Ironman over; downtown crowding isn't

The race is almost over. Ironman may have ended, officially, at midnight, but the rat race downtown continues as thousands of visitors remain in town for today's awards festivities.

Other than the occasional Oregonian trying to make a U-turn into an open parking space, traffic is beginning to unsnarl on Sherman Avenue as city street crews remove the barricades at Second and Sherman, and Independence once again allowing traffic to flow through town.

Cars are now again being allowed to go directly through instead of diverting to Lakeside Avenue, which has been tied up with traffic all morning. - Rick Thomas