We got a firsthand look at the operation of the new traffic barrier in the center of Fremont Street at 57th Avenue yesterday. It's definitely got eastbound traffic gummed up, because it makes it much more difficult for eastbounders to get around folks who are stuck trying to turn left and go north on 57th.

Much more difficult, but not quite impossible. We saw one eastbound driver squeeze around to the right of a vehicle waiting to make that left. It's a less safe maneuver than it was before, because there's less room to do it in. That intersection needs to be widened, and the left turn lane needs to have a refuge and an arrow. But of course, this is Portlandia, and if it helps traffic flow, it will never happen. For you youngsters out there who may have been wondering, this is why people locate their businesses in Hillsboro.