Comments

1
Or you could ride a bike.
2
how about an elevated north south route, say from west seattle to ballard and north to 85th, with a potential for expansion to northgate?

oh wait, our leaders killed it and even when killing it couldn't bring themselves to take it over or make it light rail like skytrain. so now we have Urbana and development going like a rocket all over ballard, interbay, west seattle, a bus system that's failing and can't carry the load, and Seattle is STILL DEBATING whether to have a real rail system like all major cities have. And yes, having one n-s light rial line of limited capacity partly in the street with one spur to the burbs and overlake isn't a rail system -- it leaves out about half the city of seattle.

so instead of that we get bertha. Thank you Nickels, thank you Ceis, thank you Ron Sims. How many skytrain lines does Vancouver have now, 4 or is it 5?

what we need here is like nine lines, the ones to NW and W Seattle plus e-w in the north and south then e-w burien to southcenter and rention and connecting NW SEattle to northgate then bothell and around the lake. It's rather obvious that this is the only solution, but instead of spending $4 billion on the skytrains we need, we spend it on fucking bertha and get stuck in the mud. The result is more and more congestion, more folks move into city, and suburbs get poorer and in general getting around becomes a mess and we have more limited options hunkering down to live only in our own neighborhood. You need many rail lines, to make a large city work, and it's just amazing that Seattle somehow alone among all big cities doesn't get this -- it's like the onion said about gun control, "Only nation with massacre problem claims it's helpless to stop it" change that to "Only city without multiline rail system claims it's helpless to deal with congestion." (Note for the quibblers it deals with congestion by providing an alternative to it, it doesn't make it go away, it never goes away.)
3
Seattle Subway Now!
4
but self driving cars that cost billions of dollars to develop are supposed to fix any and all traffic problems forever! I read it yesterday on slog!
5
All you have to do is call Tim Eyman and have him sprinkle some of his pixie dust on the offending joint. Ol' Tim thinks this shit fixes itself, for free.
6
@1, just remember to not violate the 3 ft of clearance my car needs from the pointy ends of your bike.
7
Of course this happens on the day I have to get to the airport with an 8 month old.
8
underground costs too much.
9
My bike ride took all of 1 minute longer than normal.
10
I rode my bike this morning, like every morning. Hardly even noticed the traffic problems you're talking about. BTW, did I mention that my resting heart rate is 60 bpm?
11
@6: Your car isn't moving. I am.
12
First thought: well, I'm not going downtown, and my bus is a surface street bus.
Second: shit, all the routes are going to be stuck in the backup everywhere they get close to downtown aren't they?
*checks one bus away*
damn.
13
You aren't in traffic.. you are traffic.
14
#1 has it right. Bicycling is a great way to avoid car issues.
15
Tell me about your bike ride when you have kids to get to school.
16
The biking option, which doesn't work for some logistically or physically, shouldn't distract from the fact that we need efficient right of way public transportation to move people around--you can bike in Berlin and NYC, but you've got terrific public transportation in those cities as well.
17
@15: Or a geriatric parent to the doctor, or need to be at several job sights in one day, or need to carry 100+LBS of tools to and from work, or need to pick a weeks worth of groceries for a family of four, or do physical labor that leaves someone exhausted at the end of a sixteen hour shift, or...

While there are many great reasons to get around the city on a bike, there are equally valid reason that a person may choose to walk, or use transit, or even drive an automobile, society can only function when people respect the choices and lifestyles of others.

Most people outgrow their narcissism after adolescence, those that don't grow up to be republicans.
18
The cafe is playing "Adagio for Strings" as the traffic inches by. Quite fitting.
19
@17 It's not narcissistic to encourage those able to ride bikes to do so. It might be narcissistic to devalue their safety to preserve your free parking space.
20
@15 They seem to manage in Amsterdam. LIttle kids go in a trailer or a big basket in the front. Older kids ride their own bikes alongside their parents. And even older kids ride to school on their own. The crucial difference from here is that bikes are given strict priority over cars in the streets of Amsterdam so even younger kids can ride safely. It's fun to see all the kids and families going to and from school. Such a happy commute.

21
I had a great bus ride this morning and started reading The Island of Dr Moreau.
22
@17, but if everyone who could walk or bike or take transit actually did, there'd be MUCH more road space for those of you who legitimately need to drive, for childcare, or carrying equipment, or deliveries. I'm a daily bike commuter who wants you, the non-lazy road user, to have a safe and easy drive because I depend on your work to enable my car free life. But those who just drive everywhere without a passing thought? They're the problem.
23
@20. Sounds nice!
24
@19: I don't own a car, so I don't need a parking space free or not, but automobiles are and will remain a fact of life, society should provide at least some "free" parking just like they provide "free" cycle tracks, "free" parks and "free" storm drains.

Yes a person on a bicycle should be safe, and so should while I'm walking, but I never deliberately try and walk in front of a bike to obstruct them, just like I don't stand in doorways and block them.
25
@15: Check out Family Ride (http://familyride.us/) for a woman who rides everywhere with her two children. There are plenty of others like her too. I don’t have small children any more but I typically run all of my errands and do my shopping on my bicycle. I have a trailer for the bulky and heavy stuff too. There are lots of options, including electric assist, for those who need to haul a lot. Take a look at G & O Family Cyclery in Greenwood for a great selection of working bikes. http://familycyclery.com/

To be sure, there are times when a car or truck is the best way to go, but bicycles are far more versatile than you seem to believe.
26
All these fucking assholes "or you could just bike." OR I HAVE TO DRIVE OR USE TRANSIT BECAUSE I CAN'T AFFORD TO LIVE IN SEATTLE. Not everyone can bike, you're the reason I hate most bicyclists.
27
@17: But if everyone who could've ridden a bike to their destination today did, then there would be plenty of room for the old folks and dudes with tools to drive their cars.
28

And I thought the Viaduct was the one falling apart!

But as KIRO reported...they're going to paint it...

Seattle's Alaskan Way Viaduct to get new 62-foot long painting

http://kiroradio.com/76/2531105/Seattles…
29
@26 I was stuck on the highway this morning but I support encouraging more people to bike when they are able, freeing up space for those of us with kids or have to travel longer distances or who don't have the ability to ride transit, walk, bike, etc.
30
@26 - let me get this straight,... you hate most bicyclists because some people (who may or may not actually be cyclists) have an opinion and they express it in the comments section of a generally left leaning pro-cycling blog? That's the reason you HATE most bicyclists?

What kind of a person does that make you - seriously?

Because you sound hateful and unreasonable.
31
Walking and biking were faster today
32
@28,
Maybe the city decided they wanted yet another reason to close down the AWV for a few weekends and remind everyone in WS who calls the shots.
33
@15 put em on the back of my motherfucking cargo bike. Boom!
34
@30

Have you not noticed what the forum groupthink here does to non-farleft political views? This isn't exactly a paradise of acceptance, tolerance, understanding, and diverse opinion. Painting entire classes of people with a broad brush is the rule around here more often than the exception. How often do we see this technique used by the staff writers? Every. Day. If it's good enough for Ansel or Mudede to hold up one example, and paint the entire class as 'nutjobs' then how can you expect better of this guy?
35
I moved all of 10 blocks in 30 minutes down Roosevelt this morning before I said fuck it and went back to bed.
36
Problem: too many cars, no space/money for more roads. More and more people moving in with more cars.

How do you propose to improve traffic flow?

Encouraging folks to bike,walk or bus by build new infrastructure is a solid plan, works with current built environment and is cost effective. What's your plan?

37
95% of morning commutes are easy-peasy in a car.

luckily I had to go north for a jobsite meeting this a.m. when I came back down I-5 at 10:30, I zipped over 85th to 99, and right downtown. I heart google maps traffic.
38
Rode past about a mile of stopped traffic on Roosevelt on my way to work this morning.

Damn right I was smiling. Bikes are awesome.
39
@26- I can afford to live in Seattle because I don't have a car. There's no way I could pay for gas, insurance, repairs, etc... and afford Seattle rent. I could live in the 'burbs and have a car but then I'd be getting fat sitting in a car instead of having fun on my bike.
40
@15- I walk half a mile with my daughter to school then bike 2 miles to work. It's very pleasant. If we're running late she'll take her bike.

Back when she was a preschooler I took her a couple miles in a trailer or a pedal trailer (when she was older.) Good times.
41
My work window looks over I-5 and it was a crazy mess to behold. So many disgruntled drivers honking because they were apparently so eager to get to work. Then of course Biden's visit completely fucked up the afternoon as well. Noticed a state trooper sedan with someone handcuffed in the back. That would surely suck to be handcuffed and stuck in traffic for an hour.

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