West Seattle Blog…

TRAFFIC/TRANSIT TODAY: What’s up for Friday

December 14, 2012 at 6:59 am | In West Seattle news, West Seattle traffic alerts | 12 Comments

(Live view from the only WS Bridge camera currently in operation; see other cameras on the WSB Traffic page)
6:59 AM: No notable commute problems in our area as Friday begins.

7:40 AM: As Jtk reported in comments, if you are headed southbound toward West Seattle on 99, note that a stalled vehicle is blocking a southbound lane at the Battery Street Tunnel – SDOT just tweeted it.

8 AM: Now the southbound Battery Street Tunnel is reported closed. Tracy Taylor from KING 5 also has mentioned a stall on northbound I-5 near I-90 – so that might affect outbound commuters from here.

12 Comments

1. There was an accident southbound just out of the battery st. tunnel… at about 7:10 am…. not sure if it is still there….
   looked like it involved several cars…

   Comment by Jtk — 7:33 am December 14, 2012 #

2. Thanks, Jtk – that’s not mentioned anywhere, Twitter or 911 log, so must not have involved injury … TR

   Comment by WSB — 7:36 am December 14, 2012 #

3. Scratch that – SDOT *just* reported it. A stall.
   .
   https://twitter.com/seattledot/status/279610912107798528

   Comment by WSB — 7:39 am December 14, 2012 #

4. Yesterday around 2:30pm I waited at 3rd & Pine for at least 30 minutes for the C. One finally came but the sign said “Terminal” then about 5 minutes later another C came. A lot of people boarded and it became SRO, packed by 2nd & Columbia. People were very angry both at the bus driver that was headed to the terminal and at the one that finally showed up. So many people that people rushed the entrance forgot their manners and I heard one women scolding the driver saying she waited for 40 minutes and that he was very late. I think the drivers are getting punished for Metro’s policies. My suggestion is that if the C/D is getting delayed from Ballard then the bus should only run from their district to downtown and back and NOT go cross town. The C would run 3 or 4 stops through downtown and return to west Seattle and the D would do the same with Ballard. Maybe this would give us more reliability. Btw, when we reached west Seattle at Fauntleroy, another more empty C came from behind and passed us. Why doesn’t the bus driver know that or announce to us that another bus is right behind? This happens almost everyday (I ride the bus 9 out of 10 weekdays every 2 weeks).

   Comment by Bus rider — 9:29 am December 14, 2012 #

5. Yes, Bus rider, it is very unreliable mid-day. Yesterday, I waited about 20 minutes on Queen Anne before a C came by around 1:15. It was SRO all through downtown and all the way into West Seattle. Drivers were frustrated, passengers cranky, and no wonder.
   The Thursday morning into town wasn’t much better. I got to Morgan about 10:05 and waited close to 20 minutes for a SRO.
   So much for Metro’s printed info that says a bus will run every 10 to 15 minutes when it is not rush hour.
   What will we do as more and more people move into the apartments in West Seattle? Does Metro have a plan to operate more C buses?
   Sigh.

   Comment by Iggy — 10:03 am December 14, 2012 #

6. Does anyone know what schedule the C line will be running over the holidays? I couldn’t read the fine print on the notice posted in the bus about holiday schedules. It said to check the schedule for your bus which is funny because the C line has no schedule. I looked on Metros site but couldnt’ find info either. I don’t know if the C line is getting delayed in Ballard, I road the C to Ballard at rush hour (5pm) a week ago and no one was standing, the bus wasn’t nearly as packed as heading to West Seattle at the same time. But I might have gotten lucky.

   Comment by Julie — 10:34 am December 14, 2012 #

7. Julie – here is the page about holiday schedules:
   .
   http://metro.kingcounty.gov/up/holiday-service.html

   Comment by WSB — 12:23 pm December 14, 2012 #

8. @Julie, @WSB also the RapidRide schedule page has a “Saturday, Sunday, holidays” column on its schedule page. Here: http://metro.kingcounty.gov/travel-options/bus/rapidride/c-line/schedule.html

   Comment by Jeff Switzer, King County Metro — 4:09 pm December 14, 2012 #

9. Going off on the driver because the bus is late is like sending Jeff Renner death threats because it rains. Drivers don’t make the bus late anymore than the weather man makes the weather.

   If you see/hear a driver being verbally abused, you can help by contacting Metro customer service, only instead of complaining, offer the driver a commendation if they handle themselves well.

   We drivers find unwarranted attacks like these extremely stressful-sometimes the effects stay with us for days. The stress is compounded when that angry, irrational customer sends in a complaint about the driver on top of browbeating them. Each complaint-no matter how unfounded or ridiculous-must be discussed with their supervisor. Your commendation as a witness to incidents like this can provide the other side of the story-and restore a driver’s confidence in the overall good nature if hi or her customers.

   Comment by Jeff Welch — 9:03 pm December 14, 2012 #

10. Jeff Welch,

    Any way to get a Christmas tree home on the bus?

    Comment by Loretta — 10:33 pm December 14, 2012 #

11. Bus rider, unless the other bus is visible, how would the driver know it is “right behind”? You actually have better visibility from the stop than the driver has from their seat. Why blame the driver?

    Comment by Jeff Welch — 6:50 am December 15, 2012 #

12. Loretta, I have an artificial tree at home that’s about 3 feet tall. Go for it.

    Comment by Jeff Welch — 6:52 am December 15, 2012 #

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