Funnel fun

| Development | Transportation

Speaking of driving … We seem to spend more and more time stuck in the right lane on The Bridge in the mornings, sludging along to get to the viaduct, then in the right lane on the viaduct in the evenings, sludging along to get to The Bridge. Problem is, more and more of us are pouring into those funnels, now that the city is granting new teardown-to-townhome permits almost daily (putting a dozen or more households where just one once sat). I totally admit to being part of the problem, in my single-occupant (albeit little) vehicle. The bus would cost me 3 hours a day roundtrip right now — 3 hours I can’t spare — and I don’t think Ron Sims’ bus tax is going to make things any better. Laugh at me if you want, but I still mourn the monorail. (I’d settle for a year-round Water Taxi.) See you in the funnel …

WS Guy October 11, 2006 (11:50 pm)

Just wait until 2009. You won’t even get out of your driveway when the viaduct is out of service.

I prefer population density to urban sprawl. So I don’t mind the townhomes. But responsible density has to include better mass transportation options. I want to see some forward looking planning for WS that provides this in advance of the density. Don’t grant the permits unless the new builders and the city are funding a transit strategy.

The alternative is a cycle where the population swells, traffic clogs, and the neighborhoods lose value prior to demands for better transportation being heard.

But my more severe complaint is about the gigantic 3500 sq ft single family new construction boxes with a concrete driveway for a front yard and mature trees laid waste. Horrible. There’s a term for it: “insensitive infill”.

Forest October 12, 2006 (10:02 am)

Which bus route takes a whopping 3 hours roundtrip between West Seattle and downtown? For that matter, which West Seattle bus route–express or local–takes more than 45 minutes roundtrip on a typical business day?

Art October 12, 2006 (11:44 am)

Hell…..I take the 54 bus route to work for obvious reasons why I don’t want to drive in to town. The bus is a lot faster when the bridge is gridlocked in the morning. It has that extra lane to go speeding by motorists who like to sit in traffic. I see a lot of professional workers get on the bus to go to work. Its a no brainer. But we do need one more option than the city bus. I’m not getting on a water taxi Its out of my way and I still would have to drive to the dock and park my car on Alki left to be chanced to be burglarized or stolen. The Monorail would have been nice but its only a dream.

LB October 12, 2006 (1:34 pm)

All the more reason to tele-commute if at all possible. Currently I work from my home office until 10:30 in the morning and then head north to my workplace cube.

This works well for beating the morning crunch on the bridge and 99, but I get stuck with everyone else on the way home.

mike October 12, 2006 (5:24 pm)

Wow…3 hrs? I go ws to downtown on the bus and it is a consistent 30min each way..sometimes shorter with express. That being said, I’ll take the year round water taxi too :-)

Administrator October 12, 2006 (7:50 pm)

Forest – my workplace is in an awkward spot past downtown that requires two transfers to arrive within a few blocks of the building (and the time factors in walking the blocks from our house to the nearest bus stop). I suppose the ideal solution would be for me to find a more bus-convenient job!

eric October 13, 2006 (9:18 am)

admin… do it. You won’t regret it. I live 3 minutes from work now. No communting at all. I would give up at least 10k in salary to not commute. Take your life back!

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