Home › Forums › Open Discussion › Morning commute is killing me!
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January 13, 2010 at 5:47 pm #593547
beaglenutMemberWhat is the deal with traffic in the morning? Over the last 6 months, my morning commute of 6 miles into downtown Seattle has gone from 20 minutes to 45! It seems each morning has more cars on the road than the last. And what’s the deal with the people choosing morning rush hour to see if their 1989 Geo is still road-worthy – only to have it break down half way across the bridge!
Aaagh! My apologies for the rant. Just wondering if there is anyone else out there that feels the same way I do + if there’s an explanation for all this that I’m unaware of… Thanks.
January 13, 2010 at 6:02 pm #686466
austinMemberIt’s happening due to a combination of reasons. A lot of people are on similar work schedules, going to work at times of the day that coincide with the commute of others. Additionally the population of Seattle seems to be increasing faster than infrastructure is being upgraded. When you supplement that with the fact that most people still think that they need to have their own personal transportation machine big enough to move 5-7 people to get downtown and back, we get morning and afternoon rush hour traffic as a result.
January 13, 2010 at 6:07 pm #686467
beaglenutMemberI definitely agree with your point about the tank driving solo drivers. Although that seems to happen everywhere.
But why such a drastic change in the last 6 months? I can’t imagine I’m the only person fuming at this…right?!?
Evening rush hour isn’t half as bad in my opinion. I head home at 5pm and it takes me 20 minutes flat.
January 13, 2010 at 6:12 pm #686468
Mayor QuimbyMemberAdditionally,
I feel that Monday mornings are not that bad but Tuesdays and Fridays are always the worst. Some businesses are closed on Mondays is my guess why.
I also feel lately getting into downtown from the south along first ave is especially bad because of the construction on Alaskan, close to the stadiums.
However, beaglenut, you have to really wonder why some many people live in W Seattle and choose to drive to work downtown or in the sodo area. Next time you are on the bus in the parking lot of a W Seattle bridge in the AM trying to merge into the bus lane, look at all the people in vehicles around you causing the traffic.
How many of them are single occupancy only? Unfortunately, most of the vehicles crossing the bridge in the AM only contain one person.
Nothing feels better than passing traffic on a bike in the morning or afternoon…FYI
January 13, 2010 at 6:17 pm #686469
austinMemberI feel like Seattle has a harder time handling soloists because our streets aren’t built around that lifestyle as much as other cities’ seem to be.
There’s been a lot of construction going on with the 4th ave / spokane st situation but I feel like that’s been happening for a while. I remember it was really bad when they were doing all the work on 1st. I don’t commute into the city for job though, so. It really takes 45 minutes to get downtown in the morning?
January 13, 2010 at 6:18 pm #686470
mannamcParticipantI’ve been commuting from West Seattle to points further East for about 5 years now, and the morning commute always seems to be way worse in the winter, which would explain some of the change in the last 6 months that you’ve noticed.
January 13, 2010 at 6:21 pm #686471
beaglenutMemberOh if only I could bike!
I would take the bus myself if I thought it would be faster than driving. I grew up in Europe and public transportation is so efficient there, you wouldn’t dream of driving unless you really had to. So many people here seem to drive in the bus lane like it’s their own, it amazes me.
Good point about it being winter (although I don’t feel the weather has changed much)… And yes, it really does take 45 minutes (44th -> 3rd Ave)!
January 13, 2010 at 6:36 pm #686472
DavidFParticipantMonorail!
January 13, 2010 at 6:56 pm #686473
KBearParticipant“I would take the bus myself if I thought it would be faster than driving.”
I would even settle for “a little bit longer than driving”. But 2-3 times as long is not acceptable to me. I would gladly ride the bus if it would get me there in a reasonable amount of time.
January 13, 2010 at 6:58 pm #686474
beaglenutMember“I would even settle for “a little bit longer than driving”. But 2-3 times as long (an hour to go 9 miles) is not acceptable to me. I would gladly ride the bus if it would get me there in a reasonable amount of time.”
Glad to see someone agrees with me! Public transportation is a GREAT idea – but no one will use it if it doesn’t “work”.
January 13, 2010 at 7:10 pm #686475
WSBKeymasterEntrepreneurialism!
14 years of TV jobs (Seattle Center/South Lake Union) and 2 of Walt Disney Internet Group (Bellevue and then Smith Tower), and The Bridge day in and day out. Totally bizarre hours so carpooling/busing was seldom an option (though I tried when I had stable hours in Bellevue for the first year with Starwave/Infoseek/Disney).
Now … we are blessed to be able to stay on the peninsula most of the time. I have to go downtown for City Hall/County Courthouse stuff on occasion and most of that time, the traffic isn’t the problem so much as the outrageous parking prices!
We personally hope that light-rail thing comes through. If mass transit in our town were set up like BART/Muni or SkyTrain, I would bag the car in an instant. DavidF, I remember the days of thinking “wow, when my kid’s a teenager, he and I will be able to walk down the hill” (we’re a mile south of Morgan Junction) “and take the monorail.” Le sigh.
Also … a lot of firms could do more telecommuting than they will allow their workers to do. Even in TV – we all sat around computers, viewing and editing video, writing and editing and reviewing copy, making decisions via IMs … there really wasn’t a LOT of truly necessary personal interaction; as broadband speeds allowed, many of those folks could have worked from home. Especially writers.
January 13, 2010 at 10:00 pm #686476
SarahScootParticipantWell, part of the reason for an increase in rush-hour traffic from five months ago is that August was five months ago. In other words, school was not in session. Traffic into downtown is a *dream* in the summer. Love it. Hate, however, the rush hour commute home on Mariners game days. That’s the trade-off of summer commutes.
You may have noticed that your commute was significantly better during Christmas and New Years’ weeks – I know I did – and it’s also due to the fact that there’s no school, thus fewer people going into work and/or driving kids to school.
Regarding public transit: if you live on/near the Express lines (54X and 21X, off the top of my head,) you will get into work very quickly. I catch the 54X at California & Fauntleroy and am in my office just north of Pike Place within 30 minutes. If I worked near one of the first downtown stops, I’d be there in less than 20.
I love riding the bus and getting to zip along in the bus-only lane. :-)
January 13, 2010 at 10:00 pm #686477
SarahScootParticipantDouble post.
January 13, 2010 at 10:11 pm #686478
cjboffoliParticipantaustin: Well said!
January 13, 2010 at 10:16 pm #686479
alki_2008ParticipantHaven’t noticed the rush-hour traffic differences in the past 6 months, but that’s just because I didn’t drive into downtown until just last month.
I’ve carpooled with someone into downtown and it’s taken 20-25 minutes until I’m dropped off – that’s without spending time looking for a parking spot. I take the bus more often, and it takes 30-35 minutes – unless I take the 37, which has taken up to an hour with all the SODO construction slow-downs.
I know the 37 was faster 6 months ago, but can’t attest to car traffic in general over the past 6 months.
I can see weather playing a role, as some folks that usually bus might not want to wait at the bus stop when it’s cold/rainy.
The bus takes a fraction more time – but the cost of gas/parking vs the employer-subsidized bus pass leans towards Metro for me. YMMV!
January 13, 2010 at 10:39 pm #686480
bluebirdMemberI take the 21x and have the same results as Sarah. 20-30 minutes depending where I decide to get off. Much less stressful on the bus too.
January 13, 2010 at 10:44 pm #686481
flowerpetalMemberI’m with you on the 21X bluebird. Regardless of which 21X I take, I can’t recall once in the past six months that it took me 45 minutes to get downtown; and I board fairly early in the route.
January 13, 2010 at 10:45 pm #686482
WSratsinacageMemberI feel your pain Beagle. Traffic does not get better, even with 10% unemployment, if we are in a recession or when gas is $4-5 per gallon. Just as many, if not more, people seem to need to get on the road in the AM. I’ve travelled downtown for about 14 years from WS .. I never will make sense of it. I guess take solace in the fact that many people are in the same boat. I wish I could ride a bike or a bus.
January 13, 2010 at 10:48 pm #686483
flowerpetalMemberWhen I look at all of the construction; all of the condos on Alki and the cavern we used to call Avalon Way, I am not surprised at the increase of people leaving West Seattle in the morning.
January 13, 2010 at 11:28 pm #686484
erin215MemberI feel ya’. I commute to Georgetown (15 minute drive for $1 in gas, or an hour and a half on the bus for $2.75! Gee, guess what I do?)
Honestly, I feel like part of the problem is merging. Traffic often has to stop because someone couldn’t merge properly or on time. Or no one would let them in :(
We are also, I agree, becoming far too dense. As an apartment-dweller, I claim shelter under also being a life time West Seattle resident, but there are waaay too many apartments and condos.
January 13, 2010 at 11:59 pm #686485
christyinseattleMemberIt took me 50, FIFTY minutes to get from Morgan Junction to the Lake Union area, leaving around 8:30 am.
UGH!
January 14, 2010 at 12:24 am #686486
beaglenutMember“Honestly, I feel like part of the problem is merging. Traffic often has to stop because someone couldn’t merge properly or on time. Or no one would let them in :(“
Don’t get me started on this (especially talking about the WS bridge->99)!!! When traffic is backed up – THERE’S A LINE PEOPLE! If you feel you’re above everyone and should be able to drive on through and cut the line, don’t be surprised when I don’t let you in. Additionally, waiting until the bus lane divider turns solid to get over – NOT OKAY!!!!!
January 14, 2010 at 3:42 am #686487
busserMemberSoooo funny – I was totally thinking this morning that merging on the WS bridge would get a spotlight on the blog today.
RE: THERE’S A LINE PEOPLE!…yep, there’s a line (more like a crowd) of 6-12 cars trying to merge right away when Delridge onramp meets bridge. Like, rightawaygottadoitrightnow merging. I always pass that cluster and do change lanes over to the right when traffic is flowing more freely. I also never understand the smug drivers who won’t ‘let me in’, I’m not doing anything wrong! I’m trying to not clog the road! :)
I know this has come up before, and I’m echoing a lot of other posts I’ve read that we can all collectively spread out the merging there and likely minimize that big ol’ backup that stretches all the way up Admiral and all the way up Fauntleroy.
Here’s to a better commute tomorrow!
January 14, 2010 at 4:06 am #686488
beaglenutMemberI see your logic… But why should everyone else wait in line just to have folks like you cruise along and cut in when they find it convenient? I just don’t think it’s fair. And I really can’t respect drivers that think they own the road.
January 14, 2010 at 4:46 am #686489
swimcatMemberMerging works best when you think of the process as a ‘zipper’. The reason traffic gets so jacked up at the Delridge onramp is because people are merging at too many different points. If you would do it right where the onramp is, things would go smoother. Think about it.
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