'Have you driven the Beltline at rush hour?'
EUGENE, Ore. - Freeway on-ramp meters have been in Portland since 1981.
Eugene will be the second city in the state to use them to regulate traffic getting on to an urban freeway.
The meters will be installed at four on-ramps along the Randy Pape Beltline: River Road, River Avenue, Green Acres Road and Coburg Road.
The Oregon Department of Transportation says the highway was built for 1960s traffic. The region's traffic has outgrown the road's design.
"The large clump of vehicles that you often see getting on at Green Acres right near the Delta, when you have a lot of vehicles get on the Beltline right at the peak travel period all the traffic behind those vehicles stops," said Rick Little with ODOT.
The meters will turn on during peak travel times. The red and green light system is designed to slow the number of cars merging onto the freeway. This will reduce traffic delays, improve safety and hopefully reduce travel time by two minutes, according to ODOT's estimates.
"Two minutes is not, I mean it's not like we are driving in Los Angeles or San Francisco were we spend hours in traffic. A couple of minutes is nothing," said John Lorimer from Eugene.
Many drivers are not sure if the ramp meters will improve traffic but are familiar with them from traveling in bigger cities. Others, believe they are a great idea.
"Have you driven the Beltline at rush hour? It is a nightmare sometimes. It takes forever. So I think the progressive ramps are a good idea," said Mike Lawrence from Eugene.
It's funny that they say the highway was built for 1960's traffic. If that is the case, why didn't they take that into consideration when they spent all those millions of dollars in 2005 (I think that was the year) to rebuild it?Â
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Quit looking to Portland for guidance and suggestions. That has to be the most messed up place on the west coast other than San Fran. If you want to see some great traffic control, vist Texas sometime, they know how to build roads.
Rush hour doesn't even last an hour in Eugene.
Oh go ahead, Your going to do it whether we need it or not.  Just like the EMS bus expansion.
Whenever you put a liberal in charge of anything, they will screw it up. Putting those meters up will only give us more time to get to know the driver next to you. And how about the cars entering Beltline at River Road heading East, they will be backed up for miles.
With the current mayor in charge of these decisions, it will only get worse.
 @Franklyspeaking franklyspeaking the snot out of my left nostril is liberal and the right conservative. That said if folks slowed down and left empty space in front of them, meaning not TAILGATING traffic would always flow except when an accident occurred which would be minimized by not tailgating.Â
 @Franklyspeaking You seem to have missed the part where this is a well known traffic improvement that speeds up traffic.
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It sounds like you mistakenly think it slows traffic down.
@SkinnersGhost @Franklyspeaking
On the contrary SkinnersGhost, I don't think those meters will help anything, they'll just increase congestion on River Road.
we want to be more like portland horrid traffic more murders more crime more idiots running the city,well maybe not that last one.
yup I've driven beltline during rush hour. we don't needs those stupid signs what needs to be done is beltline needs to be widened., close the division ave. exit and just leave rivier road exit and there goes most if not all your congestion. people who think this is a good idea need to realize that Eugene was a poorly planned out town the old timers didn't plan thing good enough for the years to come everything you see now days was because of poor city planning and the city council along with the mayor do not have the foresight nor the brains to realize this.
 @RC95 As somebody who uses the River Road exit, I'd like to point out that closing Division Ave. exit would put all the big rigs servicing the Division Ave. shopping centers onto the River Road exit, which already has plenty of traffic, and already has congestion at the intersection including during school hours when there are lots of children crossing there.
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I say lets ask the traffic engineers instead of trying to play it like Sim City.
 @SkinnersGhost you do realize that there is NW Expressway that the truckers can take to irving and down to river road just as good.
it seems you and almost everyone in this town has forgotten as i stated before, was not built or planned to hold it's current population, we don't need those signs just widen beltline to four lane each way
Seriously...go to a big city and sit in their traffic. Eugene traffic is nothing and these meters aren't going to make enough difference to even notice. It's a waste of money if you ask me.....
Eugene traffic at rush hour is a nightmare ! Poor planning and poor city government for years, is also responsible. Now they want to make people ride the bus and wait at stop lights. Â Time to avoid Eugene altogether!Â
 @Fennforests I think you missed that this speeds up traffic. You sound like you think it slows traffic down!
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If you drive in Portland in the places that have these, what they do is keep the freeway going at freeway speeds, because the more people that are merging at the same time, the slower people have to go to fit their car into traffic. With metered onramps it is smooth and predictable, traffic merges like a zipper and goes full speed.
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You're obviously not a traffic engineer, when they're saying they're making improvements because of congestion, and you yourself have a complaint about rush hour traffic, you should celebrate that they are taking action.
Crumbling outdated infrastructure, compliments of the parasitic globalist bankers and thier planned destruction of America.
@Paul Kersey. No guns for this guy.
@Paul Kersey. CRACKHEAD SAYS WHAT? PAUL YOU NEED TA LAY OFF THE COFFEE BUDDY=)
 @Paul Kersey. Do you know how to be anything other then negative or downright rude?
@Paul Kersey: Forget to take your meds Paul?
Regardless of the time it might save, I expect that making people slow down and allowing for easier merging will create safer roads. That is, if those same people will realize that traffic laws apply to them also!