Ferry Traffic jam

[dhg]

So, we have a police officer dedicated to expediting traffic on and off the ferry. We didn’t have one for a very long time and I didn’t notice any real problem as a result. The line-up waiting to get onto the ferry, now that is a very different matter. At 2:45pm today, there was a backup two miles long stretching from Lincoln Park to Morgan Junction. The problem was due to cars waiting in line for the ferry that wait in the driving lane because of parked cars. I was stuck near Morgan Junction when this police car, north bound, announces over a speaker that southbound drivers should use alternate routes. Why is this not a traffic enforcement issue? How hard is it to get an officer to tell people waiting in the driving lane to move along and go to the back of the line?

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[HelperMonkey]

It’s bad. I actually sent an email to Councilmember Lisa Herbold this afternoon. Here’s what I sent:

Hi Lisa,

As a West Seattle resident, I am sure you are aware of how bad the ferry line gets backed up in the afternoons. First the line is backed up, then cars are stopping in the middle of Fauntleroy Way because they need to be in line, but there are cars parked along the west side of Fauntleroy. Ferry traffic is backing up and now tow trucks are on the way to tow the cars still parked there. Now traffic is backed up not only with ferry traffic, but tow trucks as well. This all results in people unable to travel down Fauntleroy Way because traffic is stuck at a dead standstill until a ferry comes. This is getting out of hand. Today the ferry line is backed up nearly to California Ave SW and no one is able to get where they’re going.

It is ridiculous that we even have a high volume ferry dock in a residential neighborhood, but I realize that isn’t going to change (even though Terminal 5 would be a much better option for a ferry dock, and higher capacity), the least that could happen is the city prohibiting people from parking on the west side of Fauntleroy Way. At all times that parking lane should be a ferry line – that would solve the backups and let the people who live in the neighborhood and along Fauntleroy Way at least be able to travel through and access their houses.

I am not sure if you’re the correct person to bring this up to, but I know you’re a WS resident and passionate about our little slice of the city. I hope you can put a bug in someone’s ear or direct me where to go to ask that parking restrictions be put in place – for the good of everyone in West Seattle. At the very least this is an accident waiting to happen, to say nothing of what happens if an emergency vehicle needs to get through. This is unsafe and needs to be changed.

If you need to see it in action, head to the ferry any time after 1pm – it’s generally pretty terrible from then on. Today is bad. Last Friday was bad. Tomorrow will likely be even worse. Something has to give – and it should be parking.

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[dhg]

Getting rid of the parking would help a lot, but unless you banned all parking on west side of Fauntleroy up to Morgan you are not going to solve this problem. Which is why I’d like to see cops on bikes patrolling the line and telling anyone in the driving lane to forget the line and move along.

• This reply was modified 7 years, 8 months ago by dhg.

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