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Old 07-22-2013, 12:26 AM
 
346 posts, read 964,666 times
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What in the actual hell causes that lane to back up in the afternoons? It's a dedicated lane that goes onto a five lane freeway with no merging traffic.
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Old 07-22-2013, 12:44 AM
 
1,070 posts, read 2,017,895 times
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Exactly where are you referring to?
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Old 07-22-2013, 03:16 AM
 
101 posts, read 200,947 times
Reputation: 71
Traffic here is the worst I have experienced.
They have done a poor job managing the traffic and now it has become gridlock everyday.
Traffic has become the worst aspect of living in Seattle.
Worst then the cost of housing and the winter weather.
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Old 07-22-2013, 07:06 AM
 
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
44,156 posts, read 80,258,802 times
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It's really quite simple, too many cars, not enough lanes. The state road system has not kept up with the area's growth since the 1980s, an the light rail transit is too little too late. Add to that the problem of people going slow when the sun is in their eyes (not used to sun) and the many immigrants from sunnier states that go slower when it rains.
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Old 07-22-2013, 07:27 AM
 
1,630 posts, read 3,870,234 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Hemlock140 View Post
It's really quite simple, too many cars, not enough lanes. The state road system has not kept up with the area's growth since the 1980s, an the light rail transit is too little too late. Add to that the problem of people going slow when the sun is in their eyes (not used to sun) and the many immigrants from sunnier states that go slower when it rains.
I would differ - there are plenty of lanes, just far too many cars (>95 percent I'd say) with just a single occupant.
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Old 07-22-2013, 10:15 AM
 
1,511 posts, read 1,964,170 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tobester View Post
I would differ - there are plenty of lanes, just far too many cars (>95 percent I'd say) with just a single occupant.
"Why is traffic so bad here?"
-Every single-occupant driver commuting this way Monday through Friday



Besides that fact that just building more lanes isn't usually a good solution to congestion (traffic just tends to grow to fill them), the way we're constricted by water and geography makes it harder to do that anyhow. (plus, the the freeway running right through the heart of the city, so there's that...)
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Old 07-22-2013, 10:43 AM
 
3,695 posts, read 11,341,091 times
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One thing I see all the time is someone going about 10 mph slower than everyone else while they are jabbering away or texting on their cell phone. Traffic is piling up behind them and people try to change lanes to get around them, causing more backups.

I can't wait until we have self-driving cars. Traffic is going to improve immensely.
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Old 07-22-2013, 10:43 AM
fnh
 
2,887 posts, read 3,887,008 times
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I get the whole restrictive geography and population boom, but there are simple things Seattle and its drivers can do to help move things along. In years of living in both Houston and Seattle, these are things I notice that Houstonians do much better than Seattleites:

1) Drive right and stay right, unless you are passing. Speed up if you have to and move over to get out of the way of a car coming up behind you and you are in the left lane. When I'm here I drive back and forth up to Arlington a lot and I never fail to encounter clots of cars going the same speed in all three lanes even on an otherwise open freeway. Cars back up behind them frustrated and jockeying lanes which means accidents are more likely.

2) Move your fender bender vehicles off the road! Last week I suffered through a long traffic jam outside of rush hour because one lady rear-ended the other and dented the bumper. They were discussing it right there on the freeway, one of them holding her baby three feet from traffic! Seriously stupid.

3) I see loads of police cars but I never see them helping drivers who have car trouble or fender benders. Is there a policy against it?

4) Related, Houston has a program called SafeClear that moves disabled vehicles off the road almost immediately. The city sets the rate with tow operators to be reasonable and covers a portion, and you can pay an additional fee to have the tow driver bring your vehicle to a place of your choosing. Otherwise they just get it off the freeway and move it to the nearest parking lot near an exit. There were lots of cries about this program initially, impinges on your 'personal freedom' or whatever, but it really works! I'd love to see something like this in Seattle.
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Old 07-22-2013, 03:38 PM
 
Location: West Coast - Best Coast!
1,979 posts, read 3,510,842 times
Reputation: 2343
Quote:
Originally Posted by fnh View Post
I get the whole restrictive geography and population boom, but there are simple things Seattle and its drivers can do to help move things along. In years of living in both Houston and Seattle, these are things I notice that Houstonians do much better than Seattleites:

1) Drive right and stay right, unless you are passing. Speed up if you have to and move over to get out of the way of a car coming up behind you and you are in the left lane. When I'm here I drive back and forth up to Arlington a lot and I never fail to encounter clots of cars going the same speed in all three lanes even on an otherwise open freeway. Cars back up behind them frustrated and jockeying lanes which means accidents are more likely.

2) Move your fender bender vehicles off the road! Last week I suffered through a long traffic jam outside of rush hour because one lady rear-ended the other and dented the bumper. They were discussing it right there on the freeway, one of them holding her baby three feet from traffic! Seriously stupid.

3) I see loads of police cars but I never see them helping drivers who have car trouble or fender benders. Is there a policy against it?

4) Related, Houston has a program called SafeClear that moves disabled vehicles off the road almost immediately. The city sets the rate with tow operators to be reasonable and covers a portion, and you can pay an additional fee to have the tow driver bring your vehicle to a place of your choosing. Otherwise they just get it off the freeway and move it to the nearest parking lot near an exit. There were lots of cries about this program initially, impinges on your 'personal freedom' or whatever, but it really works! I'd love to see something like this in Seattle.

We used to have a tow program like that for 520. Not sure if they still do or not.

Anyway, the problem here with the "stay right except to pass" is that our freeways are not big enough for that. There are parts of 405 and I-5 with only 3-4 lanes. The lane furthest right is for entrance/exit (we wouldn't need this if people here actually knew how to MERGE) and is always seemingly below the speed limit as a result. Then you have the middle lane. Then the "passing lane." I'm not counting the carpool lane. The one middle lane simply can't absorb all of the traffic. Way too many variables when it comes to vehicles and speeds. THAT is why the left lane is used as a normal lane here - there just isn't anywhere else to go.

OP, regarding the Express Lanes, are you talking about the entrance just south of Seneca on I-5? I don't commute that direction, so I don't know for sure what the backup situation is, but I wouldn't be surprised if there are people who find themselves in that lane accidentally, then realize it at the last minute, slow down, and try to get into the main line. The signage around that part of I-5 is terrible!
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Old 07-22-2013, 03:44 PM
 
7,743 posts, read 15,811,484 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BellevueNative View Post
OP, regarding the Express Lanes, are you talking about the entrance just south of Seneca on I-5? I don't commute that direction, so I don't know for sure what the backup situation is, but I wouldn't be surprised if there are people who find themselves in that lane accidentally, then realize it at the last minute, slow down, and try to get into the main line. The signage around that part of I-5 is terrible!
Its not that... For whatever reason, people have to drive real slow as they're entering. It used to always befuddled DH and I. We'd have to wait, then switch to the next lane over because even then, people were still going slow. Its really odd.
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