Viadoom Traffic: Unpredictable, Weird
"Seattle Traffic" courtesy of Seattle Transit blogger and Seattlest Flickr Pool member Oran Viriyincy
Seven days into the closure of the Alaska Way Viaduct, and commuter are growing exhausted with the hard-to-predict traffic patterns that it's causing around downtown and West Seattle.
Yesterday, the Times reports, congestion and slowing went from "irritating but manageable" to "crippling to just about every part of the city," as I-5 was backed up until Northgate, and 405 and the West Seattle Bridge were stop-and-go for hours in the afternoon. This, by the way, is all in spite of the fact that SDOT employees are carefully monitoring commuter behavior, and trying to anticipate and time traffic lights accordingly. But unfortunately, it's hard to predict where the traffic is going to be.
KOMO reports that traffic fluctuates by the day--and that a street which may only carry a few hundred cars one day may be burdened with over 1,000 the following day.
Downtown has received the brunt of the traffic woes, as drivers try to find alternate surface routes, which simply don't exist in the same volume as the viaduct. First Avenue, Western, and Elliott Way are all marked with many highly-trafficked cross streets, making the timing of traffic lights difficult, because drivers are trying to go in all directions.
Water taxis, buses, and other forms of alternate transit have also seen a spike in ridership, but again, it's rarely a stable number, and hard to plan for. It seems that commuters are trying anything to find a quicker way to get around--and that there is none.
The Viaduct will re-open on Monday, October 31, which will be a welcome change for commuters. But the relief will be short-lived and minimal, as the speed limit on the thoroughfare will be reduced to 40 miles per hour. Additionally, this is long from being the only closure that will clog the roadways--the entire Viaduct will have to come down eventually, and construction of the waterfront is imminent.
Sorry, Seattle drivers. This may be your new normal.
