Seattle cracks down on downtown bus-lane violators
Aug 28, 2015, 8:46 AM | Updated: 2:46 pm
Seattle traffic cops were out in force pulling commuters over for driving in the wrong lanes. (AP)
(AP)
Seattle is cracking down on drivers who are slipping into the downtown bus lanes.
During Thursday afternoon’s commute, Seattle police pulled over several drivers caught crossing into the wrong lanes, KING 5 reports.
“One of the challenges we have is moving transit reliably throughout the city and so, today, we are trying to make that work a little better,” Seattle Transportation Director Scott Kubly told KING TV.
Several lanes in the downtown corridor have changed to limit who can travel in certain lanes — sometimes with time constraints. It can be confusing for drivers.
Kubly said enforcement is about clearing up some of that confusion.
“It’s not about tickets, it’s about getting people to stay in the right lane,” Kubly said.
No one pulled over Thursday actually received a ticket.
Police will begin performing targeted enforcement at infrequent times in the months ahead to make sure downtown driving habits improve.
But people will still try to get away with it, according to KIRO Radio’s Tom Tangney, who only needs to look as far as his co-host Curley for evidence.
“The problem is that there are not enough cops to do this enough of the time, so eventually, they are going to have to start enforcing this and that means there is going to be a ticket,” Tom said.
“It’s tempting when you are a driver to say, ‘Oh look, there’s at least half a mile I could be zipping ahead.’ There could be a bus coming along and you need bus traffic to go faster. If a bus gets stuck in traffic, it just compounds the problem.”
Curley, however, is one driver who yields to that temptation.
“If I want to make a right-hand turn, I get in the bus lane. I am not going to make a right-hand turn from that second lane. It’s way too dangerous. So I pull over into that bus lane,” Curley said, noting that his taxes help pay for those bus lanes.
Bus lane enforcement isn’t the only way Seattle police are cracking down on drivers downtown.
Editor’s note: In no way does MyNorthwest condone John Curley’s lawlessness.
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Tune in to KIRO Newsradio weekdays at 3pm for The John Curley Show.
