Miles and miles of parked cars....Anyone watching CNN?

[Postman]

I have the sound muted on the TV so maybe they have addressed this issue....

Would a mass exodus from a major metropolitan area be better achieved by mass transit?

The price of an automobile dependent society is being displayed right in front of our eyes - masses of cars unable to move due to congestion and roadside breakdowns.

I'm not suggesting we get rid of our cars. Just have to wonder if we should spend more of our infrastructure dollars on mass transit systems...

[alittlelark]

1. It would certainly be wise to do so ($ for mass-tran)

But, then.... when have these fools been accused of being 'wise'?

[KittyWampus]

22. Mass Transit Is A National Security Issue, As Are Public Hospitals/Health

[Mr_Spock]

30. For a minute I didn't see the dripping sarcasm smiley

:D

[KittyWampus]

33. Wait! I Really Mean It. Our Nation's Well Being Is Adversely Affected By

not having a decent transit system and hospitals.

These aren't systems that small communities should have to generate by and FOR themselves.

[Mr_Spock]

35. I read it as Mass Transit was the problem to NS!!

lol

Communication issue - write your posts more concisely damn it! :sarcasm: :popcorn: :rofl:

[converted_democrat]

2. Yea, I'm watching. It's still backed up, but it looks like it's getting a

little better. I am so hoping those people get out on time.

[doublethink]

3. I sit in L.A. and San Diego Traffic ..... So. Cal .....

every now and then, look out my windows, see 1 person in every car. Bumper to Bumper at drive time, morning, noon and night. My answer to your last question .. Ya think? :)
on edit: what your seeing on your TV in Huston you can see every night on the 405 in L.A. Peace.

[buddysmellgood]

4. Obviously it wouldn't be any good if everyone tried this, but I'd be

inclined to wait until the last minute to leave. The roads would be clear.

[jbond56]

7. good friend..

thats exactly what he is planning. He will be leaving from Texas City.

I'll let you know how it works out.

[buddysmellgood]

12. Thanks, I'd like to know. It looked to me like the highways were pretty

quiet out of NOLA just before the storm

[txindy]

31. This is word of mouth, only, but there may be a problem with that plan

A friend, originally from Beaumont, still has friends there. She said that while those friends got out this morning, anyone trying to leave Beaumont now is being forced to turn around. They're told it's, "Too late." :wtf: The storm will hit in two days! Now's the time to go, so why are they not letting people out?

Like I said, word of mouth only. I'm taking her word for it, but she's absolutely certain. :shrug:

Just thought you should know and have a heads-up. :hi: The best of luck to your friend.

[aztc]

5. From Cuba VP regarding evacuation

He was totally amazed that all those people with SUV's LEFT BEHIND tens of thousands of their neighbors in New Orleans. Called it greedy selfish mindset that those with so much would turn their backs on those with nothing.

[Straight Shooter]

13. It's that IGMFU mentality.

"I got mine, f*ck you." Cuba knows proper evacuation techniques, but bush is too proud to consult.

Welcome to DU :hi:

[Emit]

6. I've only seen a few photos of this

Is there someone directing traffic? I know that sounds sort of silly, but, it seems it might at least help a little with the bottleneck thing going on. Seems that troopers could be at various points along the highways/freeways and organizing the flow of traffic.

BTW, my brother and his wife and 5 kids (blended family) are still in Sugarland, just outside Houston. They are at a loss as to whether to get into that line of traffic or get to higher ground somehwere in Houston. They have plane tickets to come to where I live (N. NV) but the earliest flight we could get them is tomorrow, and they are afraid the high winds will have already started and/or the airport would shut down.

[Maru Kitteh]

19. How do you organize gridlock with a few troopers? How do you direct a

wall?

[Ilsa]

20. As long as they aren't living next to a bayou, they are probably going

to be fine. Alot of the housing in Sugarland is relatively new (25 years or less), so I bet their home will be able to handle some strong winds.

Maybe the traffic on 59 south will clear a little tomorrow morning and they can come down this way. Victoria was evac'ed but that's been cancelled so I bet hotel rooms will be available pretty quickly.

[enid602]

8. sensible

Rickshaws would be more sensible than what we're seeing on TV.

[getmeouttahere]

9. Massive expenditures in mass transit...

and alternative fuels are essential, and that's putting it mildly. I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for BushCo to do it, however. Fortunately, the new mayor of L.A. was talking about this during his campaign and is committed to it (mass transit, that is).

[KharmaTrain]

10. I'm Checking The Webcams

http://traffic.houstontranstar.org/cameras/camtext.aspx

The I-45 cams near the coast seem to be open now...people are starting to get inland.

It doesn't look anywhere near as messed up as it was earlier today. I'm not sure if people pulled off the roads or the contra flow helped ease things up, but it's got to be a bit better...if such a thing can be said...for those trying to get away.

Now where do you go? Dallas? Tulsa? Seems like once your on the road, you're on your own.

[TahitiNut]

24. I-45 North at Tamina/Research Forest

[TahitiNut]

25. I-45 North at Rankin

[donheld]

27. Check the second "rankin" cam

It looks quite the mess.

I-45 North at Tamina/Research Forest, I-45 North at Oakridge,
I-45 North at Lake Woodlands

all seem to be nothing but tail lights both sides of the highway.

some other routes seem way to calm.

[TahitiNut]

32. The webcam images I posted will refresh and be the most recent.

(That's how those webcams work.)

[donheld]

36. Yes i know isn't that great

:bounce::bounce:

[TahitiNut]

28. I-45 North at Oakridge

[TahitiNut]

29. I-45 North at Lake Woodlands

[unrepuke]

11. Tuesday it rained a little bit here in SoCal. At 6:15 a.m. the 10 west was

backed up all the way to Arizona. That's coming IN. Imagine trying to get these idiots out for a major event. From 3 p.m. to about 7:30 every day the freeways are parking lots coming out of L.A. All it takes to completely block progress is one car broke down at the side of the road, getting a ticket, having a flat or the hood up. A fender bender or worse is good for HOURS of gridlock. There was a jacknifed big rig on the 210 the other afternoon. For 6 hours even the side streets were stuck. Once in a while somebody drops a metal pipe, or a box and the bomb squad holds things up until the shift is over. Somebody tossed a briefcase into the river the other day and missed - it landed on top of a gas pipe. Bomb Squad! Robots! Stop traffic!

Imagine if there was an Al Queda how easy it would be to throw the area into a crippling panic.

[aztc]

15. I am THRILLED

I am loving this - finally we are really choking on this addiction - pray for $6 GAS! START SELLING IT BY THE LITER!

[Habibi]

23. You're "loving" the chaos and terror being experienced by your

fellow humans? How compassionate of you.

[Fleshdancer]

34. fuck you.

Yeah, I get the whole gas addiction thing, but when I'm freaking out about friends stranded on the highway and in real danger of losing their lives, posts like this piss me off.

[TheWatcher]

37. I would imagine you wouldn't be thrilled

if you were one of the innocent people who are TRAPPED out there in this right now, and your life was in real danger.

Get a clue you stupid piece of trash. There are Many DU'ers who have FRIENDS and LOVED ONE'S who are in DANGER of DYING while you masturbate in your frenzy of glee at the consequences of this so-called "addiction."

Get thee back to Yahoo.

You aren't capable of playing amongst the adults.

[KitchenWitch]

43. Glad to see that your heart is intact

:sarcasm:

Hundreds of thousands of people are in real danger, regardless of how they got there, they do deserve more than a modicum of compassion,

[milkyway]

14. Are they even aware of the concept of mass transit?

[aztc]

18. Amtrak

http://amtrak.com

[aztc]

21. Room for the family

http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?cid=1080080554058&pagename=Amtrak%2Fam2Copy%2FAccommodations_Page&c=am2Copy

[DoYouEverWonder]

42. Do you know how much that sleeper car costs?

Try about $850 each way not including the train fare. That's a little rich for the average Joe, don't you think?

Beside Amtrak does have very limited service. I can't even get to Atlanta and I live in No FL, straight up I75 and there isn't a train in sight.

[uncle ray]

39. that's pretty funny.

right after Katrina, i acutally looked into amtrak for a trip i was looking to make, you could ask Tina Fey on SNL why i'd rather not fly, and with the price of gas looking to skyrocket, i thought it'd be a good time to entertain the possibility of a train ride halfway across the country.


HA!

it would have cost me more money than flying and driving combined, and way more time than either. and i REALLY wanted to do the train thing! i'd have better luck hopping a freight train and taking my chances than amtrak. i tried.:shrug:

[VADem11]

16. Mass transit would be better

I don't think we should get rid of cars but we really really need to invest in mass transit. Trains could have evcuated thousands of people stuck on the highways. Mass transit has proven to be invaluable during evacuations. The metro was effectively used to evacuate large parts of DC on 9/11. If this is what an evacuation ordered ahead of a disaster looks like, I would not want to see one after an attack or something. I hope those people in ther cars make it.

[Cornjob]

17. Texas' excellent evacuation plans have caused a 100-mile

backup. This has to be one of the most screwed-up exercises in futility I have ever witnessed.

Out-of gas vehicles blocking the highways, no gas at the stations, people pushing vehicles to conserve fuel.

This is emergency response at its absolute worst.

And the final question:

"Where in the Hell are these 1 million plus people gonna stay?"

Egads!

[Lorien]

26. An aside that I need to ask; what about side streets?

Do aerial shots show congestion there as well? i ask because when I was trapped in gridlock evacuating last year I decided to take side roads 45 miles off the beaten path, and didn't encounter any traffic from that point on.

[Az]

38. Wouldn't make a difference in this situation

People are taking everything of value they can. That includes their cars.

[ladylibertee]

40. According to another thread,all is clear so, no worries folks.

[Dover]

41. There's got to be a better system. What about every household having a

number or assigned time of departure (which would be confirmed at exit checkpoints and violaters strictly turned back)?
Or they could load the highways the way they load planes...by section.
It seems like it might at least be more orderly. And of course the oil tanker trucks should have been inside the city ready to fill up empty gas stations or at least placed at different points along major roadways.