Rural roads are the only means of access between farm and market in most parts of the region. Farmers and ranchers are increasingly contending with traffic from urban areas as drivers use rural roads to avoid congestion. Compounding this problem, rural residential development, which generates an average of 80 vehicle miles of travel (VMT) per day per household (compared to the regional average of 52 VMT per day and 30 VMT or less per day where densities exceed 10 units per acre), continues to be a popular product.

Existing agritourism, such as wine tasting, and plans for new tourism opportunities also create trips on roads originally designed for low traffic volumes. Casinos in rural areas are another land use that generates urban levels of traffic.

While road improvements can help farmers and ranchers, the net impacts may be negative if better roads also lead to speeding and incompatible development in rural areas. Perhaps even more challenging is reaching agreement between cities and counties on a "fair share" accounting of impacts to rural roads and apportioning local sales or property tax, or developer impact fees to pay for needed improvements.