Did anyone notice Seattle’s Mercer ramps were metered?
Apr 23, 2018, 4:56 PM | Updated: 5:00 pm
Meters on Seattle's Mercer ramps. (WSDOT)
(WSDOT)
After a month of testing a new metering system on the infamous Mercer ramps to I-5, Seattle drivers may be a bit conflicted over how well the system has worked.
RELATED: WSDOT to shut down I-5 through Seattle over coming weekends
A total of 44 percent of respondents to a Twitter poll by KIRO Radio traffic reporter Tracy Taylor said that traffic was worse under the new metering system. However, the second most popular response — 41 percent — was “They are metering Mercer?” About 9 percent of drivers felt conditions had gotten better.
How’s traffic since the new meters opened on Mercer?
— TracyTaylorTraffic (@TracyTTraffic) April 20, 2018
The Washington State Transportation Department initially tested the ramp meters from March to April on the weekends. When the ramps weren’t working as well as hoped in early April, WSDOT pointed the finger of blame at drivers, stating that drivers did not seem to understand that they could line up in all lanes while waiting to get the green light to enter the freeway. WSDOT waited to launch weekday metering until April 17.
As WSDOT explains, drivers can line up in any of the lanes leading to the freeway entrance ramps from Mercer. Once given the green light to go, a driver can use whichever lane they need as they speed onto I-5 or the express lanes.
