TRAFFIC/TRANSIT TODAY: Thursday watch; Metro bus reroutes today

(SDOT MAP with travel times/ Is the ‘low bridge’ closed? LOOK HERE/ West Seattle-relevant traffic cams HERE)

7:02 AM: Good morning! No outbound alerts/incidents reported in our area so far.

BUSES REROUTED TODAY: Reminder that Metro is testing a reroute for southbound buses on the south end of downtown today, until 5 am Friday. Here’s the map again:

7:21 AM: “Unplanned maintenance” for MV Kitsap is causing some cancellations on the Fauntleroy- Vashon-Southworth route this morning.

14 Replies to "TRAFFIC/TRANSIT TODAY: Thursday watch; Metro bus reroutes today"

  • Brayton August 15, 2019 (7:19 am)

    Genuinely curious how the test route will be tonight. Getting through Pioneer Square has improved this week. Having a decent alternate route will be A Good Thing. 

    • Dan Keller August 15, 2019 (9:53 am)

      I haven’t noticed any difference, especially on event nights.  It will be much nicer when the of the viaduct is down, and the busses turn left onto Alaskan Way to 99, instead of 1st Ave.

  • helpermonkey August 15, 2019 (8:19 am)

    avoid Fauntleroy right now if you have to drive by the dock. Ferry line has everyone parked in the southbound travel lane, and people trying to get by are just driving in the opposite lane, regardless of traffic. Everything is a cluster. 

  • Alki commuter August 15, 2019 (3:58 pm)

    Thank you for reporting this. I’m glad to hear at least something is being looked at. 

  • Ktrapp August 15, 2019 (4:28 pm)

    Welp, I was looking forward to testing out the different route, but the driver of the 21x bus I grabbed decided to go the regular route.  I don’t think someone got the memo.

  • Seaview August 15, 2019 (4:51 pm)

    On the C line southbound now and the driver went the old route and said he wasn’t aware of the reroute. Now attempting to get back on the new temporary route.

  • West Seattle Guy August 15, 2019 (4:57 pm)

    They used the reroute tonight. Boarded at about 4:30. I got to the habit by 4:57.  Not bad!

  • Admiral gal August 15, 2019 (5:02 pm)

    Wow, unbelievably bad idea—this week’s commute has been better, generally, but tonight we did an…extra loop? Or something thru Pioneer Square, taking the scenic route and adding 15 minutes on to the trip at least. Bizarre choice, I’m still downtown after getting on at 3rd/Pike at 4:40. 

  • Busrider August 15, 2019 (5:44 pm)

    Reroute was ok today. But traffic was backed up on Avalon up to 35th. Taking 20-25 minutes from luna park to fauntleroy. Maybe metro should reroute off Avalon until Avalon paving gets done.

  • Matt P August 15, 2019 (6:16 pm)

    Got on the reroute C from 2nd & Main and it was nice from there.  Once on Avalon though it was awful.  I’ll never understand why they close the entire construction area instead of doing it in stages.

  • MCD August 15, 2019 (6:17 pm)

    Fast commute on C line! Left Belltown/downtown  5:50, on Avalon in WSea by 6:15. Seemed like we really got some speed along 4th ave. I like the reroute!

  • Kyle August 15, 2019 (6:22 pm)

    Reroute took an extra 15 minutes from when the pioneer square route “works”. It wasn’t as bad as when the pioneer square route gets jammed. So longer, but probably more dependable.Honestly, we need a bus lane on one of these routes during the afternoon commute. Why can’t we prioritize transit in one lane on one street all the way thru downtown? If that has to be the interior lane on 1st thru pioneer square for weight restrictions, so be it. Left turns aren’t allowed during afternoons hours anyways, and all the buses change lanes at the end of 1st already.

  • KM August 15, 2019 (6:30 pm)

    I think that a one day reroute is tricky, maybe it needs more time for all the drivers to get the memo, and test every day of the week before a decision is made on which temporary route to take. I assumed some of the drivers would either miss the reroute or drive the old route out of habit, and it looks like that happened!

  • sekai rider August 15, 2019 (7:11 pm)

    in the Seattle Times, Monday, is  an article on the reroute, they’re asking for feedback, particularly on seahawk game night, but any feedback will do.  Check the times story for info on how to send feedback. Sorry if you’ve printed this earlier .  My commute is now an hour and half, reading the blog every day had to go…

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