Traffic

[libertango]

This is a mostly Seattle-only post... or perhaps not.

Erica Barnett at The Stranger writes the piece I was expecting, given the failure of Traffic Apocalypse to materialize with the recent multi-lane closures of I-5.

Quote:

"Of 120,000 cars that normally use northbound I-5 daily, half simply went away. Their drivers took alternate routes, rode transit, worked from home, or didn't take unnecessary trips. In other words, they adapted to changed circumstances.

Well, duh. That's what people do—in San Francisco (when the Embarcadero closed in 1989); in Milwaukee (where the Park East Freeway came down in 2003); and in Portland (where the removal of Harbor Drive in 1974 made it the first city to actually take out an existing freeway). And it's exactly what The Stranger has long said will happen here if the Alaskan Way Viaduct is closed and replaced with a modest surface alternative that includes investments in transit and fixes to the surface street grid downtown."

EDITED TO ADD: Bad writing on my part. Which is to say, this shouldn't be construed as an endorsement of Ms. Barnett's views. Rather, knowing the views of the anti-viaduct lobby, my point was that once traffic didn't fail as catastrophically as was predicted they would go, "See? See? It wouldn't be that bad." And, sure enough...

Comments

[kenhighcountry.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately, as often happens when a so-called reporter has reached a conclusion before beginning a story, this isn't quite accurate. I deal with Seattle traffic flow for a living. Typically, traffic is down by as much as a third the last two weeks in August. It's the highest vacation time. Secondly, I can tell you that Ms. Barnett does not live in the south end of Seattle. I do. A trip to UWMC, which under normal circumstances would take me 15 minutes at mid day, has taken me an average of 45 minutes this past week.
Her piece needs to be labeled opinion. It isn't fact.

Oops

[hal-obrien.livejournal.com]

What I just put up front:

EDITED TO ADD: Bad writing on my part. Which is to say, this shouldn't be construed as an endorsement of Ms. Barnett's views. Rather, knowing the views of the anti-viaduct lobby, my point was that once traffic didn't fail as catastrophically as was predicted they would go, "See? See? It wouldn't be that bad." And, sure enough...

[n6tqs.livejournal.com]

And the example of the Embarcadero Freeway isn't a great one- it didn't carry a lot of traffic at its worst, since it was just a connector to city streets.