Happy Fourth of July from Seattlest
Seattlest Day Trips to Mount Rainier (in Photos)
Can't Miss It: Weekend Edition July 3-5
Weekend Theatre: July 3-5
The Seattle Transit Blog reported (and Seattlest echoed) the fact that 3rd Avenue Downtown is going to remain a transit-only corridor during rush hour way back in June, but since the press release just came out and it'll probably be in the papers tomorrow maybe we should revisit it.
Based on the outstanding success in moving buses quickly and efficiently through downtown, Mayor Greg Nickels today announced that local transit agencies will continue to use Third Avenue as a priority corridor when the transit tunnel reopens in September.The decision to continue prioritizing bus service on Third Avenue
during peak hours will allow King County Metro Transit to reorganize
surface bus routes and balance transit traffic across downtown. Eighteen
bus routes will move to the tunnel when it reopens.“By every measure, using Third Avenue for buses has been a very smart
move,” said Mayor Greg Nickels. “With tunnel work coming to an end,
this is a tremendous opportunity to improve transit service downtown and
help people get where they are going quickly and efficiently. It is one
more step toward becoming the most climate-friendly city in the
country.”
Firstly, the bus tunnel is almost completed! Woo-hoo! That's probably 7 minutes off Seattlest's commute, times 5, times 4, times 12...that's an extra 28 hours of life next year! Oh, how to spend this wonderful bounty...
Secondly, if North-South routes through downtown can so easily absorb the loss of 3rd Ave, perhaps if the Viaduct were to disappear as well the Earth would not stop rotating on its axis. Not that the throughput of 3rd Avenue was ever similar to that of the Viaduct, of course, but, you know, traffic finds a way.
Here's the monitoring report that says everything will be alright with 3rd Ave as transit-only indefinitely.
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Not trying to be negative here, but I do wonder if this decision is in part due to the cash-cow of that 3rd Ave. has become for the SPD during rush hour. Just yesterday, I saw a two-man team pulling over motorists who had gotten lost or confused and failed to turn off of 3rd Ave. soon enough. Instead of turning over the under-labeled, confusing and off-limits-during-certain-hours-okay-during-others 3rd Ave. back to motorists, the SPD would rather suck unsuspecting tourists into it's transit-only honey trap and make a buttload of money. Jerks.
Good point--I see people pulled over on 3rd almost every day. If it's going to be permanent maybe they can get some more signs going.
People could try reading traffic signs for a change.
I had been here one week and was trying to find my way to work in the pouring rain. I had out of state plates and license still, and no doubt looked disoriented. I turned on third and one block later got the $108 welcome-to-town fee, whereupon Officer Charming told me I drove past 7 signs that said "do not enter". Later on foot I confirmed that there were 3, and they were so high up on the poles that they were above my field of view (even on a clear day, I'd bet).
I'm with Saxtor- this is a cash cow. And are all the cops in this town dealing with some personal issues or something?
Or, you and everyone else who turns on 3rd are in fact IDIOTS.
Here's something else to think about... all the freaking drug dealers that hang out at the bus stops now. It makes it much harder for the SPD to ask people to move along when they're "waiting for the bus". I work on 7th and live on 1st and I'm really tired of turning down crack every day after work... and some days I could really use it, 'cause the scotch just aint gonna cut it. :P
Yes, of course it's idiot drivers. It couldn't possibly be poorly designed signage and confusing rules about who can drive where when.
I could grant misisng one sign...but most drivers I see on 3rd are skipping past numerous signs. JUST TRY LOOKING AT YOUR SURROUNDINGS AND GET OFF YOUR DARN CELL PHONE.
I agree with comment #6, my husband even saw a shooting while waiting for his bus on 3rd yesterday.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/325697_shooting31.html
At least the high number of cops waiting to give out traffic tickets means that the shooter didn't get very far. If the city and county want all of us to commute on mass transit, it would be nice if they could at least make the major downtown bus stops less scary.