Solar Eclipse Aug 21, 2017 (Portland, Salem, Lebanon: spring break, to buy, shop)

[CAjerseychick]

On another tangent, relating to the Eclipse-

I am hearing that rental car agencies are running low or all out of vehicles Aug 20-22nd, at least here in Portland anyways, wondering if other folks are seeing that as well?

(Its starting to pop up on the neighborhood boards, that people want to borrow cars d/t rental cars being in short supply for those dates)...

[Cloudy Dayz]

Originally Posted by Thom52

I thought the law was not parking on the paved shoulder, especially with any part of the cars or wheels over the fog line towards the road side? Cars are parked on sides of roads all over central oregon for hikes and bike ride parking.

Here are the locations you can't park. Anywhere else is fine.

• In a traffic lane, on a highway, street or road.
• Within an intersection.
• On the road side of any parked vehicle (double parking).
• On a sidewalk, crosswalk, bicycle lane or path.
• On any railroad or light rail tracks.
• On a bridge, overpass, or in a tunnel.
• Between separate roads of a divided highway.
• Near construction or road work when stopping or parking would
interfere with traffic.
• Any place where official signs, traffic control devices, painted
diagonal stripes, or other pavement markings prohibit parking.
• In front of a public or private driveway.
• Within 10 feet of a fire hydrant.
• Within 15 feet of the driveway entrance to a fire station on the same
side of the street or within 75 feet on the opposite side of the street.
• Within 20 feet of a marked or unmarked crosswalk at an intersection.
• Within 50 feet of a traffic signal or sign if your vehicle hides the
signal or sign from view.
• Within 50 feet of the nearest rail of a railroad or light rail crossing.
• Within 7 1/2 feet of railroad or light rail tracks when it interferes
with the train.

2016 – 2017 Oregon Driver Manual DRIVER AND MOTOR VEHICLE SERVICES

[Cloudy Dayz]

Originally Posted by CAjerseychick

On another tangent, relating to the Eclipse-

I am hearing that rental car agencies are running low or all out of vehicles Aug 20-22nd, at least here in Portland anyways, wondering if other folks are seeing that as well?

(Its starting to pop up on the neighborhood boards, that people want to borrow cars d/t rental cars being in short supply for those dates)...

Rental cars everywhere near the eclipse path have been out for a long time.

Rental cars from Portland International Airport are sold out for the days surrounding the eclipse, Port of Portland spokeswoman Kama Simonds said. August is expected to be the busiest month in the history of the airport, Simonds said, although not just because of the eclipse.

Beware this Oregon solar eclipse side effect: traffic

[Metlakatla]

Not exactly. There are long stretches on many rural Oregon highways that specify no parking on the shoulders. I doubt ODOT will be out there towing, but I wouldn't be surprised if tickets were issued in some areas.

[oregonwoodsmoke]

Originally Posted by Metlakatla

.......... I wouldn't be surprised if tickets were issued in some areas.

This might be a nice little money maker for some of the less prosperous counties. There's been a lot of planning going on, so they have probably thought of this possibility.

[KC7NEC]

Two weeks to go! This week is the time to get to the store and stock up on your food, water, and supplies. Make sure you have medications filled and any other things that you may need for the last 2 weeks of August. Also get cash out of the bank and fuel up vehicles. Next week we will start to see traffic increase more each day.

[pdxMIKEpdx]

It will be interesting to see if the actual circumstances reflect all the hysterical predictions.

[Cloudy Dayz]

Originally Posted by KC7NEC

Two weeks to go! This week is the time to get to the store and stock up on your food, water, and supplies. Make sure you have medications filled and any other things that you may need for the last 2 weeks of August. Also get cash out of the bank and fuel up vehicles. Next week we will start to see traffic increase more each day.

I am going to take absolutely none of that advice, except make sure my gas stays topped off, because I may be driving in areas with limited fuel services, and maybe have a couple of sandwiches in my car, incase the lines for food are long on Eclipse Day.

[Piglet99645]

Soooo. I'm late to this party. But I do have a hotel in Otter Rock, and a rental car so maybe I'm doing OK!

My only real concern is getting from Otter Rock post-eclipse back to PDX for my flight home. But it's not until 10 pm. Thoughts? It appears going back thru Salem is a bad idea due to the party at the fairgrounds.

Driving directly is usually 2.5 hours, according to Mapquest. Suggestions as to alternate routes? Would going up toward Tillamook and hitting PDX from the NorthWest result in less traffic?

[eileenkeeney]

According to weather.com it is going to rain at the coast, and in the Valley (where I live).
Further East in the valley (such as Lebanon Oregon), it is showing less chance of rain, and only partly cloudy.

https://weather.com/weather/tenday/l/97330:4:US
https://weather.com/weather/tenday/l/97355:4:US

Of course this means traffic going East, is going to be heavier than it would be if the Coast and/or Valley were having clear weather.

These long term forecasts are often wrong, but this time it will probably be correct.