Tough Weekend For Mass Transit
No one actually knows what's going on with the monorail. That can't be true. There must be a handfull of people somewhere in the city who know how things stand and where things are going, but they don't seem to be saying anything. So instead we get a new vote on the monorail, which means it's not happening and then means it is happening and then there's no vote on the monorail which means, again, that it is happening, but wait, now it means it's not happening. Doesn't it seem like that, kinda? Which is why we say no one actually knows what's going on with the monorail.
We do know that the bus tunnel is closing tonight, though, and will remain closed for the next two years. Remember that little photo tour you were going to do where you took pictures of all the bus tunnel stops? You bettet get on that right away or file it under '2007.' The bus tunnel has been pretend closed for the past week with many people with safety orange in place to inform you that you are absolutely not going to drive down 3rd Ave and they don't care how many blocks you have to drive around, how long it takes you or what you'll be late for. Bus traffic will be routed to 3rd for reals starting tonight, but effectively for you starting Monday. Better start making plans now to leave work early next week while they get it sorted.
Finally, in "Seattle's mass transit is fucked" news: A ferry will be destroyed on Sunday. In this case, it's just a drill (if only we could say the same about the monorail and the bus tunnel). Emergency responders will be testing their own mettle by staging a number of concurrent maritime attacks including an attack on a ferry, a container ship and a cruise ship. Expect to see those little orange Zodiacs with the mounted machine guns zipping all over the place and fake smoke and poison gas hovering over Elliot Bay. It could be quite a show if you're stuck downtown by the closed bus tunnel, but we suspect that heroic bystanders aren't in the plan so don't throw a wrench in the works by diving in after anyone.
