Category Archives: Getting Around

Getting Around, Photos

The source of this month’s Link delays

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The rail grinding machine, shooting out sparks, passes through Mount Baker Station. Photo by Jason.
The rail grinding machine, shooting out sparks, passes through Mount Baker Station. Photo by Jason.
There have been delays on the Link light rail system after 7:00 pm every night for the last week. This photo shows the rail grinding machine that is the reason for the delays. The machine is smoothing the rails to reduce the train noise at certain locations, such as near Mount Baker Station near South McClellan. The delays will continue until December 30; in the meantime, if you need to travel on Link after 7:00 pm, be aware that you may need to wait on a different platform than your usual one, and the wait may be longer.

Getting Around

Updated info on this weekend’s I-5 closures


View I-5 Closure December 12-13, 2009 in a larger map.
The section marked in red will be closed December 12 until the next morning. The marked on-ramps will also be closed.

(This is an updated version of an article posted last week. The locations of some of the closures are going to be slightly different this time.)

Getting to and from Beacon Hill via Interstate 5 could be a bit more difficult this weekend. Six miles of northbound I-5 through south Seattle will be closed on Saturday night for workers to install new overhead sign bridges.

All lanes of northbound I-5 will be closed from 11:30 pm Saturday, December 12, to 8:00 am Sunday, December 13, between Boeing Access Road and I-90. Street. On-ramps in the area will start closing as early as 9 p.m.

These on-ramps will be closed from 9:00 pm Saturday to 8:00 am Sunday:

  • Boeing Access Road and Martin Luther King Jr. Way S. to northbound I-5
  • Swift Avenue S./S. Graham Street to northbound I-5
  • Corson Avenue/S. Michigan Street to northbound I-5
  • West Seattle Bridge/Columbian Way to northbound I-5

There will be a signed detour to direct drivers to exit at Martin Luther King Way (exit 157) to Airport Way, and back onto I-5 via Edgar Martinez Drive/SR 519. Consider taking alternate routes like I-405 or SR 99 to avoid long delays and backups.

You can see more about the new overhead sign bridges here. The sign bridges are funded by the Alaskan Way Viaduct program, and are intended to improve traffic flow during the demolition and replacement of the Viaduct. The signs will be activated next summer.

Getting Around, Health and Safety, Weather

Be careful in the cold

Frost coated vegetables in a North Beacon vegetable garden a few days ago. Photo by Jason.
Frost coated vegetables in a North Beacon vegetable garden a few days ago. Photo by Jason.
There is not too much frost on the streets at the moment. According to local weather guru Cliff Mass, the dew point for the last couple of days has been so low that frost cannot form. If that changes, however, frost on the roads can lead to very dangerous black ice. Mass says, “Never forget, roadway icing is the number one weather killer in our area. More than floods, more than windstorms.” On Friday, black ice contributed to a vehicle collision in Mid-Beacon Hill that caused the death of an elderly woman.

There are a few places on Beacon Hill that can be slick even in frostless conditions such as we have today: for example, on South Massachusetts Street just east of 17th Avenue South, where there is what seems to be a permanent water leak wetting the road. Later this week, the precipitation will return, and there could be ice—or even snow—to contend with. Please be careful when navigating the streets and sidewalks of our hilly neighborhood.

360 days ago, the snow began to fall. Beacon Avenue looked like this the next morning. Photo by Ali R.
360 days ago, the snow began to fall. Beacon Avenue looked like this the next morning. Photo by Ali R.

Thanks to JvA for the reminder.

Getting Around

Northbound I-5 to be closed near Beacon Hill next two Saturday nights


View I-5 Closure December 5-6 2009 in a larger map
The section marked in red will be closed the next two Saturday nights. The section marked in blue will be closed December 12 until the next morning. The marked on-ramps will also be closed.

Getting to and from Beacon Hill via Interstate 5 could be a bit more difficult over the next couple of Saturdays. Six miles of northbound I-5 through south Seattle will be closed on the next two Saturday nights for workers to install new overhead sign bridges.

All lanes of northbound I-5 will be closed from 11:30 pm Saturday, December 5, to 8:00 am Sunday, December 6, between Boeing Access Road and Spokane Street. On-ramps in the area will start closing as early as 9 p.m.

These ramps will be closed from 9:00 pm Saturday to 8:00 am Sunday:

  • Boeing Access Road and Martin Luther King Jr. Way S. to northbound I-5
  • Swift Avenue S./S. Graham Street to northbound I-5
  • Corson Avenue/S. Michigan Street to northbound I-5

The following Saturday, all lanes of northbound I-5 will be closed from 11:30 pm December 12 to 8:00 am December 13 between Boeing Access Road and I-90.

There will be a signed detour to direct drivers to exit at Martin Luther King Way (exit 157) to Airport Way, and back onto I-5 via Edgar Martinez Drive/SR 519. Consider taking alternate routes like I-405 or SR 99 to avoid long delays and backups.

You can see more about the new overhead sign bridges here. The sign bridges are funded by the Alaskan Way Viaduct program, and are intended to improve traffic flow during the demolition and replacement of the Viaduct. The signs will be activated next summer.

Getting Around

Light rail delays ahead for evening riders this month

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Evening Link riders should be prepared for delays until the end of the month. Sound Transit tells us that starting Monday, December 7 and lasting until December 30, Central Link light rail will operate only every 15–20 minutes between 7:00 pm and 1:00 am due to track maintenance.

This maintenance will also temporarily close some platforms on one side of the track. If your normal boarding location is closed, you will need to board both northbound and southbound Link trains at the opposite platform, as was done at Beacon Hill Station during the derailment a couple of weeks ago.

Getting Around

Derailed train causing Link light rail delays

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Closed doors to the southbound platform at Beacon Hill Station. Riders are currently directed to the northbound platform for all trips until the disabled train is cleared from the tracks in SoDo. Photo by Jesse Odam.
Closed doors to the southbound platform at Beacon Hill Station. Photo by Jesse Odam.
As Jason mentioned earlier, there was a derailment of a Link light rail train on the elevated section near the maintenance yard this afternoon. Sound Transit has been able to keep Link service running, though with notable delays, by using only the northbound track through Beacon Hill and Mount Baker stations. Trains are supposed to be running every 20 minutes for the rest of the day.

Reports from riders so far indicate that you should allow more than 20 minutes for the delay, though this may improve as the rush hour traffic dies down. Jesse Odam reports that his usual 15 minute Link trip from the International District to Beacon Hill just after 5:00 pm expanded to nearly an hour, including being passed by a jam-packed train, and then a half-hour wait at Stadium Station.

Sound Transit warns that Link service will be temporarily suspended later, during the removal of the disabled train, because both northbound and southbound tracks will be blocked. During that time there will be a shuttle bus (Route 97), which will operate between the Stadium and Mount Baker light rail stations. We aren’t sure yet when this will happen, but Sound Transit says they’ll update this rider alert page when they are ready to remove the disabled train.

Folks on Seattle Transit Blog are discussing the derailment, its possible causes, and Sound Transit’s handling of the situation, here.

Getting Around

Plan ahead: Metro on holiday schedule tomorrow

You might have to wait a bit longer for your bus tomorrow. Photo by Oran Viriyincy.
You might have to wait a bit longer for your bus tomorrow. Photo by Oran Viriyincy.
Do you have Veterans’ Day off tomorrow? Neither do we. Metro Transit, however, is operating on a “reduced weekday” schedule for tomorrow’s holiday, and most buses serving our area, including the 36 and 60 routes, are listed as “Routes operating a reduced weekday schedule with designated trips canceled.” Please note also that the 38 route is entirely canceled tomorrow.

The reduced weekday schedule will also be in effect on Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving), Christmas Eve, and from December 28 through 31; buses will run on a Sunday schedule on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day.

Check your schedule for trips identified with an “H” — those trips will be canceled tomorrow.

Link Light Rail will be running on the normal weekday schedule.

Thanks to Seattle Transit Blog.

Getting Around, Health and Safety

Pedestrian injured in collision with bicyclist

From the SPD Blotter:

On 11/03/09, at approximately 4:45 p.m., a bicyclist was traveling [northbound] on Beacon Ave S. approaching S. College St. As the Bicyclist approached S. College St, a pedestrian going [westbound] across Beacon Ave S. stepped into the roadway.

The Bicyclist was unable to avoid the pedestrian and collided with him.

The pedestrian sustained a serious head injury and Seattle Fire Department Medic transported him to Harborview Medical Center (HMC).

During the investigation, HMC stated that the pedestrian’s medical condition improved to become non-life threatening.

An officer responded to the scene to screen the bicyclist for any signs of impairment due to drugs/alcohol. The officer determined that the bicyclist was not impaired.

More also from KOMO:
Bike Pedestrian Accident on Beacon Ave
Update: Pedestrian injured in head-on crash with bicycle

Getting Around

New pedestrian signage installed on Beacon Avenue

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Will a bright yellow pedestrian warning sign get drivers attention? Photo by Wendi.
Will a bright yellow pedestrian warning sign get drivers' attention? Photo by Wendi.
We’ve heard neighbors complaining lately that it is sometimes difficult to cross Beacon Avenue South in front of Beacon Hill Station–cars just don’t see pedestrians, or just don’t stop for them. Sometime in the last week or so, the city added new signs to Beacon Avenue in an attempt to make this crosswalk safer, along with warning lights. With the opening of the light rail station, this crosswalk is even more heavily used than it was before, so this new signage has been needed.

A cyclist walks a bicycle across the crosswalk under the new signs. Photo by Wendi.
A cyclist walks a bicycle across the crosswalk under the new signs. Photo by Wendi.
Getting Around

Seating experiment on the 36 today

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Photo by VeloBusDriver. Click for more photos.
Photo by VeloBusDriver. Click for more photos.
Seattle Transit Blog mentions a Metro novelty running today on the 36 route: a bus with half a row of seats removed, allowing for easier circulation of passengers on routes with lots of people getting on and off. If you’re hopping a bus this evening, keep an eye out for bus number 4186 “leaving 3rd and Union Southbound at 4:45 and returning Northbound to 3rd and Pike at 6:15.”