TRAFFIC/TRANSIT/WEATHER/ETC.: Thursday AM/early PM updates

(SCHOOLS: Here’s the Thursday listTRASH/RECYCLING/ETC.: Pickup today for Wed. customers)

6:13 AM: Good morning. The good news is that the temperature’s now above freezing. But still … beware out there. Also note there’s at least one change on our schools list – South Seattle College is now opening all its campuses at 10 am.

METRO: Some buses still rerouted; more details here
METRO ROUTE 37 – No service today
METRO ROUTE 50: Rerouted off Delridge Way SW, SW Genesee, & Avalon Way
METRO ROUTE 55No 6:31 am, 6:48 am, 7:30 am, 8:34 am trips
METRO ROUTE 56No 6:43 am, 7:33 am, 8:41 am trips
METRO ROUTE 57No 7:20 am trip
METRO ROUTE 113No 7:34 am trip
METRO ROUTE 116 No 6:33 am, 7:13 am, 8:00 am trips
WATER TAXI: West Seattle route on 2-boat schedule
RIDE2: (update) Resumes normal WS service today
TRAFFIC CAMS PAGE: Our compilation of local cameras
SDOT WINTER RESPONSE MAP: See which streets city crews have treated
SDOT CITYWIDE CAMS ETC. PAGE: Year-round “travelers” map with cams/more.

6:42 AM: No incidents but you’ll need to take extra care to help keep it that way. In a comment, for example, Sarah reports, “It’s REALLY slippery still on a couple of segments of the SW Dakota St. hill from 42nd down to 35th. Even in the lowest gear for engine braking.”

7:28 AM: Via Twitter, Andy reports on bicycling conditions: “It is super icy out there. Bike paths aren’t fully cleared and side roads are spotty at best. That was the diciest ride I’ve ever had. Had to walk in a few spots.” … The high bridge looks almost back to the normal jam of this time of day. Note that the snow has set back the new NB Highway 99 exit ramp, as we reported Wednesday afternoon.

7:53 AM: While we have the full list of announced local Metro cancellations/changes above, in comments and tweets, some riders are noting unannounced changes, including some 50 and 125 runs.

8:33 AM: Still incident-free – side-street slush/ice reports and spot bus woes are the morning’s main problems so far. Remember that most schools are starting late this morning, so you wlll see students, staff, and families on the move later than usual.

10:37 AM: From Seattle Parks, “Community Centers and pools are open normal hours today, and will resume lessons and scheduled programs.”

10:54 AM: From the scanner, report of “wires down” at 21st SW/SW Dakota.

61 Replies to "TRAFFIC/TRANSIT/WEATHER/ETC.: Thursday AM/early PM updates"

  • Sarah McCaghren February 14, 2019 (6:31 am)

    It’s REALLY slippery still on a couple of segments of the SW Dakota St. hill from 42nd down to 35th.  Even in the lowest gear for engine braking.  Hey everyone, please slow down, allow distance, and be careful.  Leave time to stop for pedestrians at icy intersections.

  • ACG February 14, 2019 (6:33 am)

    Finally got around to looking into Ride2 after hearing good feedback from others on the blog. Unfortunately, it serves only the north end of West Seattle. Bummer. 

    • J February 14, 2019 (10:00 am)

      They get all the good stuff

      • savoirfaire February 14, 2019 (11:49 am)

        I don’t understand why Ride2 doesn’t serve the areas that don’t have access to the shuttle.

  • Michele February 14, 2019 (7:09 am)

    Any word if 21 Expressis running through Arbor Heights? It’s not listed on the reroute page but is currently a no show.

  • Chris February 14, 2019 (7:21 am)

    Safety for kids as they go back to school today!!   Some of the side roads are still really bad.  

  • MJ February 14, 2019 (7:23 am)

    Any word from SPU regarding their commitment to prioritize Monday customers.  They still have not completed Monday pick ups!

    • WSB February 14, 2019 (7:28 am)

      No, they did not get to all Mon./Tues. customers (us included fwiw) and we reported the update last night, also linked above.

    • sam-c February 14, 2019 (8:16 am)

      Don’t know what the normal collection day is for Delridge, but this morning, ~ 7:50 am, there were (3) WM trucks all in a row (within a 2 block stretch), headed northbound.   The 3 trucks must have been collecting diff things, because they were all stopping at each property.

    • G February 14, 2019 (10:05 am)

      No pickup in Genessee Hill for 11 days. Roads are now passable, I hope they get to us soon. Heard you can take garbage to the dump for free until Sat. 

  • KatHP February 14, 2019 (7:25 am)

    I found that walking to my bus stop this morning it was *far* more icy and slippery than yesterday. Be careful out there!

  • Julie Howell February 14, 2019 (7:30 am)

    The 55 that started in NorthAdmiral at 7:05 skipped Avalon and went from 35th straight onto the West Seattle Bridge.Also got a Metro alert that the 50 is routed off Andover and Delridge due to icy conditions.

  • Kyle February 14, 2019 (7:46 am)

    The 7:12am route 125 was also a no show. I hope for the next storm Metro can figure out how to effectively communicate cancelled runs. The current process of announcing some cancelled runs and silence on others just leads to general confusion and a lack of trust in their service.

  • Seriously? February 14, 2019 (7:47 am)

    Yep, Metro is back to almost normal schedule . . .routes during peak morning commute are cancelled. Sounds about right for a normal day at Metro . . .

    • bob wright February 14, 2019 (3:58 pm)

      This was horrendous! I lost my love for metro after this.

  • Westside February 14, 2019 (8:06 am)

    Both my kids fell hard on the ice this morning as we were trekking down to the arterial. Far more dangerous than past few days and ironically the worst fall was in an area that was shoveled and de-iced.  The snowmelt from uphill made it the ideal ice rink. Safer to walk in crusted over snow. 

  • Gary February 14, 2019 (8:08 am)

    Did anybody contact SPU about credit for the lack of pick-up the last two weeks?  Wondering about the level of effort involved in getting that credit.  I understand they couldn’t pick up, but I paid for those two weeks. 

    • KBear February 14, 2019 (8:25 am)

      Gary, you don’t get a refund. It isn’t SPU’s fault (or their contractors’ fault) they couldn’t collect. Instead, you get to put out double the amount of garbage at no extra charge, just like the rest of us.

      • sam-c February 15, 2019 (2:10 pm)

        Guess he does get a refund, after all.

  • JayDee February 14, 2019 (8:22 am)

    @ Seriously: Well played…When will I get an ORCA card refund for buses that don’t run during rush hours? If they don’t restart service tomorrow, are they just trying to get a long weekend with Presidents Day coming up?

  • Mj February 14, 2019 (8:23 am)

    Thank you for referencing the link.  Per the SPU comment they are not keeping their commitment to prioritize Monday customers and request customers haul their stuff back away from the curb.  Per what I see in my neighborhood is that our response is no, and SPU needs to send their trucks and finish picking up Monday customers as per what they stated as a priority.

    • Not safe February 14, 2019 (8:40 am)

      I’m not sure about you, but no cars can even leave my street let alone get onto it. I too have garbage piling up from Mondays past, but I’d rather them skip it than end up sliding into mine or my neighbors cars or property. I’d rather the city come out and treat all these sketchy icy roads instead of getting all the garbage. The priority should be taking care of these dangerous side streets and side walks.

    • BC February 14, 2019 (9:15 am)

      I called first thing this morning and neither the customer service nor Mami Hara’s assistant were even aware Monday customers were getting skipped for 2nd time.

  • Chris February 14, 2019 (8:51 am)

    Interestingly, we used a combination of ice melt and sand we had and got on our sidewalks before snow started and then reapplied sand after shoveling.   The sidewalks we treated have no ice on them and are great.   People that helped us shovel commented how easy it was to get the snow up.   Of course, we ran out of snow melt after first application, however had sand.    Our neighborhood in North Admiral is still a very big mess though.   Streets, alleys are a mess of mush and ice and up on California Ave where snow plows pushed snow up along sides of road……a mess.    Hopefully today will bring more melting.   Hope no one else slips and falls as children in above comment.    And, no SPU could not get to us.   We heard one truck try and that was it.    Thanks  for trying SPU.

  • Alex February 14, 2019 (8:57 am)

    Could we get some clarification from SPU regarding next Monday’s pickup?  They are saying we can put out double, but missing 2 pickups of trash plus the normal day should be triple the amount. Am I missing something here? 

    • KBear February 14, 2019 (9:18 am)

      Alex, nobody else’s garbage was collected either. Do you think it would be a good use of public resources to let people put out triple amounts garbage? That’s essentially giving people a free “dump run”. “Double” means up to 2 FULL containers. Do you fill your container every week? If you can’t manage to fit triple your normal amount into 2 containers, you need to stop creating so much garbage.

      • Alex February 14, 2019 (9:50 am)

        Yes, my can is filled every week. So 3 weeks of garbage is 3 cans. If you’d like to come remove some of my kids diapers and other items you want to school me on “creating so much garbage”  go ahead. What’s the issue here? 3 weeks of garbage = triple the amount of garbage. 

      • BC February 14, 2019 (9:54 am)

        Save your BS lecture. Not only did we pay for pickups that never happened, many of us are already as efficient as we can be with the small container. Not to mention that there has been way more garbage than usual with the entire family stuck in the house for 2 weeks.

        • KBear February 14, 2019 (10:28 am)

          Good for you, BC. But two missed collections are not exactly a public emergency. They’ll get your trash as soon as they’re able. Garbage collection is hardly ever cancelled due to weather, so just deal with it. As far as paying for it goes, it’s a public service. We’re on the hook for it one way or another. Would you like them to raise your rates instead?

      • Pelicans February 14, 2019 (12:12 pm)

        KB, Good use of “virtue signaling.”

        • P February 15, 2019 (5:03 am)

          Care to respond?

  • Lisa February 14, 2019 (9:00 am)

    Echoing other comments that it’s FAR worse out today than yesterday. I was able to get out of my driveway and alley yesterday afternoon with no problem but today is a totally different story. Nearly wiped out walking down the alley and was grateful for there being some snow to step through – otherwise black ice.Also want to give big kudos to USPS for NOT delivering mail and to SPU for NOT picking up garbage. I’d rather the drivers and workers be safe and for me and my neighbors to “suffer” through this a bit.And WSB – you folks are absolutely the best. Can’t thank you enough for the incredible 24/7 job you do always but, especially, during the Squeeze and now the snow.

    • just wondering February 14, 2019 (10:28 am)

      Totally agree.  I don’t need anyone hurt because of garbage or recycling pickup or mail delivery.  

  • Darryll February 14, 2019 (9:17 am)

    There seems to be a problem with northbound busses at Westwood Village. A group of us at 16th and Trenton have been waiting for about 45 minutes for the northbound bus. We’ve seen 4 southbound in that time.

  • Quora February 14, 2019 (9:22 am)

    Busses are terribly slow today.

  • Kirsten February 14, 2019 (9:45 am)

    FYI, Bed Bath & Beyond in Westwood village just got in a shipment of their awesome ice melt this morning! Worked wonders on my front steps and sidewalk!!

  • newnative February 14, 2019 (9:55 am)

    This was my first trip out of West Seattle since Friday. I was astonished to see downtown streets and sidewalks to not only be snow/ice free but DRY!!!  It’s like we’re in a whole other world. Meanwhile many businesses on main streets can’t even maintain their sidewalks. These businesses are open too, so they can’t say they aren’t able to come in and take care of their property. Crossfit and Muttley Crews on 42nd Ave SW have not been taking care of their sidewalks. I’m terrified of falling and busting something.  

    • KM February 14, 2019 (3:32 pm)

      It seems like there’s a Crossfit joke here. Shovels instead of kettlebells? A new joke variation on driving to the gym to use the treadmill? 

  • CarDriver February 14, 2019 (10:22 am)

    WSB. Any updates on the northbound exit to the stadiums?

    • WSB February 14, 2019 (10:24 am)

      Published yesterday and linked earlier this morning in the story above.

  • Momofthree February 14, 2019 (10:35 am)

    Any word about additional street clearing? Is the city basically counting on the sun to solve the remaining snow/ice issues on hilly side streets at this point? I understand the focus on arterials, but once those are done, why aren’t other streets tackled next in order to assist in the delivery of other city-wide services? 

    • WSB February 14, 2019 (10:41 am)

      They moved on to streets near schools, also to overnight/morning treating of arterials (see the map link above) to stave off re-icing, and from https://sdotblog.seattle.gov/2019/02/13/getting-roads-and-sidewalks-ready-for-school-communities-lend-a-hand-or-shovel-to-help-reopen-schools-on-thursday/

      “Why don’t we plow every street in the city?

      We’re doing our best to clear the streets that we can plow safely, but there are many challenges that make it impossible to clear every single street.

      Many streets are just too narrow for us to plow safely, especially when cars are parked on both sides of the street. There’s not always room for plows to get through without damaging cars or blocking them in behind piles of snow. So it’s simply not possible to plow these roads without also towing all the parked cars.

      We’re also doing our best to reopen streets on hills which were closed due to ice and snow. But this also presents challenges because some of these roads are too steep to safely operate a plow in icy conditions.”

      • Momofthree February 14, 2019 (11:59 am)

        My response to these explanations/excuses as someone who grew up back east (and who’s lived in Seattle for a couple decades, so no lectures please! I know that these weather systems are uncommon, but so are earthquakes and we bother to prepare for those these days) is that these are managerial choices being made by our officials, not prohibitive realities. Cities across our country have similar issues, and have formulated solutions around them—smaller plows, street sweepers, and ice treatment trucks, snow day parking restrictions, dig-your-own-car-out morning surprises, etc. Unusual weather has become less so in recent years. 

        • East Coast Cynic February 14, 2019 (1:37 pm)

          Having grown up back east myself and also bewildered and frustrated by the lack of preparation for snow, the rationale I’ve been given  is that it doesn’t snow enough to justify spending the money for the equipment.  Maybe with climate change and some of the snow we’ve had this year some people in city and county government will reassess such a position.

          • Gene February 14, 2019 (3:13 pm)

            No-a waste of money for the number of snow incidents Seattle has.  Invest in keeping our streets in good repair. Many were in horrible shape before -can’t wait to see how much worse they’ll be after this.

        • just wondering February 14, 2019 (3:39 pm)

          Mayor “Dorm” Braman was the 45th mayor of Seattle, Washington from 1964 to 1969.  When asked what Seattle’s snow removal plan was he replied “spring”.

      • Anne February 14, 2019 (12:39 pm)

        Thanks WSB for posting this- there is absolutely no way asandingtruck or plow could come down our street with all the cars parked on either side. 

    • Tsurly February 14, 2019 (2:51 pm)

       East coast transplant here as well, and I think it’s a stupid idea for Seattle to waste any additional resources on snow removal/ management. Its a problem for maybe one week a year. Even back east with exponentially more public resources dedicated to snow management, I still had to put my own time in to manage snow around my neighborhood. That’s life and part of homeownership.If able-bodied people picked up a shovel and put in just half the effort they put into ranting on this blog, the streets an sidewalks would be clear. It took me about 4 total hours to clear the sidewalk on both sides of my block. Two other neighbors stepped in and we got most of our street clear.It reminds me of a time a few years ago when leaves clog the storm drain on my street. Some of my neighbors (no surprise, the same ones who didnt shovel their sidewalks the past week) were standing in the flooding street in the middle of the night complaining that they couldn’t get SPU out there to fix the drain. Along comes Mr. Surly with a pry bar and shovel, two minutes later, problem solved. 

      • Momofthree February 14, 2019 (3:37 pm)

        Not ranting, I actually love snow and was trained by my parents at an early age to like shoveling! I just wonder how much money is lost during these storms due to side streets (and not so side streets) being unnavigable for days on end. Snow and ice storms are significant, especially if you own a small business. 

  • Mj February 14, 2019 (11:28 am)

    SPU said Monday customers as a priority, I have not seen a WM truck in Admiral District all day.  Old school when you say you are going to prioritize something you finish the job before started on a new one.  I do not see this occurring.Anyone in Admiral see a WM truck today?

  • The Admiral February 14, 2019 (1:35 pm)

    Getting supremely tired of all of the “As someone from the EAST COAST/MID WEST/ALASKA/ANTARCTICA this snow is NOTHING!” We get it. Seattle needs more snow-preparedness resources. But I’d still rather the $$ went to keeping the roads in good condition year round and filling in potholes than buying plowing equipment that would sit around for 2-3 years at a time, untouched.

    • Andrea February 14, 2019 (2:07 pm)

      +1

    • Mr February 14, 2019 (2:10 pm)

      How about using some of the money the city is wasting on the trolley? 

    • Darryll February 14, 2019 (2:13 pm)

      The Admiral FTW!

    • Pelicans February 15, 2019 (6:20 am)

      +2This region isnt accustomed to regular snow, and city of Seattle’s(to say nothing of surroundind lowlands areas’)  infrastructure is not build to handle it.If you are from the east, or somewhere else that gets a lot of snow, this is not where you came from. Get off your high horses, or become a local.

  • MJ February 14, 2019 (2:30 pm)

    The Admiral is correct spending more money on snow removal equipment is not the answer.  There are however some low cost changes needed for future events:- restrict parking on Arterials so it’s easier for the snow plows to clear the street and provide busses more room to navigate- enforce the SMC requirement to keep sidewalks clear in particular commercial residential sites and businesses.

  • Shellie February 14, 2019 (4:30 pm)

    Does anyone know what happened with the 21x? First bus through Arbor Heights and the first buses leaving downtown no show. Was at 3rd and Virginia for 45 min, saw one C. Finally took Lyft home :(

  • newnative February 14, 2019 (4:48 pm)

    I’m getting 56/57 cancellation alerts for my ride home. 

  • WSB February 14, 2019 (6:09 pm)

    Newly announced city plan for the trash/recycling/etc. situation:
    https://westseattleblog.com/2019/02/west-seattle-snow-aftermath-new-city-plan-for-missed-trash-recycling-etc-pickups/

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