Results tagged “seattletraffic”

Further proving that Seattle traffic planning has previously been a huge, cruel joke upon the people trying to utilize it--the city announced yesterday that they synchronized downtown traffic lights for the first time in 20 years. Streetlights at 258 downtown intersections have been synchronized. According to the P-I's report on the synchronization of the traffic lights, "the city predicted a 12 percent reduction in stops and 40 percent shorter travel times through the 1.25-mile long district."

While we've been admittedly hard on the South Lake Union street car, we are actually a fan of the idea of street cars in Seattle. With the way traffic is in Seattle today and the Sisyphean task our current public transit system faces daily, we're pretty much a fan of any and all public transportation ideas for Seattle. So we were pleased to read that the city will be holding four public meetings in the coming weeks on the potential for new street car routes in town.

Usually, when traffic is dawdling on I-5 at 30 m.p.h., we're longing for the arterial: same speed, fewer Seattle drivers. But starting next year, the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) may be intentionally slowing down drivers on I-5 in hopes that it will ease traffic.

All southbound lanes of Interstate 5 through downtown Seattle were closed earlier this afternoon while the State Patrol investigated an accident involving a tractor-trailer and several other vehicles at 1:54 p.m near the Mercer Street exit.