Thursday, September 22, 2005

Evacuating a City: Do it Right!

I walked past CNN today where they were showing people evacuating Houston, TX. The Interstate highways leading out of town was packed, bumper to bumper for a reported 100 miles. People were running out of gas sitting in traffic.

But, then you look to the other side of the Interstate--the highway leading into Houston. You would see 1 or 2 cars every minute pass by the camera.

Am I the only one in America who thinks that when a major city evacuates, then all major roads out of town are to be opened up for outbound traffic? Make both sides of the Interstate into one way traffic leading away from the city. Don't force everyone to use the same roadway when there's an empty road only 50 feet away!

When evacuating a city, mandate that inbound traffic must use backroads, and keep the major infrastructure reserved for outbound traffic.

Hopefully, someone will realize this before it's too late.