Sully’s last Chokepoint of 2018, and a final Viadoom warning
Dec 20, 2018, 8:15 AM | Updated: Dec 21, 2018, 6:06 am
(WSDOT)
(WSDOT)
I want to send you into the New Year with some positive stories from the Chokepoint desk, but first I have to warn you one more time in 2018 of the impending Alaskan Way Viaduct closure, and the mayhem to follow.
Check out MyNorthwest’s complete 2019 viaduct closure hub here
I know the last thing you want to be thinking about over Christmas and New Year’s is your plan for the upcoming Alaskan Way Viaduct closure, but I cannot stress enough how much of an impact it is going to have on all of us. About 90,000 vehicles a day use Highway 99, and it is going to be shut down for three weeks.
Those cars are going to have to go somewhere. This is the real deal, said Heather Marx, the director of mobility for the City of Seattle.
“There’s no doubt about it, it is going to be tough,” she said. “Don’t be confused about that at all.”
You should plan on all north-south streets between South Lake Union and downtown Seattle to take the diversion from southbound 99 users. All north-south streets from Burien to downtown Seattle will take the northbound diversion. I-5 will also try to handle the load.
“There really are very few routes north and south,” Marx said. “Pick an avenue. There aren’t very many of them. The choices are not many.”
Talk to your boss. See if you can work from home or off-shift during the three week closure. Try the bus or find a carpool buddy. We all need to pitch in to make this bearable.
But enough of the impending doom, I want to end the year on a positive note.
Shaw Road in Puyallup
Shaw Road in Puyallup will be re-opening this week, which should come as great news to commuters. It is a popular shortcut for locals looking to bypass South Meridian, Highway 512 and 167 into Sumner.
The 16,000 vehicles a day that used Shaw Road have all been using detours since April when the widening project started. Plenty of Puyallup commuters have reported to me that their commutes have doubled, and I have seen the increased congestion on eastbound 512 every morning too. A lot of that should go away with Shaw Road re-opening. It is scheduled to open Friday.
Everett speed sign
And now to my favorite story of the year: Helping a listener work with the City of Everett to help address speeding.
You might remember the series of stories I did on listener Steven Schneider, and his goal to get a handle on the cut-through speeding in his neighborhood. The city gave him a radar gun to track speeding data. It then put in monitoring strips and eventually decided to put in a new “your speed is” sign on his street.
That sign is now installed, and I went up to neighborhood again this week to take a picture with Steve and the sign.
I love it when I can help our listeners and make our streets safer.
Hopes for 2019
My final note for 2018 is a wish for 2019. Let’s all try to be a little less selfish behind the wheel next year. My trip and the need to get to my destination is not more important than yours (emergency medical issues aside, of course).
If we treat that car that’s trying to merge or trying to turn as if it has our families in it, we’d all be a little better off. Would you act the way you do today behind the wheel if your mother or partner or kids were in those other cars? Give it a try.
See you in January as we all prepare for the viaduct closure.
