Writing Position paper - Assignment Example

Technically, Puget Sound is the area of water east of Admiralty Inlet where the ocean comes along the Pacific Coast providing ports for ocean transportation in cities such as Seattle, Tacoma and Olympia, Washington (http://www.gonorthwest.com/washington/puget/Puget_Sound.htm). However, Puget Sound also refers to the inland port cities and towns. The Puget Sound inland area has one of the worst traffic congestion problems in the nation. In fact, drivers in this area are in the top third in terms of time lost due to waiting in traffic.

This is not a list a region wants to top. Adding to the challenge is the fact that the Puget Sound area has had a large increase in population and the highest unemployment rate the area has seen in years. This means that traffic occurs at all hours, not just the traditional rush hours as one would expect (Cole, 2000). If the government officials of Puget Sound would allow the development of toll roads in the area, this would greatly reduce the amount of traffic congestion in the area. The Puget Sound’s current transportation network of roads and highways was built in the 1960’s.

The population of the area is now 60% higher than it was when the roads were built. There has been little change over the years to keep up with the demand of more drivers on the road (Washington Policy Center, 2011). This is obviously the major reason that traffic gridlock is such an issue. Too many people, not enough room on the roads and not enough roads to drive on pretty much sums of the problem of the traffic in Puget Sound. Aware that the level of traffic congestion in the Puget Sound area is a real problem, the Puget Sound Regional Council, took on the project of developing a transportation plan to analyze how best to address the traffic issues.

The issues that the planners faced are funding, how best to expand the current