Even driving in LA electric cars are a pain in the ass, especially if you don't have a dedicated charger at home.

I'm fine with letting PHEV and EV cars evolve naturally after the 2035 CARB PHEV mandate failed.  50k for the average new car is way too high.  The push for adopting full electric technology before it leveled in price relative to ICE vehicles was a big reason for the current state of things.

[vdeane]

I'm fine with letting PHEV and EV cars evolve naturally after the 2035 CARB PHEV mandate failed.  50k for the average new car is way too high.  The push for adopting full electric technology before it leveled in price relative to ICE vehicles was a big reason for the current state of things.

As far as I understand it, such cars do exist.  The problem is they're all made by Chinese automaker BYD.  As such, they're not available here.

[Max Rockatansky]

I'm fine with letting PHEV and EV cars evolve naturally after the 2035 CARB PHEV mandate failed.  50k for the average new car is way too high.  The push for adopting full electric technology before it leveled in price relative to ICE vehicles was a big reason for the current state of things.

As far as I understand it, such cars do exist.  The problem is they're all made by Chinese automaker BYD.  As such, they're not available here.

Yes, there were a couple BYD cars I saw recently in Mexico.  Even the domestic automakers have conventional offerings down there that would be extremely affordable by our standards. 

Here is a BYD car (a Dolphin Mini) I got a couple decent photos of:

https://flic.kr/p/2rZhRSv

https://flic.kr/p/2rZickK

My understanding is that the BYD Dolphin Mini costs about $20,000 USD.  I had looked up the Mexican website while I was on vacation and the specs looked decent.  I would imagine Chinese vehicles would or a to go through a taboo period similar to what Japanese and Korean cars did before they became widely accepted domestically.

[ClassicHasClass]

Except that Japan and Korea didn't have a massive government apparatus hoovering up data on everyone back then. I wouldn't trust the firmware in a mainland Chinese car further than I could throw it. I already don't like the data sharing options on the Honda we bought a couple months ago, and I can't imagine BYD's or Xiaomi's are any better.

[kphoger]

Even driving in LA electric cars are a pain in the ass, especially if you don't have a dedicated charger at home.

I live in a lower-middle-class neighborhood of 70-year-old house.  Today, while we were on a family walk, I noticed a house with an EV charger installed—and they don't even have a garage.  Let me tell you, in this neighborhood, that looked really out of place.

GSV:  https://maps.app.goo.gl/XbLENDqjtGDSXxP6A

[Max Rockatansky]

Except that Japan and Korea didn't have a massive government apparatus hoovering up data on everyone back then. I wouldn't trust the firmware in a mainland Chinese car further than I could throw it. I already don't like the data sharing options on the Honda we bought a couple months ago, and I can't imagine BYD's or Xiaomi's are any better.

Quaint to recall now people being upset over privacy concerns regarding early OBD-II in the 1990s.

[Bruce]

ODOT has announced a 5-week closure of I-5 from Burnside to I-405 that begins in September: https://www.oregonlive.com/commuting/2026/05/major-route-through-downtown-portland-closes-for-5-weeks-this-fall-what-you-need-to-know.html