Rantz: Metro’s illegal, dangerous driving part of bigger problem

For years, Seattle city officials made an effort to punish drivers for “blocking the box” — driving into and blocking an intersection, causing traffic back-ups and dangerous road situations.

But King County Metro buses do it regularly, creating more dangerous situations than cars can. It all seems to go unpunished.

On a number of occasions on walks through South Lake Union during the afternoon commute, I see buses breaking traffic laws, going through red lights and blocking intersections. Last week, I pulled out my phone and captured the video below on Roy Street and Westlake Avenue, just a block north of Mercer.

Here's a @kcmetrobus breaking traffic laws. Wonder what the consequences will be while @seattledot pretends there are no traffic issues. pic.twitter.com/eXd5aA3TIQ

— (((Jason Rantz))) (@jasonrantz) July 20, 2017

As you can see, thanks to the bus driver’s illegal turn not only did the driver cause a backup, it created dangerous conditions for drivers trying to turn left on Valley or driving north on Westlake Avenue. I saw a near-collision and luckily no one was hurt.

But with all the threats of enforcement from the city, I can only imagine they turn a blind eye (or pay lip service) to the consistent illegal behavior of bus drivers as evidenced by the fact that it never changes. I see this kind of driving from Metro on a regular basis.

But here’s the thing: breaking traffic laws in this area, whether you’re a bus, pedestrian, or bike, is absolutely necessary. This isn’t a story about our driving behavior; it’s a story about how poorly managed the traffic is in the neighborhood.

You see, if that bus didn’t make this illegal turn, blocking the intersection the way they are, that bus would never get to turn onto Westlake Avenue. The signal synchronization that SDOT swears is working, is woefully ineffective. Throughout the commute, you’ll get a green light to drive onto a street that’s congested with traffic because the signal to get drivers onto Mercer is red, but the signals to get to the connecting streets is green. If you don’t block the box, it’ll be ages before you move.

It is true that because there are so many cars, there will be inevitable congestion on and around Mercer. But the problem could be better mitigated if we had a transportation team that cared about the driving experience. They do not.

The city traffic engineer, Dongho Chang, does not drive and, consequently, doesn’t understand the driving experience. But they don’t want to understand it. They want you out of your cars so they have no incentive to make conditions better.

But, because they’re neglecting this issue, it’s leading to buses breaking the law and sooner or later, it’s going to lead to an accident. Maybe they’ll act then?

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