Our lack of public transit, from passenger rail to decent local bus and trolley service, is a big reason why our roads are wearing out so quickly. People are creatures of habit, and if public transit is a crap-shoot, no one will develop any habit other than driving a car for their every transportation desire.

We can look south to a state that not only is flush with money but has gotten that way in part by investing in rail service. The Capitals line connects many cities that all feed the train stations well with bike, bus and local rail access. As a result, the I-80/680 corridors are less congested now than twenty years ago in spite of huge population increases. The Cascades has a long ways to go to get to that level of service.