I-5 ramps jammed by Comicon
Mar 27, 2015, 11:49 AM | Updated: 3:13 pm
Some I-5 off-ramps into downtown Seattle were jammed due to Emerald City Comicon. (Photo courtesy of the Washington State Department of Transportation)
(Photo courtesy of the Washington State Department of Transportation)
Ramps into downtown Seattle were jammed Friday morning.
However, I-5 traffic patterns Friday reflected similar patterns from March 20, according to Washington State Department of Transportation spokesman Travis Phelps.
“I’m pretty much seeing a very similar pattern to what we’re seeing right now in terms of traffic backups,” Phelps said.
Related: It’ll be tough to get around Seattle this weekend
According to the WSDOT twitter feed, traffic was backed up on ramps into downtown because of Comicon.
NB 5 Seneca & SB 5 Union ramps jammed for #ECCC. To avoid NB use James or Olive, SB use Denny/Stewart, Mercer or James.
— WSDOT Traffic (@wsdot_traffic) March 27, 2015
In addition to the tweets, a traffic advisory sign on I-5 heading into Seattle warned drivers of slowdowns due to a convention center event.
However, Phelps said people tend to “trickle in and trickle out” of events like Comicon, unlike a mass of people who flow in and out of the area for sporting events and concerts at the same time.
“We don’t expect [Comicon] to act in a way like a [sports or concert event],” Phelps said.
The WSDOT webcams showed long backups into downtown Seattle at 11 a.m., well after the morning commute finished.
Comicon is expecting 80,000 people between Friday and Sunday.
Related: Emerald City Comicon fans feel slighted by WSDOT’s road closures
Also going on this weekend, Taste Washington, an annual wine event held in downtown Seattle. Nearly 5,500 people attended the event in 2014, according to Visit Seattle spokesman David Blandford. The event began Thursday and ends Sunday.
Finally, the PBR: Built Ford Tough Series is March 27-28 at KeyArena. The rodeo event returns to Seattle for the first time since 2011.
