I wasn't aware of this "controversy". https://www.wweek.com/news/2019/07/...t-like-the-look-of-the-interstate-5-widening/ The Portland Trail Blazers Don’t Like the Look of the Interstate 5 Widening The new highway design would block the route from Moda Center’s parking garages to the highway, trapping fans near the arena for nearly an hour after games. The proposed widening of Interstate 5 through the Rose Quarter has drawn fierce opposition. But the latest skeptics are surprising: the Portland Trail Blazers, who play basketball there. The Blazers might be expected to support a wider highway near their arena. Traffic to and from games at Moda Center is heavy. But on April 1, the Blazers organization wrote a joint letter with the city of Portland, expressing frustration to the Oregon Department of Transportation. That letter has not been reported until now. The key complaint? The new highway design would block the route from Moda Center's parking garages to the highway, trapping fans near the arena for nearly an hour after games.....(continues)
Makes sense. But I know people will complain about McGowan and someone will mention beautiful southern Oregon, and how this never happens on the coast.
The important caveat to their objection is "If the current plan for those surface streets isn't revised." That revision is already long overdue, as gridlock around the RQ after major events is nearly impassable. I'm not a city planner, and I don't have a solution, but I do know that the current setup does not work very well.
