ROAD WORK, TRAFFIC, TRANSIT: Thursday watch, 22nd week of West Seattle Bridge closure

6:16 AM: It’s Thursday, the 150th morning without the West Seattle Bridge.

ROAD WORK/CLOSURES

*Major work continues along Delridge Way for the RapidRide H Line prep project – here’s the bulletin detailing where crews are working this week and how that affects traffic/access.

*Weekend reminder: More road work will close part of 44th SW between Edmunds and Alaska again this weekend.

CHECK THE TRAFFIC BEFORE YOU GO

Here’s the 5-way intersection camera (Spokane/West Marginal/Delridge/Chelan):

Here’s the restricted-daytime-access (open to all 9 pm-5 am) low bridge:

The main detour route across the Duwamish River is the 1st Avenue South Bridge (map) . Here’s that camera:

The other major bridge across the river is the South Park Bridge (map). Here’s that camera:

Going through South Park? Don’t speed.

Check the @SDOTBridges Twitter feed for info about any of those bridges opening for marine traffic.

You can see all local traffic cams here; locally relevant cameras are also shown on this WSB page.

TRANSIT

Metro – No recent changes – still reduced service and distancing – details here.

Water Taxi – Still on its “winter” schedule, with the 773 and 775 shuttles running – see the schedule here.

Trouble on the roads/paths/water? Let us know – text (but not if you’re driving!) 206-293-6302.

Flivver August 20, 2020 (6:47 am)

WSB. Are the camera’s being installed on the low bridge owned by the city or will an outside company get a cut?

WSB August 20, 2020 (9:29 am)

Don’t know for sure but AFAIK the existing enforcement cameras are almost universally operated by a third party.

NW August 20, 2020 (8:46 am)

Averaging about 40 miles a week commuting by bicycle 10 of those miles sometimes less sometimes more by transit assist bicycle commute. Will I once the winter weather begins?

tsurly August 20, 2020 (10:34 am)

Why not? Many of us do it year round, its not as bad as you think, quite easy actually.
- waikikigirl August 20, 2020 (11:16 am)
  
  TSurly, May I ask you a few personal questions? Reason is because you’re always commenting on how easy it is to commute on a bike, that anyone should be able to… And my answers to the same questions are, 65, no,(because of injuries) and yes. So yes I would love to ride my bike (I do have one/Cannondale) but because of my injuries and obligations at home it is not a good option. So not everyone can ride like you enjoy.
  Questions:Your age: ? Physically fit: ?No injuries: ?
  - tsurly August 20, 2020 (12:23 pm)
    
    My pleasure. I will start by acknowledging (as I have consistently done in the past) that not everyone is able to bike commute, but many are and refuse to even consider the idea. And some days I run to work, because biking the same route everyday gets a bit boring. I also drive sometimes.
    
    Age: 40
    
    Physically fit: absolutely, because I’ve have made rigorous exercise a priority my entire life
    
    Plenty of injuries: torn ACL right knee, 6 broken ribs, broken left hand, broken collar bone (2x), and two broken toes. Some days they can bother me, most days I feel fine.
    
    Other factors, since you mention home obligations: I have a spouse (who works 60 hours a week), two young kids, three dogs, and work full time.
    - waikikgirl August 20, 2020 (3:49 pm)
      
      OMG 3 dogs!?!? Just kidding. Well it sounds you have kept yourself in shape to enjoy what you enjoy and that is good, wish I did. The hubby and I would like to see if you’re still able to do those things once you hit our age(LOL!), he’s had numerous surgeries on his shoulder from DH Racing and got old and gave it up.Good luck to you and stay healthy.
    - Canton August 20, 2020 (10:57 pm)
      
      Tsurly, Do you perhaps financially gain, if more people considered riding bikes?
    - tsurly August 21, 2020 (8:16 am)
      
      Waikikigirl DH mountain bike racing was the causing of one of my collar bone breaks and the broken ribs. The broken ribs were what convinced me to give that up and keep my wheels (mostly) on the ground.Canton, I have no financial stake in more people riding bikes, designing portions of large infrastructure projects (tunnels, dams, bridges, etc) is how I fill my piggy bank.
    - waikikigirl August 21, 2020 (11:54 am)
      
      TSurly, oh the days of watching my husband race down those rocky cliff hanging skinny a$$ trails..glad he figured out he needed to stay around and be healthy for me and his job too! :>)
  - bill August 21, 2020 (10:21 am)
    
    WaikikiGirl: I’m 61 and bike all over the city (and farther!) and I know lots of impressive cyclists older than myself. So I expect Tsurly will still be riding at 65 and older. As you reach “our age” it becomes harder to make up for lost time, so becoming fit when young and maintaining fitness is important. And to reiterate, the point of getting more people onto bikes is to keep the roads a little less congested for those who have no alternative to driving. Good bike infrastructure is cheap compared to all other modes* and is what we need to entice more people out of their cars. *I will especially call out the proposed expenditures on increasing water taxi service to downtown, which is ridiculously expensive for the number of people served.
    - waikikigirl August 21, 2020 (12:01 pm)
      
      Bill- I was not putting TSurly down or being negative towards him for what he enjoys, just curious and yes maybe jealous that I’m unable to ride my bike like I still want to, this may get me to start up again slowly though! We will see…
- markinthedark August 20, 2020 (11:52 am)
  
  I’ve been surprised at how little I get rained on during my year round bike commute. If you watch weather radar and have some flexibility, you can even find pockets of dryness on a generally wet day.

SC August 20, 2020 (11:05 am)

It sure looks like “regular folks” are using the low bridge, but I may be missing something. Posting this after looking at the camera time at 11:02 am 8/20.

Maggie August 20, 2020 (11:35 am)

The SDOT bridge failure has had a devastating impact on those of us who don’t have a choice but to commute through this mess every day. The traffic in and out of the bridge detours has become untenable. W. Marginal way back ups are literally more than a mile long at time. In the midst of a pandemic and the economic uncertainty that is has created, we can’t afford a move. The City/SDOT’s solution is to create more surveys to convince us that public transportation is the answer but for many it can never be and pretending it is ignores the plight of many working folks, parents, seniors and others who simply don’t have the luxury of a 2-point commute. I propose that we open up the lower bridge. Traffic has been reduced with the pandemic so we’re not asking it to carry the load of 100,000 vehicles. You can cut this reduced number even further by creating two groups according to the first letter/number of your license plate. I read that this was done to buy gas when the country had a shortage. Knowing that there are 2 or 3 days when we don’t have navigate the increasingly bad detours would significantly ease a heavy burden. We already have enough to worry about in this City, with the pandemic and the economic impact to our families and community, the police situation and other political news. People are being pushed to their limits and we need to know that SDOT/City have our backs and are willing to innovate new solutions. This could mean the difference between our community thriving more quickly or watching yet another small business close and another neighbor move away. We need to consider all options.

Carole August 20, 2020 (2:10 pm)

During the gas shortage of the 70s, you bought gas on odd days if your license plate started with an odd number, even days with even. Some lines could be an hour long. My boss paid me to leave the office and fill his gas tank. I got paid to do lots of leisure reading.

drahcir61 August 20, 2020 (11:53 am)

If you’re curious, as I was, you can view the live camera feed of the low bridge to see how many drivers (i.e. your neighbors) are still using the low bridge in the middle of the day.

Watching the cam for 3 minutes, at 11:30am, I counted 20 cars using the low bridge. Consistently about 7 cars per minute so ~400 cars an hour.

It’s probably a safe bet that those drivers use the low bridge all the time (coming & going). #NotSurprised

CAM August 20, 2020 (2:48 pm)

Yep. I watched yesterday as 5 cars in one light cycle pulled onto the low bridge while everyone else went around and at that point in the day it took over an hour to get from the junction to pioneer square (midday). So I missed most of my meeting because I’m not an antisocial jerk but I’m sure those 5 people were really satisfied with themselves. The sooner we can get auto enforcement the better. Everytime I see people doing it I’m tempted to take a photo of their license plates and post it publicly. That seems like it would probably make me as bad as them though.

Joe Z August 20, 2020 (12:44 pm)

I’ve also been making use of transit-assisted bike commutes. It takes me 19 min to bike to Georgetown from West Seattle, 14 min to the SODO light rail station, 20 min to downtown. If I was working in Bellevue or Redmond I would just bike to the ID and hop an express bus across the lake, I bet it can be done in under an hour if you know the bus schedule and time it right. Much easier than a 2-seat transit commute which has gotten tricky with the reduced schedules.

Even places like Magnolia are pretty easy to get to by bike in under 45 min.

Flivver August 20, 2020 (2:42 pm)

Waikikigirl. Based on past comments TSURLY own-and drives a car and a motorhome. What’s ANNOYING about his comments promoting “bike everywhere” is that he’s happy to drive when he wants to but clearly wants to limit everyone else from driving.

Tsurly August 20, 2020 (3:26 pm)

Not the case at all, I don’t promote bike everywhere, that is Jort. Most of my day to day functioning just doesn’t involve driving, and I advocate for people to consider the same. Trust me, I feel the same pain everyone else does trying to get out of here, I’m just able to spread it out a bit more, which makes the times I do drive a bit more tolerable. Leaving tomorrow afternoon to head to the Methow for a few days, not looking forward to the hour it will take to get to I-5.
NW August 20, 2020 (5:53 pm)

I enjoy the bicycle rides the exercise and alternatives to driving this bridge situation here because of my lifestyle prior to it failing has not had a major impact on me. I even as a security measure keep my battery removed from my truck when not in use.

Smittytheclown August 20, 2020 (3:30 pm)

Any companies/warehouses on the east side of the lower bridge selling parking spots? I’d love to ride across the bridge, throw my bike in the back and drive to work. Opposite coming home. I’d pay good $!

Anne August 20, 2020 (4:05 pm)

Happy for those that feel comfortable taking transit -not going to happen for this household until there is a vaccine – that works- oh & can get us where we need to go without transfers-that add hours to trips-so probably never. Also happy for those fit enough to bike- wish that was our reality- but it’s not. So iits driving for us & if it means sitting in traffic -so be it-it may take longer to get where we’re going -but nearly as long as transit & we won’t be in a germ I infested environment. Just the reality of it for us & many others.

Sorry, comment time is over.