TRAFFIC/TRANSIT TODAY: Monday watch

Marc September 30, 2019 (8:05 am)

Surprise! The Delridge on-ramp is congested at 8am again, all the way to the new bus lane.Thanks WSDOT/SDOT/Whoever else you want to pass the blame to.

tk September 30, 2019 (8:28 am)

Colossal backup on the West Seattle bridge directly due to new bus merge on 99N. I can see it from the ridge above the bridge- by 7am this morning already backed up solid onto the Delridge merge and by 7:30am backed up also onto Admiral Way up to Olga. Since the tunnel opened (with no bus lane merge) this had not been a problem, traffic flowed slowly but steadily from the WS bridge to 99N, rarely backing up, even later in the morning.By contrast, since last Monday with the new bus lane merge it has been a total mess artificially created by SDOT. It’s domino effect slows down even the buses which are also stuck in the same backups. SDOT- Please remove the bus lane on 99N!!! A start with covering up the signs would prove the immediate change.Last week I tried calling the SDOT telephone listed on the Blog, and I was transferred over to the general Seattle customer service line- SDOT did not even want to take my phone call.

Mark September 30, 2019 (11:02 am)

Who can we get to head up a plan to get rid of that ridiculous bus lane ?.It’s a disaster!.
- LJ September 30, 2019 (2:08 pm)
  
  No worries mayor Durkan hired a traffic czar with no experience to coordinate all the transportation departments. He is only making $200,000 so what do you expect results.

ugh September 30, 2019 (8:37 am)

the sunshine was nice for the doubled commute time this morning. Thanks WSDOT/SDOT/City Leadership, this is AMAZING….

smittytheclown September 30, 2019 (8:49 am)

Everyone needs to contact them or they will not change that lane back!As well as the tunnel has been working this simple change has made it a disaster for car and metro commuters alike!Contact them!

Azimuth September 30, 2019 (9:02 am)

Apologies to everyone as I haven’t yet adjusted to the new bus lane as SDOT suggested so the backup is my fault. Maybe tomorrow!

Shawn September 30, 2019 (9:28 am)

The bus ride on the C this morning was basically tolerable. The backup is still there getting on and off the ramp, and we were still forced to inch up the ramp due to all the merging at the end of it. But there was only one car inappropriately sprawled across the bus lane trying to merge too late.A dashcam on the bus would catch a lot of these sorts of violations. Even if you can’t legally ticket people that way, you could at least send them a strongly worded warning letter…

sw September 30, 2019 (9:33 am)

There are a LOT of negligent drivers on the bridge this morning, cutting between lanes of traffic trying to get a couple of cars closer (I’m primarily looking at you, guy in the 1999 white Subaru Forester). Lots of close calls, and if the roads were wet there undoubtedly would have been accidents. We really need the emphasis patrol on the bridge right now while we deal with the 99 bus lane issue.

Tsurly September 30, 2019 (12:37 pm)

Lots of negligent drivers everywhere. I had single occupancy vehicle pass me (on my bicycle) downhill on Yancy this morning in a hurry, rolling through the stop sign at the bottom where kids were waiting for their school bus. All this just to hurry up and sit in the traffic on Andover waiting to turn onto Delridge, just to sit in more traffic queueing up to the bridge.

GatewoodGuy September 30, 2019 (10:51 am)

I’ve stopped trying to take 99 all together. Previously I had taken 35th but with the construction I had been going via Delridge and it wasn’t too bad until the bus lane went back in. Now I take Fauntleroy and it’s simply too difficult to try to merge into the NB 99 lane with it backed up to Delridge so I’m taking 4th now into downtown. It seems like our local elected officials are perfectly content with this.

Shawn September 30, 2019 (11:24 am)

Please do not get rid of the bus lane. Push the start of it back further away from the on-ramp, sure. That would fix a lot of problems. But the lane is really important for bus reliability when N-99 is congested, which is about half the time. Do not throw the baby out with the bathwater.

cwit September 30, 2019 (11:52 am)

Email sam.zimbabwe@seattle.gov with your commute experience since the bus lane change. – he’s the SDOT director.

Craig September 30, 2019 (12:51 pm)

Done. Took 3 minutes to let him know. As public servant I hope he wants to help those that his decision hurt. The fix, removing the bus lane on 99N, is obvious and needed. Or…he could do nothing and hope it all goes away and people get used to bad traffic (again). Possible both ways.
VH September 30, 2019 (1:38 pm)

Also included Jenny Durkan in my email since Mr. Zimbabwe’s office has not been responding to emails or phone calls on this topic, at least in my experience.
sw September 30, 2019 (2:12 pm)

Just send a follow-up to my email from last week. We need every person who is commenting on these threads to send an email. If you don’t, then you need to get engaged and not just come here and complain.

Tracey September 30, 2019 (12:16 pm)

If city, state, etc, officials want to see what it is like when we don’t adjust our habits, perhaps we should all go back to life in the early 2000s in West Seattle. The days when an early stroll around Green Lake, a movie at the Sundance Theatre in the U District or a sunset watch with friends at Carkeek Park was a remote possibility. Lately, I have even avoided Alki in fear of the 35th and Avalon disaster. Why pay taxes to live in a city you can’t access?

@gatewood September 30, 2019 (12:21 pm)

What happened to the mayor’s mobility czar, General Mike Worden? This stripe-gate is exactly what he would resolve on the spot.

CarDriver September 30, 2019 (3:21 pm)

I need to get to Colman dock by 7:45am this Thursday. What time should i leave 63rd & Admiral? Would takeing 1st ave. be better??

KM September 30, 2019 (3:52 pm)

If you type this information into Google Maps, including the time you need to arrive, it will give you your answer. It’s much faster than typing in the comments or forums and hoping for a decent response.
- WSB September 30, 2019 (4:09 pm)
  
  I’d trust humans first. Sometimes lots of good advice, sometimes not. When we have to go downtown for something in the morning, we leave at least an hour in advance – far better to be early if it shakes out that way than late! And we take 1st or 4th because the exits don’t back up as badly as the exit to 99. – TR

Scott September 30, 2019 (3:49 pm)

If only you people might put this much energy into impeachment. You’ll get to work…relax.

dcn September 30, 2019 (4:49 pm)

I wrote to everyone and only heard back from Lisa Herbold. She said she forwarded my email to Zimbabwe, but I’d already sent him a copy of my email too. I shudder to think how bad the backups will be if the lower bridge closes to ship traffic.