TRAFFIC/TRANSIT TODAY: Thursday driving, riding, biking

(Live view from the only WS Bridge camera currently in operation; see other cameras on the WSB Traffic page)
7:06 AM: Happy Thursday! No trouble reports in the immediate vicinity right now.

If you bicycle to work – the new West Seattle Bike Connections group is out by the low bridge, meeting and greeting riders, till about 9:45 am, as previewed here.

For bus riders: If you didn’t catch it in the Wednesday comment thread, Metro has announced more details about the buses to be added to Routes 120 and 55 next Monday:

The two new morning trips on Route 55 are scheduled to leave from the Admiral District at 6:37 and 8:20 AM, and arrive on Seneca Street at Second Avenue at 7:08 and 8:51 respectively. The added Route 55 afternoon trips are scheduled to leave from Blanchard St in Belltown at 4:54 and 5:17 PM.

The two new morning trips on Route 120 are scheduled to leave from the Burien Transit Center at 6:26 and 7:14 AM, from Westwood Village at 6:50 and 7:39, and arrive on Third Avenue in downtown Seattle at about 7:25 and 8:15 respectively. The added Route 120 afternoon trips are scheduled to leave from southbound on Third Avenue at Pike Street at 4:45 and 5:11 PM.

8:10 AM UPDATE: Bridge and buses both reported to be lighter than usual today – including two tweets (here and here) re: RapidRide. Which reminds us – the Sound Transit “open house on a bus” meeting is tonight, too.

10:11 PM NOTE: Buried in the weekly Construction Lookahead, we found a city note that the rest of surface westbound Spokane Street would open by tomorrow morning. Checked it out about an hour ago, and discovered it’s already open. Separate story (with photo) here.

Glenn October 25, 2012 (7:39 am)

Surprisingly little traffic for a Thursday morning commute. 7:38 56x moving quickly across the bridge.

Ixobbp October 25, 2012 (7:44 am)

7:25 C line to downtown is leaving WS WITH OPEN SEATS!!! WOW. Bridge traffic at 7:40 seems really light, too. Today is Thursday right?

WSB October 25, 2012 (7:55 am)

School’s not out, no other obvious causes that I know of unless everybody’s biking! We’re watching and listening to regional traffic reports as usual too and one TV helicopter via scanner just announced “We’re clear EVERYWHERE so far as I know.”

miws October 25, 2012 (8:06 am)

….. no other obvious causes that I know of…

Check the pasta aisle.

Mike

Valerie October 25, 2012 (8:06 am)

My van pool (thanks, Metro, for canning the #133!) made it up I-5 in record time this morning – the HOV lane was posted 60 mph most of the way up.

SRO October 25, 2012 (8:31 am)

Apparently Metro doesn’t care about overcrowding on the C line before 7 in the morning. I catch the bus about 6:40 at Yancy and Avalon , and it is always standing room only.

I say about 6:40 because it can vary anywhere from 2 or 3 minutes before that to 5 or 6 minutes after that. Metro doesn’t publish a specific time for the bus to get to that stop, and it leaves right after it is loaded, whatever that time is. I just missed it when it left at 6:38 one day. The next day the bus didn’t get there until 6:41, and when we got to 2nd and Seneca , the driver announced he was going to have to sit there for 2 1/2 minutes because he was ahead of schedule !

With Rapid Ride, I was leaving my house 5 minutes earlier than before to get to the stop that is further away. Now , I am leaving 5 minutes before that because I don’t know when the bus will get there. And , I still get to stand up all the way into town !

owen October 25, 2012 (9:26 am)

C Line leaving 35th & Avalon at 8:30ish was SRO, but left no one behind. With waiting for the bus, I got to work about 10 minutes later than I do biking, including a shower, from that location.

JonF October 25, 2012 (10:55 am)

owen – the 10 minute timing is generally because biking is most of the time more efficient than riding the bus. 99 is so slow most of the time, that I’m riding in parallel on E.Marginal Way faster than all traffic on 99 North.

michael October 25, 2012 (3:43 pm)

I posted some pics I took yesterday at Cal & Fontleroy C Line stop towards downtown not sure why the time keeps switching like it has been at some of the stops for the “C” line yet how can the bus be coming at all of these different times if it is the next bus that should be coming. As the times kept becoming longer. Does anyone know why this is happenning with the signs?

Hoyne October 25, 2012 (5:42 pm)

The 21x is way late getting to 2nd and Columbia. Again. Right now it’s 10 minutes late, but Tuesday it was over 30 minutes late and last night it was 15 minutes late. Any idea what gives?

Sorry, comment time is over.