TRAFFIC/TRANSIT TODAY: What’s happening Monday

(East-facing camera on the West Seattle Bridge; see other cams on the WSB Traffic page)
Nothing major on the routes out of West Seattle so far this morning. If you travel to/through Capitol Hill, two routes are affected by an overnight incident involving someone believed to have been hit and killed by a Metro bus.

HOPING FOR WEST SEATTLE LIGHT RAIL SOMEDAY? TELL SOUND TRANSIT NOW Sound Transit is advertising with WSB (among other media outlets) to let people know about its upcoming “scoping” hearing in Seattle, looking at where its service might expand after “current voter-approved projects are complete in 2023.” Whether or not you can go to the November 12th hearing (full details here), you can take an online survey NOW to share your thoughts with ST – go here.

8:51 AM UPDATE: Two-car crash, no injuries on the 1st Avenue South Bridge northbound, just before Michigan:

9:08 AM UPDATE: This crash was quickly down to just one lane and not expected to be a traffic-affecting problem for long.

WEST SEATTLE WATER TAXI NOW ON WINTER SCHEDULE: Yet another reminder, today marks the start of the Water Taxi’s winter schedule – morning and afternoon/evening commute, weekdays only, through April 6th.

10:05 AM UPDATE: Crash on the Alaskan Way Viaduct, northbound 99 parallel with University. Thanks to reader KD for early tip on this one, before we heard the dispatch on the scanner; police are on the way now. KD says traffic is starting to back up (and shared the following photo):

There’s now a medic dispatch to NB 99/Western – not sure if it’s this or something else.

AmandaKH October 28, 2013 (9:02 am)

Please take the survey! It’s VITAL that we all chime it. It took me 5 minutes, even with comments.

lux October 28, 2013 (9:03 am)

No on the light rail.

It will only encourage more people to move here.

If you think apartment development is bad now…

Ian October 28, 2013 (9:36 am)

Up is better than out for the environment and Seattle is growing. I think it is time to quit the NIMBYism and push for smart development. This is a good thing. Time to embrace it.

Dan October 28, 2013 (9:44 am)

That kind of “don’t build it so they won’t come” thinking is a big part of why we turned down the feds twice when they wanted to pay 2/3 of the cost to build a subway in the 60s. Guess what? They still came. And now sound transit is playing catch up with infrastructure that should have been built decades ago at far less cost.

old timer October 28, 2013 (9:53 am)

The survey was easy to fill out, and thanks WSB for providing the link and the information.
It sure would be nice to have better connections to the rest of the city and beyond.
As to the nimby, non-development attitudes, I can only say that I was a newcomer to this city once, and I am grateful for the opportunities this place has provided me. Good work, friends, great neighbors, and a home- I can not take a dog-in-a-manger attitude toward folks wanting to better their lot in life.

Gene October 28, 2013 (10:07 am)

I have no problem with supporting better transit- light rail- whatever. I do have a problem with City &/ or developers that never have & apparently never will support some kind of parking structure in the junction area. It could sure help ( maybe even encourage ) those that want to take public transportation-but have no convenient access to it.

Brian October 28, 2013 (10:14 am)

Yes on the light rail.

It will encourage more people to move here.

If you think NIMBYs are bad now…

zark October 28, 2013 (11:05 am)

Our lightrail cost $179M per mile, the national average is from $15M to $100M a mile – our cost is nearly double the next most expensive system in the country. Ridership in 2013 is thousands below Sound’s 2011 forecast – I’m not calling it a complete failure but math is math.
I’d rather my taxes be spent on buses.
People actually ride those.
Why doesn’t the Link go TO the Airport?
It’s a 1/4 mile walk that older folks, people with little kids, and people with lots of bags simply cannot do easily – Link was built crippled, it’s basically to the people who need it, and the ridership shows that.

AmandaKH October 28, 2013 (12:22 pm)

Oh, and you should join the growing West Seattle Transportation Coalition!
**
http://www.westseattletc.org

old timer October 28, 2013 (2:49 pm)

@ Zank-
As I understand the routing, it was the Port of Seattle that dictated the placement of the airport light rail station.

When pressed, they have said it was for ‘security reasons’ but, once in place, the station was provided with poor, 3rd world level connectivity, lousy signage, and general disdain. So security, IMO, was/is a lie, it was put there to protect the garage revenue.

dcn October 28, 2013 (8:11 pm)

Growth is happening with or without light rail or other transportation options. Look at all the current growth that is happening without any plan for increased transit. Take the survey, no matter what your views are. Traffic is only going to get worse-for every person that leaves West Seattle due to the congestion, there are probably 10 will want to take their place.

Moose2 October 28, 2013 (9:55 pm)

Light rail to West Seattle should be a core part of the ST plan. Too much ST focus has been on connecting regional destinations (Redmond, Everett, etc) and too little on improving transit within Seattle.

Sorry, comment time is over.