TRAFFIC/TRANSIT TODAY: Thursday updates & alerts

(Six WS-relevant views; more cams on the WSB Traffic page)
6:30 AM: Good morning! Welcome to Thursday, December 17th – one week until Christmas Eve, two weeks until New Year’s Eve, last full day of school before winter break (tomorrow’s an hour-early-dismissal day for Seattle Public Schools).

One reminder to start the day – Friday night marks the first of a series of overnight closures for part of Highway 99 north of the Battery Street Tunnel – full details on the WSDOT website.

9:25 AM: Compounding what – as commenters have noted – has been a lousy traffic morning everywhere, there’s now a report of a crash on the eastbound West Seattle Bridge by the 99 exit. And at this exact moment, the low bridge also has closed to surface traffic.

Collision: Eastbound W Seattle Bridge mid span, partially blocking the right lane. Use caution pic.twitter.com/6KooAAZiiS

— seattledot (@seattledot) December 17, 2015

10:04 AM: Debris reported on the westbound bridge by the Admiral exit – @HommeSea says it’s a broken ladder.

Alki commuter December 17, 2015 (7:30 am)

Really slow this morning on approach to bridge from Alki or 35th.

Snickerdoodle December 17, 2015 (7:32 am)

Traffic on Admiral is horrible. Both lanes aren’t moving all the way up the hill.

Julie December 17, 2015 (7:47 am)

Everything is backed up from I-5 Olive Way repair.

AM December 17, 2015 (7:52 am)

Admiral Way and Harbor Avenue are extremely backed up to get under or on the bridge. Any clue why? This seems heavier than normal.

Peanut December 17, 2015 (7:56 am)

Just got hung up in traffic on the Aurora Bridge. Nasty looking accident.

Riomama December 17, 2015 (8:03 am)

Anyone have an idea why the reader-board on Fauntleroy says 43 minutes for SR99?

Will December 17, 2015 (8:18 am)

The day we leave Seattle will be a joyous occasion. This has gotten old..

Sue December 17, 2015 (8:19 am)

10 minutes to get from Yancy to Luna Park Cafe on Avalon in the “dedicated bus lane.” This is ridiculous.

newnative December 17, 2015 (8:19 am)

That’s odd. No slower than usual to downtown on the 6:55am #57. But I had to wait over 15 minutes to connect with the Rapidride in Belltown, then the bus that came was too packed and it took us a long time to start.

forgotmyname December 17, 2015 (8:43 am)

@Riomama – There’s a collision at 45th and Aurora – SR99 is down to one lane both ways – and could be zero lanes while they remove vehicles.

West Seattle since 1979 December 17, 2015 (8:51 am)

The “dedicated bus lane” on Avalon way is often full of cars. Sometimes the 21 local has to cut into traffic to make the stop at Charlestown St.

This is why it’s always kind of annoying when someone makes a snarky comment about the police not getting to something quickly because they were too busying enforcing bus lanes. Because they don’t do this very often. I realize it’s because there aren’t enough officers and they have more important things to do, so I’m not blaming police officers for this . I just get a little tired of the meme that the police spend so much time enforcing bus lanes.

East Coast Cynic December 17, 2015 (9:00 am)

Re the Avalon Bus Lane—unfortunately, the bus drivers not used to driving on Avalon wait behind the SOV cheaters instead of taking the left lane then merging into the bus lane at the lights where you make the right turn into the Bridge entry–saves a lot of time when they have the presence of mind to do that. And by the way, my bus, this morning, sat in the bus lane for a while as well unfortunately:/

Costanza December 17, 2015 (9:02 am)

It’s all over the city, apparently. My coworker has moved two blocks in 30 minutes in Fremont

J December 17, 2015 (9:15 am)

On C Line, bus barely crawling near Luna Park Cafe, trying to get on W. Seattle Freeway. Yancy to Luna Park 10 mins. Wait! finally, here we go.. Once in the dedicate bus lane freeway entrance, things pick up.. Slight slow down mid span bridge… And… And… The dreaded 99 merge.. but this part seems typical so far…

SJ2 December 17, 2015 (9:21 am)

Wow. 2 hours so far trying to get to Fremont and just now off the bridge. What on earth is going on?

Sue December 17, 2015 (9:28 am)

East Coast Cynic, the non-Rapid Ride bus drivers simply can’t drive the left lane all the way to the light and cut in because then they can’t get to the last bus stop. I’ve seen drivers do this and then have to pass that stop and miss people as they can’t cut in, or the people at the bus stop have to unsafely (and against Metro policy)walk through the traffic lane to get to the bus door in that lane.

KP December 17, 2015 (9:37 am)

All of the traffic is connected to the accident on the Aurora Bridge. It’s cleared now, though, so things should start picking up eventually.

East Cynic Cynic December 17, 2015 (9:51 am)

@Sue, the non-Rapid Ride bus drivers, specifically the ones driving the Express Buses as opposed to the local buses, can drive the left lane on Avalon if need be since their last stop is on 35th and Avalon before downtown; e.g., the 21X does not make stops on Avalon unlike Rapid Ride and the local buses, so they can take the left lane and merge at the lights for the right turn if necessary to save precious time.

Azimuth December 17, 2015 (10:08 am)

Driving is so hard!

Costanza December 17, 2015 (10:12 am)

How the hell do you get into a collision on the bridge when traffic is going 5mph? *facepalm*

Rick December 17, 2015 (11:05 am)

It’s gotta be the rain. The only other factors would be snow,sleet,hail,ice,fog,wind,darkness,sunshine and the fact that we live here. Other than all that, we’re good.

A December 17, 2015 (11:30 am)

Speaking of the bus lane on Avalon and 35th…I’ve often wondered, as both a bus rider and car commuter, how the bus lane is supposed to work when there is so much traffice. When driving, I have stayed out of the bus lane and driven in the left-hand lane and then merged into the bus lane for the right turn, only to be chastised by other drivers, understandbly so, because they have been waiting forever in the bus lane to turn right. As a result, I now wait in the bus lane, but as a frequent bus rider, I know this lane should really be kept open for busses. Suggestions?

East Coast Cynic December 17, 2015 (12:32 pm)

Re keeping SOV’s out of the Avalon Bus lane, hitting drivers in the pocketbooks with a camera that photographs the licenses of cars in the prohibited section of the bus lane followed by tickets in the mail would be good–e.g., Hwy 520 fines from photos of vehicles using it w/o a car pass. However, I don’t think the city thinks that one street in the city would be worth the effort.

Bigger signs telling drivers when not to and when to enter the bus lane might be an option, but they ignore the signs that are already there since there are no cops or cameras to enforce the law.

Neighbor December 17, 2015 (12:34 pm)

Car drivers: don’t block crosswalks and slow down when there is water pooled on the street to be considerate of other people using the streets that aren’t in a comfy car. there was a backup coming from northbound Delridge heading toward the lower bridge. Cars are sitting there and blocking the crossing/cross walk. You are in a car out of the weather. Can you be considerate of those that aren’t?

John December 17, 2015 (2:28 pm)

Rode my bike into work this morning, like I have been since 1988, and had absolutely no problems getting into Downtown Seattle. 25 minutes from the Junction. From there I jump on a bus and in 1 hr 10 minutes (door to door)I’m in my Kirkland office. Every morning…never changes.

Franci December 17, 2015 (3:35 pm)

Hey SDOT – How bout keeping the times on your signs up to date. I assume this mornings troubles are why the sign going down Admiral at 2:00 pm read 28 min to Stdms/1st Ave.

I’ve noticed this before – but this was pretty blatant, got to the point where I coculd see traffic, wondering if I should turn around, there was no traffic on the bridge.

Sorry, comment time is over.