Is afternoon rush hour traffic worse going north or south on I-5? (Seattle: loan, home)

[NMTS]

Is rush hour traffic in the afternoon (around 5 p.m.) worse going north or south on I-5 away from downtown? Reason I ask is because I'm trying to decide on a place to live and would like to know if living north or south of downtown will minimize my drive time home from work in the afternoon.

[PollyGlott]

It's the distance, not the direction, that will affect your commute. This is because BOTH northbound and southbound traffic is bad on the 5 in the afternoon. Northbound traffic consists of folks who live in north county - from La Jolla and Del Mar all the way up to Oceanside - whereas southbound drivers are those that are heading to Natioal City, Imperial Beach, Chula Vista. It's possible that the 5 South is somewhat better - not sure. The closer you are to downtown, the easier your commute will be. BTW, Eastbound traffic on the 8 is even worse - people driving to the College area, Del Cerro, La Mesa and El Cajon.

[Inkpoe]

Methinks Polly thinks she is posting in the Cali forum.

In this case, it *could* depend on the direction, you can use hwy 99 or 509 which could help cut down traffic. I-5 is bad both ways though. Though at that point, you could use the NB express lanes to cut down on traffic.

Originally Posted by PollyGlott

It's the distance, not the direction, that will affect your commute. This is because BOTH northbound and southbound traffic is bad on the 5 in the afternoon. Northbound traffic consists of folks who live in north county - from La Jolla and Del Mar all the way up to Oceanside - whereas southbound drivers are those that are heading to Natioal City, Imperial Beach, Chula Vista. It's possible that the 5 South is somewhat better - not sure. The closer you are to downtown, the easier your commute will be. BTW, Eastbound traffic on the 8 is even worse - people driving to the College area, Del Cerro, La Mesa and El Cajon.

[Ira500]

Afternoon rush hour southbound isn't too bad until you get to Southcenter. Northbound in the afternoon tends to be worse, but it also depends where in downtown you enter. Sometimes going through downtown on 2nd Ave and entering I-5 at 4th South is a little more certain.

[PollyGlott]

[quote=Inkpoe;17145095]Methinks Polly thinks she is posting in the Cali forum.
Ha ha ha - OMG, I automatically thought this was a San Diego post. I hope the OP was not totally flummoxed by my reply!!!

[Xanathos]

The area has done a lot to relieve congestion going South on 5 from 10 years ago. It's still less than ideal, but at least you're moving.

However, going North during the afternoon drive? Is an exercise in showing extreme patience, and typically failing. The traffic coming/going from the North side of the area is some of the worst in the entire country. You couldn't PAY me to live on the North side.

My drive entails going South on 5 to 90 East, and then riding the express lane on 90 to my exit. Technically those express lanes are only for carpools and buses, but I hop on them anyways - seeing as how driving by myself in a car is just as much of a "carpool" as some soccer mom with a 10 month old baby in a car seat, which is what most of the people in the lane are.. If the day actually comes I draw a ticket from it, I'll consider it money well spent, given the time it saves me daily.

[Swigchow]

Originally Posted by Xanathos

The area has done a lot to relieve congestion going South on 5 from 10 years ago. It's still less than ideal, but at least you're moving.

However, going North during the afternoon drive? Is an exercise in showing extreme patience, and typically failing. The traffic coming/going from the North side of the area is some of the worst in the entire country. You couldn't PAY me to live on the North side.

My drive entails going South on 5 to 90 East, and then riding the express lane on 90 to my exit. Technically those express lanes are only for carpools and buses, but I hop on them anyways - seeing as how driving by myself in a car is just as much of a "carpool" as some soccer mom with a 10 month old baby in a car seat, which is what most of the people in the lane are.. If the day actually comes I draw a ticket from it, I'll consider it money well spent, given the time it saves me daily.

What's your license plate #? lol

1-877-764-HERO

[beenhereandthere]

Going South, you have other options, such as SR 518 towards Burien and Hwy 167, which takes a little stress off I 5 (still a pain in the arse though).....that's why going South, may be a little better than going north.

[Hemlock140]

I have found that north or south on I5 is a lot worse than I90. I take 99 from Bell Street Pier area to 1st Ave, then catch 90 by Safeco Field. Unfortunately it's only going to get worse for all of us as they start work on that tunnel thing. Next week 1st Ave goes to only 1 lane in both directions.

Come to think about it there's really no easy commute in the Seattle area any more.

[eskercurve]

Xanathos is just an ass on the roads, don't copy him by hopping in the carpool lanes. I have gotten people tickets on those things by reporting them. No offense, Xanathos, but that's against the law, even if its flawed, it's no justification for breaking it.

And contrary to belief, there is an easy way to commute without driving, at least not very far - it's called the bus. I've seriously considered not getting another car when I pay mine off because of the money it will save per month in car loan repayments. And on the bus there's time to do other stuff that actually is interesting! Like reading, cruising on the new buses you can go online, or use your cellphone to connect, or read the newspaper, etc. Or you can carpool. That's what the carpool lane is for - reducing congestion by taking cars off the road.

To answer OPs question: it is horrendous in both directions on I-5 (don't call it "the 5" ... people will know you're obviously from California and thus will hate you in the passive aggressive manner that people here seem to like). But commuting from the city to the suburbs in the morning will be slightly less annoying.