Of Local Dis-interest

As one who use to flush 15-hours a week down a hole, I just can't get exercised about what Phoenix perceives as it's traffic issues.

Gridlock continues to plague Valley commuters, with the average motorist spending 49 hours stuck in traffic during 2003, according to a national congestion report released Monday.

The print-edition of the story had a pretty little bar graph that illustrated the findings fairly clearly. As opposed to the quote above; in Phoenix people are spending only 13 hours a year stuck in "gridlock." The remaining 36 hours refer to the poor folks in Tucson stuck on I-10 with only two lanes in both directions through town. And it's the primary freeway artery through the city.

Fifteen years ago, my commute in L.A. was just as far (12 miles, door-to-door) and used to take me twice as long (50-55 minutes vs. 20-25 minutes). At a minimum.

Now, none of what I say about this is meant to demean the fair citizens of my city or any of their concerns. Rather, I'd like to think of it as offering some perspective.

ADOT will soon embark on the first five-year phase of the 20-year Maricopa County Regional Transportation Plan, approved by voters in November as Proposition 400, which will add lanes and capacity to Valley freeways as well as build highways, Nintzel said.

This is important because should it not happen, given the Valley's current and projected growth, the situation would become intolerable in the not-too-distant future. But enough with the "sky is falling," rhetoric.

Take it from a guy who used to drop a minimum of 15-hours a week to this nonsense; 13 hours a year is not the end of the world!