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TRAFFIC/TRANSIT TODAY: Wednesday AM watch, third Highway 99-less weekday

January 16, 2019 5:30 am
|      74 COMMENTS
 |   Alaskan Way Viaduct | West Seattle news | West Seattle traffic alerts

(SDOT MAP with travel times / WS-relevant traffic cams / Water Taxi schedule, other helpful info HERE)

5:30 AM: Good morning! No incidents to report so far on this third post-Viaduct weekday morning.

5:39 AM: Someone just texted (we’re at 206-293-6302) to report a helicopter over/near east West Seattle. Flight tracker and radio communication verify it’s just the TV helicopter (the one shared by 4/5) monitoring traffic again, and it’s now headed away, northward. …Noted a few minutes later while monitoring TV, 7’s helicopter (which doesn’t show on trackers) is still here.

5:47 AM: Weather, by the way, still dry. First possibility of any rain is this afternoon, more likely it’ll hold off until tonight.

5:50 AM: We’re tweeting bridge snapshots this morning, since the live cams don’t archive. Getting busy!

6:25 AM: Commenter J reports 4th Ave. exit bus ramp has lots of violators, no police monitors this morning. Meanwhile, we’re headed to the Water Taxi dock shortly to see how that’s going. And here’s the latest bridge snapshot for the record. Even busier.

6:42 AM: After we mentioned the 4th Ave. ramp situation on Twitter, Nichole tweeted back that she saw police getting into position nearby. … For the first time this week, we’re hearing about a train delay on the surface under the bridge. We asked SDOT about this last week – bottom line, they say BNSF didn’t make any commitments to changing policies during Viaductlessness.

6:54 AM: West Seattle Water Taxi dock seems quieter this morning, according to our reporter, who’s just arrived, his third morning there. 100 on most-recent run. Earlier #’s not available yet. (Water Taxi schedule, shuttle schedule, other info all here!)

7:07 AM: Just under 100 on most-recent Water Taxi departure. Meantime, bike commuting remains up; West Seattle-residing Seattle Times transportation reporter Mike Lindblom reports via Twitter that the counter on the bridge shows 137 so far this morning, and that the bridge trail has been de-iced “but nearby asphalt still frosty.”

7:16 AM: Here’s the surface-Spokane train-related jam (we took a screengrab of a nearby camera that’s one of those featured on our full traffic-cams page):

7:28 AM: Direct link to “live” camera here. We’re watching it to see when the train is finally clear – but that hasn’t happened yet. … Related alert for Route 50:

7:39 AM: Commenter Moon Kitten advises, “You can get around the train hold up if you go up E Marginal and cross over to 1st Ave on Hanford! I was stuck as well and went up E Marginal and crossed over to 1st Ave… then back down S on 1st.”

7:45 AM: Train finally cleared in the last few minutes:

(At 7:40 am, it was still there – 7:43 am as per timestamped image, gone.)

7:55 AM: In the meantime, per the Twitter log, the “low bridge” was just open for 17 minutes. Not a good morning for surface (non-high bridge) traffic overall. The openings 7-10 am were supposed to be limited to the largest vessels, so we’re going to check what just passed. (Update: Can’t tell from MarineTraffic.com.)

8:01 AM: Sunrise beauty shot from our Water Taxi dock crew, featuring the MV Doc Maynard:

8:12 AM: The train stop has been the morning’s biggest headline in the area. In the big picture regionally, WSDOT reports “NB I-5 backup into SEA longer than normal.”

8:16 AM: Newest numbers from our Water Taxi watcher: 74 at 7:50 am, 156 at 8:05 am.

8:19 AM: Just dispatched, police to a crash reported at Delridge/Findlay. Cars in center lane, per scanner, no serious injuries.

8:38 AM: Trouble at the east end of the Roxbury corridor – SFD dispatch to a car-fire call, SDOT tweets “collision on 1st Ave S at Olson Pl SW blocking all SB lanes and NB right lane.”

8:51 AM: Bridge still busy (here’s another moment-in-time screengrab for the record and later comparison).

8:54 AM: The 1st/Olson/etc. situation may be an issue for a while. Reader just texted this photo:

So beware, if you are headed through the east end of the Roxbury corridor, to/from South Park and/or the 509 intersection there. (Added – a closer view that also shows a school bus apparently involved.)

SFD has been cleared and no medic units involved so apparently no serious injuries.

9:13 AM: SDOT says one southbound lane is getting through at the 1st/Olson/Myers scene … Our Water Taxi dock crew is back. Here’s a pic of the temp Pier 2 parking lot:

9:51 AM: Most-recent update from SDOT was that most lanes were open again at the Olson/Myers/1st scene. We’ll be following up on the crash later. … Eastbound bridge still busy; here’s the latest addition to this morning’s moment-in-time screengrabs so we have comparisons for future dates.

10:05 AM: Crash reported at California/Juneau. Two SFD units dispatched.

10:25 AM: That crash involves a car on sidewalk plus a truck. 1 person to hospital. Photo to come. SB side of California; traffic getting by in center lane.

11:25 AM: There’s the pic. On our way back from post-traffic-watch errands, we passed the scene again; truck gone, car being towed. SDOT sent an Incident Response Team truck, too.

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74 Replies to "TRAFFIC/TRANSIT TODAY: Wednesday AM watch, third Highway 99-less weekday"

  • Mike January 16, 2019 (5:45 am)

    It’s not heading away, it’s hovering and here at 5:45 AM

    • Avalon Resident January 16, 2019 (6:36 am)

      I’m hearing one circle now in the Avalon/Gennessee area. 

  • Nathanie Lee January 16, 2019 (5:48 am)

    I understand media outlets wanting to monitor traffic, but the helicopter should not be hovering over our homes. 

  • Pissed off WS January 16, 2019 (5:50 am)

    545am and the news chopper wales up west seattle violating noise ordiance- for what?  To film bridge traffic!!!!!!!not emergent, urgent or critical-  call the news desk and FAA to complain- ‭(206) 404-4145‬

    • Brian January 16, 2019 (7:25 am)

      I bet the FAA would be pleased to send you to voicemail when they’re not getting paid to hear your complaints. 

  • Teresa January 16, 2019 (5:52 am)

    Yep, helicopter woke me up around 5:15ish.  Buzzed around our area for a bit – got intense at 5:29 north of us between us and Duwamish.  Flew away at 5:43.  We are located NW of South Seattle College

  • megan behrbaum January 16, 2019 (6:02 am)

    As my kids just woke up (AGAIN) because of the KOMO TV helicopter, I’m sharing the newsroom contact information and handles. Please let the news director know its unnecessary to hover over our homes.

    The WSB is our source and updates from our neighbors who post here.
    KOMO News — assignment deskP: 206-404-4145
    tips@komonews.commornings@komo4news.com
    https://twitter.com/komonewsDenise Whitaker (reporter in helicopter) – Dwhitaker@komo4news.com
    https://twitter.com/deniseonKOMO
    FAA — Flight Standards District Office; phone: 206-231-3828
    https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/field_offices/fsdo/?state=WA
    Helicopter Visual Flight Rules info:
    https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/apl/noise_emissions/airport_aircraft_noise_issues/noise/#hn

    • M January 16, 2019 (7:32 am)

      Thanks. I emailed complaints to both Kiro and Komo. No reason to hover over residential areas watching traffic. Woke me up early. Feel bad for all children who lost sleep.

  • J January 16, 2019 (6:19 am)

    I wish the police would park themselves somewhere near the bus lane heading into 4th.  Left at 5:45.  Even with very little traffic, the amount of people using the bus lane to turn onto 4th was equal to the people using the appropriate lane. 

    • Todd Martin January 16, 2019 (9:42 am)

      I saw three on my commute there. I left West 8.05 and was down on 4th at about 8.30 it took me only 20 mins to get to work today. So far my leaving at the right time has helped. Yes it you want a ticket to the policeman’s ball..please drive in the bus lane. 

  • Kristina January 16, 2019 (6:43 am)

    Once again, left home near the WS Nursery at 6:00am to head to Bellevue High School in my carpool. I forgot to look at the exact commute time, but it was noticeably clear and no significant problems. The traffic was backed up to Delridge on the WS Bridge but it moved fast enough that it didn’t slow us down too much.My commute might have been three minutes longer than usual, so I’m okay with that.I keep waiting for the “real” problems to start. This week lots of people are leaving early, carpooling, bus/bike/etc.; will people keep doing that next week?

    • Out for a Walk January 16, 2019 (7:57 am)

      Kristina,  To get to Bellevue do you go over Beacon Hill, up 4th, or slog thru I-5?

  • Burien commuter guy January 16, 2019 (6:53 am)

    WOW NO RESPONSE FROM BNSF! SOUNDS ABOUT RIGHT

  • Karen Therese January 16, 2019 (7:02 am)

    Stuck under the west Seattle bridge for 15 minutes now.  Not moving at all.  

    • Patrick January 16, 2019 (7:06 am)

      Are/were you on surface Spokane, in which case it’s likely the train holdup mentioned above?

      • Moon January 16, 2019 (7:38 am)

        You can cross over to 1st ave if you take E Marginal up to Hanford… that train crossing is clear!

  • Coffeedude January 16, 2019 (7:05 am)

    Hearing that there is a train stuck in SODO which is causing massive traffic issues.  Sitting on a bus that cannot move.

    • TR/WSB January 16, 2019 (7:11 am)

      Don’t know if it is “stuck” or if it’s “building” but definitely train trouble. Let us know when you’re moving again – we’ll be asking about this on today’s 11:30 am conference call.

      • Moon kitten January 16, 2019 (7:30 am)

        You can get around the train hold up if you go up E Marginal and cross over to 1st Ave on Hanford! I was stuck as well and went up E Marginal and crossed over to 1st Ave… then back down S on 1st. Also surface trains should now be allowed to cross until later in the morning.

      • Coffeedude January 16, 2019 (7:36 am)

        Bus driver, rt 50 to West Seattle said the train was stuck.  

  • newnative January 16, 2019 (7:31 am)

    Day 3 of 7:25am water taxi. Today was the first time they played the safety info. Not so crowded. Glad I didn’t get on a bus. 

  • Karen January 16, 2019 (7:33 am)

    Astonishing number of bus lane speeders this morning.   Most were jumping into traffic lands before Fourth, some nearly causing rear end collisions.   There were multiple motorcycle officers on the Fourth Ave ramp.  At 6:45-7:00.

  • Mnw January 16, 2019 (7:35 am)

    Full C line bus going downtown around 7:20. The C lines were not nearly as frequent as the last 2 days. Hopefully it’s a fluke. 

  • C January 16, 2019 (7:36 am)

    I have filed a complaint with the comment email given on the viaduct page but does anyone know how to lodge a complaint with the police department? All the lane violators (4th Ave. exit, bus lanes, lane cutting last minute) are getting out of control. This morning I saw 9 people lined up in the bus lane. Apparently yesterday all the cops did was wag fingers at them. We need increased police presence along the bridge (always have). Any idea how to request this formally? 

    • CAM January 16, 2019 (8:47 am)

      Those people deserve tickets but I can understand why the police may not be issuing them all the time. If they stop the car to give them a ticket they are blocking traffic with a stopped vehicle. Multiply that by the number of cars you saw in the bus lane and then consider all the buses coming behind those cars prevented from using those lanes because they are blocked. It’s the strongest argument in favor of automated ticketing for bus lane violators that I can think of. That and I’d prefer police be available for other things than doing traffic enforcement. 

      • PigionRidge Ben January 16, 2019 (9:21 am)

        Not sure if state or municipal law restricts or prohibits the use of camera enforcement for this purpose but it seems really straightforward to me. At some point someone is going to run a municipal campaign on cracking down on scofflaws and win. 

        • TR/WSB January 16, 2019 (9:37 am)

          As we’ve reported a couple times, state law prohibits it. Local state Rep. Joe Fitzgibbon tried last year to get transit-lane enforcement cameras approved and is trying again this year (with Seattle city leaders pushing for it too).

  • Brayton January 16, 2019 (7:37 am)

    Bus bunching is alive and well on the C line. It’s a frequent morning issue. Two buses arrived at NB Findley at 7:28. I’m sure the next one will be much later. They should hitch the buses together and claim they’re trains. Why the lead bus doesn’t just skip a stop so the trailing bus balances the load escapes me. In this case, the lead bus had ten people upon arrival.

  • Barb January 16, 2019 (7:40 am)

    curious if there are any more reports since the last one at about 6:45 am?

    • TR/WSB January 16, 2019 (7:42 am)

      On what? We’re updating as frequently as there’s something to say. Most frequent update above, 7:39 am.

  • Coffeedude January 16, 2019 (7:47 am)

    Metro announced that the train issue is resolved.  Heard it loudly announced on the bus 

    • TR/WSB January 16, 2019 (7:49 am)

      We posted above – it cleared between 7:40 and 7:43, per time stamps. Thank you for the verification!

  • ScottAmick January 16, 2019 (8:00 am)

    I rode the 21X across the high bridge this morning.  I wonder why the orange traffic barrels aren’t blocking the northbound 99 lane way sooner on the eastbound bridge.  Allow space for cars entering at Delridge to cross bus lane then no reason to have lane open except for maybe emergency vehicles.

    • E January 16, 2019 (8:12 am)

      Because zipper merges work; if you force cars over right away it will create backups.  If you give them time to merge, traffic keeps flowing.

      • KBear January 16, 2019 (8:34 am)

        E, the merge needs to happen before the bus-only lane designation. That’s where the barrels should be. Otherwise there may as well not be a bus lane, as it will be blocked by merging traffic. 

      • CAM January 16, 2019 (8:36 am)

        E – Anyone in the 99 exit lane past where the bus lane starts will by rule be violating traffic laws at some point. As for the barricades, when I crossed the bridge on Saturday I remember those barricades starting a lot earlier, basically before the bus lane started. Although I didn’t look super carefully. Is it possible that their location got revised?

    • KBear January 16, 2019 (8:19 am)

      I wondered about that too. If you’re not out of the far right lane before the bus lane starts, you’re trapped unless you break the law by crossing the bus lane. 

      • rpo January 16, 2019 (9:39 am)

        I did an extensive amount of boring research into how long a train could block an intersection during a two hour blockage in SODO a few years back when I was on my bike.

        • bolo January 16, 2019 (12:30 pm)

          rpo, when stuck on the bike at one of the SODO RR Xings (Hanford usually), if I see it is going to take a while, I head north to cross at S Atlantic St. On my way back south I usually see the same train slowly moving back and forth, still blocking.

  • rpo January 16, 2019 (8:25 am)

    In regards to the train blocking intersections in SODO for an hour this morning:“Washington state has an administrative rule that says railroad companies ‘must not block a grade crossing for more than (10) consecutive minutes, if reasonably possible.’Drivers can call BNSF’s network operations center if a train is blocking an intersection for longer than 10 minutes at 800-832-5452.”Who knows if that would be helpful, but it’s ridiculous for BNSF to be blocking key routes for an hour during the morning commute.

    • Trickycoolj January 16, 2019 (8:46 am)

      This is helpful. I got trapped in my work parking lot off of East Marginal by a train for a long time and didn’t know what to do. 

    • Apotheosis January 16, 2019 (11:44 am)

      It’s an almost daily occurrence for the train to block multiple intersections during commute hours for 10-60minutes depending on the train. Ridiculous.

  • wscommuter2019 January 16, 2019 (8:37 am)

    Scottamick, yes, I was wondering same. There’s no reason that lane should be clear as long as it is. WSB, is there somewhere we can send comments regarding the open 99 lane on the bridge?

  • Bus Rider January 16, 2019 (9:34 am)

    the 6:00 AM 113 from Olsen Place Park & Ride to downtown was stuck in that train mess on Spokane Street for 1 & 1/2 hours not 30 min, I know i was on the bus! 

  • RayWest January 16, 2019 (9:39 am)

    I had to go to the U-District on Tuesday and left home about 11:00 am. Traffic was moderate by then. I got off on 1st Ave and went via Alaskan Way, Elliott Ave, and Western Ave. then cut over to Fremont. Rather convoluted and took a while, but traffic was good.  So if you have to leave West Seattle and can go later, you should be okay.

  • Brit January 16, 2019 (9:45 am)

    A heli could land on the roof and my kids would sleep through it. 

  • Grumpy January 16, 2019 (9:55 am)

    Seems like BNSF is trying to ruin as many commutes as possible.  Great partner to the city eh?Probably the same jerks whose never ending train horns keep us up all night on occasion. 

    • bolo January 16, 2019 (12:34 pm)

      Can you even imagine what it would be like with a basketball stadium there?

  • 50 January 16, 2019 (9:55 am)

    Beware! 3 cops on bus lane on 4th ave exit.  What a waste of resources. One is sufficient . 3 more at intersection of Spokane and 4th.

    • CAM January 16, 2019 (10:57 am)

      Beware: Entitled drivers who think the laws do not apply to them doing illegal things! What a waste of resources that police need to be present to prevent people from displaying their antisocial personality traits!

  • west sea neighbor January 16, 2019 (10:15 am)

    I would like to respectfully request that drivers pulling into the water taxi and parking lot along the waterfront be careful to look for cyclists on the path. I was almost taken out twice this morning by people pulling in to either park or drop someone off. Neither looked to see if anyone was on the path.

    • tracet January 16, 2019 (1:06 pm)

      Ditto on that respectful request.  That whole section – Salty’s, Seacrest, Jack Block and now the parking lot – requires care and attention.  I have stopped rollerblading that section for my health and safety.  I expect that tourists won’t know about the trail but our West Seattle neighbors commuting to work on the taxi are just being careless.   Please look both ways twice.

  • L in PP January 16, 2019 (10:52 am)

    An LOL about this morning’s helicopter noise:I e-mailed a rant to KOMO and to KIRO about the helicopter noise at 5:30am today.Just got this reply from KIRO:  “It wasn’t us.”

    • KM January 16, 2019 (4:13 pm)

      KING shares a chopper with KOMO, in case you want to get in touch with the other party.That’s also a great response from KIRO.

  • Bob K. January 16, 2019 (11:47 am)

    BNSF has issued a thoughtful and heartfelt response to the criticisms about their unwillingness to cooperate with any of the viaduct related events:https://twitter.com/bnsfrailway/status/1085565230321750016

    • TR/WSB January 16, 2019 (12:02 pm)

      Yeah, the “get off the tracks now” tweet was kind of bizarre considering they hadn’t reacted or communicated otherwise.

  • PP January 16, 2019 (11:57 am)

    I had the best commute so far today.I work in north Seattle which usually takes me 30 minutes to get there.Today I left home at 6.23am. Got on the lower bridge… it was not busy at all. I took only 10 minutes to get to columbian way then took a left at15th ave…another left to Boren ave, cut down James st. Then got back on I5 at 7th ave/james which the traffic was cleared as usual. Total trip : 37 minutesHappiness : 120% 

  • Bus rider January 16, 2019 (1:37 pm)

    I noticed more cars on the bridge at 9:00 am than yesterday. Still normal commute time. Thanks to city and county officials and Metro.

  • Lola January 16, 2019 (2:01 pm)

    I think it goes both ways for the cars pulling in to park as well as the Bikers, Rollerbladers, Walkers, you must also look and not just expect them to know you are there, use caution when approaching the ins and outs of the driveway’s.  Yes the people need to quit driving in the bus lanes, I think we need to have the cop at the bottom of the bridge to pull people over who use the bus lane as there personal lane.

  • Chris January 16, 2019 (2:55 pm)

    Before viadoom I used to turn right at the 4th Avenue exit all the time.Now it is only buses that can turn right? Do you know if this is only for Viadoom? It is a viable alternative to get to I-90 when I-5 is backed up. It would be a shame if that were permanently cut off two cars for a bus route. Furthermore, there is no signage ahead of the exit warning drivers that they can’t make a right until they’re actually there. So giving tickets might be technically illegal.

  • Janelle January 16, 2019 (3:30 pm)

    You can still turn right from the middle lane in a car.

  • Karen January 16, 2019 (4:31 pm)

    I was one of the people stuck due to the train.  After about 25 minutes on the bus, I jumped off and walked in along the water front.  That took about 44 minutes, but was a nice walk given that it wasn’t raining.  I only regret not starting my walk sooner!    

  • T January 16, 2019 (4:46 pm)

    Why can’t we get SPD to enforce the California and Alaska intersection?! God knows I have asked asked for several years now. Bikes are supposed to stop at red lights but they don’t. Pedestrians are supposed to walk when they have the signal (all walk) but they go when they want. Maybe I will start treating the intersection like a 4 way stop too.

  • T January 16, 2019 (4:56 pm)

    I have been stuck because of a train in that spot for 30 + minutes in the past as well. I thought I read where recently BNSF said they’d try to not block this road? “Try” You know it’s just lip service. Someone wrote in the past that they can’t block for more than 10 minutes. I hope that’s true and I hope they are held accountable. Unacceptable on a normal day.

    • WSB January 16, 2019 (5:00 pm)

      No, they did not say that. As noted earlier, we talked with SDOT about that last week and their comment was that BNSF told them they try to do trainbuilding in the offhours. A BNSF spokesperson has since offered a sort of explanation to the Times’ Mike Lindblom, included in their coverage here.

      • CAM January 16, 2019 (5:24 pm)

        It’s weird that ST and BNSF are saying the delay was only 30 minutes when the above real time reports show it started before 7 am and didn’t clear until almost 8 am. 

        • WSB January 16, 2019 (5:48 pm)

          Noticed that. Though I didn’t think to look for a webcam to screengrab until the 7:13 shot you see (glad that camera has a timestamp – many don’t), the first mention of train trouble on Twitter went all the way back to 6:40 am!

  • Why does it make sense to have a port in a downtown? January 16, 2019 (9:12 pm)

    This is why terminal 5 should never reopen. The jobs per acre of land is obserdly low and the businesses that would move with the port would make up the money in land value appreciation and redevelopment. I say we close Harbor Island too and turn it into a carless community. We could also build all the affordable housing this city needs in Sodo because the infrastructure already exists for density, especially rail. Please move the port to Everett or Tacoma or wherever! It is huge contributor to our miserable transportation problems. 

    • Out for a Walk. January 16, 2019 (10:42 pm)

      Wow!  Great idea whose time may have arrived!!!! Thank you for sharing. 

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