Report: Seattle is still operating without a proper traffic plan
Mar 1, 2017, 11:57 AM
The Seattle Times reports the City of Seattle still doesn't have a solid emergency traffic plans. (Seattle Fire Department)
(Seattle Fire Department)
The crash on Monday that shut down I-5 for about eight hours and forced drivers onto surface streets was a frustrating reminder of just how close Seattle is to complete gridlock on a daily basis.
WATCH: Food truck stuck on I-5 serves up tacos
Though the semi-truck hauling propane didn’t crash on the mainline of I-5, the risk of an explosion led the state to close the freeway in both directions between I-90 and the West Seattle Bridge. That resulted in drivers detouring through the city, causing local streets to jam up and travel times to skyrocket.
The Seattle Times asked the city if Monday was an opportunity to implement new traffic strategies developed after the infamous 2015 fish truck fiasco. The answer was no, because more than a year after a consulting firm recommended the city develop a plan, officials haven’t done so, the Times reports.
Though the Seattle Department of Transportation submitted recommendations to the Seattle City Council, a spokeswoman told the Times she was unaware of when that happened and what the result was.
To be fair, the city did begin changing how it handles traffic-debilitating crashes. For example, it prioritized clearing roads over protecting property. The city, according to the Times, also dedicated almost $2 million to improve its response to incidents on the roadways.
On Monday, traffic engineers also changed traffic signals to try and alleviate congestion, the Times reports.
It’s worth noting that the city was not responsible for clearing Monday’s crash in the southbound collector-distributor lanes of I-5. And city, county, and state agencies all came together to handle the crash.
That isn’t an excuse to not have a plan ready because although the crash was the state’s responsibility, it was clearly impacting the city as cars were pushed off the freeway. To give an idea of just how bad it was, the Times reports that hundreds of buses were running more than an hour late during the height of the closure.
But maybe the blame shouldn’t all be placed on the city. After all, it was the state, not the city that detoured traffic from a freeway that wasn’t actually blocked.
Monday’s incident also helps prove a theory from SDOT Director Scott Kubly: “The City of Seattle can’t handle any more cars than we currently have.”
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