More photo coverage from Storm Center 9000.2
The surprise winter storm that has crippled the Portland metropolitan area rages on. Here's a photo of conditions a few hours ago here in Northeast Portland. You can see the suffering that the weather is causing:
The snow was extremely wet -- perfect for certain types of violent activity. If you venture outside, you might get hit with a snowball by a neighborhood kid. You might even laugh. Don't let it happen! Remain indoors and stay riveted to bojack.org for all the latest news.
| Posted at 9:41 PM | Permalink |
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Comments (7)
Report from Pill Hill:
After snarled public streets for more than four hours, Tri-Met rerouted their buses to Terwilliger. This, of course, confirms the ideal location for the state's major medical center, including the federally recognized 'trauma center'....
Staff and visitors attempting to flee the scene by using the aerial tram *rimshot* were rewarded with being virtually trapped at SoWhat because they COULD NOT go by streetcar. For some reason, the much vaunted streetcar was not running...for some time during the snow accumulation. Buses were neither frequent, nor regular, either.
Posted by godfry | December 29, 2009 9:57 PM
Word is that the expensive new transit mall was an epic fail when it snowed. Another triumph for Sam the Tram.
Posted by Jack Bog | December 29, 2009 10:02 PM
The local media will forever call it:
"Snowgasm 2009 -- The Final Reckoning"
Where were you?
Posted by Downtown Denizen | December 29, 2009 10:46 PM
Does anybody know what happened to the transit mall rail? There are no switches to freeze, as it's single track all the way down. I can't wait to find out.
It's a good thing that you can't catch a taxi on the Transit Mall, because that would take food out of the mouths of barely functional TriMet. They need every penny.
I don't think the Portland Streetcar had a very good afternoon, either. Oh well, walking is usually faster anyways. That's no exaggeration.
Strangely enough, my politically un-sexy diesel bus made it up the hill just fine, even without chains. Oh yeah, and it can turn to avoid obstacles or change routes.
Posted by Downtown Denizen | December 29, 2009 10:58 PM
The street car was stopped by nothing more than clogged streets. I walked from NW 21st and Savier to the Rose Garden at 5pm last night and passed three street cars and two #77 busses all stuck in the traffic thanks to people who tried to drive their RWD SUV up the ramp from the Pearl to the Broadway Bridge.
Honestly it was an epic traffic jam in every direction. Once I hit Rose Quarter, I hopped a MAX and made it to Gateway with no issues.
Posted by Stefan | December 30, 2009 7:51 AM
I personally got a couple yuks out of watching a Prius attempt to climb the hill in front of my house 5 times last night before giving up.
Guess electric motors aren't all they're cracked up to be.
Posted by MachineShedFred | December 30, 2009 7:53 AM
MachineShedFred, the Prius uses tires that are built more for efficiency than ultimate traction. In my mind, that makes them dangerous on the roads given the batteries they carry on-board (and the seeming lack of skill many drivers seem to have behind the wheel)
Speaking of tires, there was a law proposed in the state legislature banning the sale of tires that do not meet OEM specs for efficiency. The SEMA PAC helped put the kaibash on that pretty quickly.
Posted by Stefan | December 30, 2009 12:33 PM