Here in the Yakima Valley, we're blessed with comparatively brief and uncomplicated commutes between work, home, shopping, and whatever our daily trips include. Having lived in Seattle, I would feel foolish about complaining about how bad traffic is. Yet, I do complain, and I hear others doing it too.

If it takes more than 20 minutes to get from West Valley to Union Gap, we feel like we've been through some kind of hellish gauntlet. Especially at busier times of the day, crowded intersections, slowed down traffic, missing a green light......arrrrgggghhhh! Let's just take a breath and remember we're not having to fight Interstate 5 at Rush Hour where it takes you 2 hours to go about 20 miles.

Rational thinking aside, it seems to me that there are a handful of intersections, in particular, that are most problematic during peak travel times around here. We are a growing area and frankly, some of our streets and thoroughfares were likely planned when our area was much smaller. Now, perhaps, we're bursting at the seams.

I drove around this afternoon, during the 5 o'clock hour, and visited a few of what I believe to be the more challenging intersections in the area. I traveled from 40th & Summitview, down to 16th Avenue, headed South to Nob Hill, then headed South to S. 1st Street and proceeded to I-82, took the Valley Mall exit, and navigated the roundabouts.

By this time the sun was setting in the west (as I've noticed it often does) and it was terribly blinding going back toward West Valley. The entire trip, with one brief stop at Yakima Watermill to see if they had a pond skimmer (which they do) took me only about 45 minutes. Not too bad, all things considered.

These are a few of what I believe are among the busiest intersections I encountered.

YAKIMA INTERECTIONS

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