average commute time to south lake union?

[aqua]

My schedule is changing next week and I will need to arrive in South Lake Union (actually, right near REI) by 8:15 am, instead of at 1pm. With all the supplies I need to carry back and forth, I’ll be driving more often than not.

Above all, I’m looking for some quotes of an average commute time (I usually avoid driving out of the neighborhood before 10 am) so I can figure out what to expect and plan ahead. I also would love any advice on the best driving routes. Bus routes for the off days would help too!

Thanks neighbors :)

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[WSB]

I used to commute to KCPQ TV (on Westlake) from Upper Fauntleroy. That hour of the morning is absolute peak crazy traffic time, or at least it was till I quit when we went fulltime with WSB in December 2007. I took The Viaduct to the exit just out of the tunnel – not sure if that would work for REI – and it could take up to 45 minutes at that time of day, while at offhours like 1 pm, as little as 15 minutes.

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[squareeyes]

Try 99 N to Mercer Street exit. 1) You have the option of staying on Mercer Street in the far right lane, go past Westlake & Fairview and head up the hill just to the right of the I-5 entrance at Fairview which takes you to Eastlake. 2) Or you could turn right from Mercer onto Dexter, Westlake, or Fairview to your desired sidestreet and then turn east towards REI. You might want to experiment which some of these options…there’s a lot of construction going on around SLU.

Drive time at 8:00am (from Seaview) is generally 25 minutes barring any accidents (vs an hour+ on the buses). Drive time might be slightly different since you’ll be leaving a bit earlier than 8:00am.

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[aqua]

Thanks, yes, right now I take the viaduct to the mercer exit right out of the tunnel and it takes about 15 minutes. Yikes – 45 minutes!!! Good thing you’re warning me… thanks.

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[aqua]

Thanks for the route details squareeyes, and i’m in high point – very near you so it sounds like I should avoid the bus altogether… I suspected so. I won’t waste my time trying to make that work then.

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[Crowe]

I drove to SLU for a year. took the 99 exit, got off at the exit AFTER the tunnel. Took me on average about 15 minutes. That was after 9:00a.m. So if you can beat rush hour it’s great. Even with Rush hour it takes at the most 30 minutes. Have fun working in SLU!

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[Author]

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