Seattle Times Bumper to Bumper Column: Q&A | Confusing Exit Signs | More Bus Service on the Way

By E. Brown, Seattle Times

Jul. 30–Q: Seattle resident Bob Ingalls thinks that too often unsuspecting drivers are needlessly directed to a far-right lane to exit the freeway, only to discover that the lane they had been in also would have led to the exit. In some cases, the lane next to the far-right lane also has an “OK” sign posted.

“This can cause hardship and confusion, and even trap the unwary,” Ingalls said. Not to mention it’s not always easy to change lanes.

Such is the case, he says, in the northbound lanes of Interstate 5, for drivers headed to the Edmonds-Kingston exit (Exit 177). After following a sign to exit right, and then passing a sign with an “OK” arrow over one lane and an “exit-only” arrow over another, drivers find they must move to the left on the exit to avoid being inadvertently forced onto Ballinger Way Northeast.

Even more annoying, Ingalls said, is the exit from northbound I-5 to Highway 520 in Seattle. Drivers following the “right lane only” exit sign discover that their lane ends and merges traffic to the left.

Wouldn’t it be helpful, Ingalls suggests, to have “OK” arrows posted where the exit is first indicated?

A: Ideally, said Darrel Whyte, special-projects engineer for the state Department of Transportation, if drivers can reach an exit from more than one lane, freeway signs approaching the exit will alert traffic. But obviously that’s not always the case. Sometimes cost can get in the way; sometimes it’s a matter of finding a place to post another sign, Whyte said.

At most locations with two exit lanes and only a one-lane exit sign, it’s because the sign was posted a long time ago, he said. That’s the way it was done back then.

Two-lane exit signs are much larger, and extend farther over the roadway than one-lane exit signs, he said, and so they require more substantial supports. Only a few locations with existing supports for a one-lane exit sign can be used to support a two-lane sign without modifications.

Replacing a sign support with a bigger, stronger one is expensive, he said. “In urban areas, new sign supports can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.”

So to save money, the state often waits until sign upgrades can be incorporated into a major construction project, like widening a freeway in the immediate area.

If a major project is not scheduled, Whyte said, the state can tap into funds for spot improvements. But those funds are limited, he said, and the state must be selective, weighing freeway-sign improvements against other safety projects.

However, Whyte said, staff did review the Edmonds-Kingston and Highway 520 exits, and agreed that those sites are good candidates for sign upgrades. So the state will work on a plan and budget for new signs. But it could take months. Let’s see what happens.

Q: Ballard resident George Mount is convinced the folks at City Hall are trying to reduce the number of cars in downtown Seattle. But is Metro Transit adjusting schedules for a potential increase in ridership?

Mount theorizes the city is leaning on Metro to increase ridership, and that’s what may be behind the step-up in metered downtown parking, the decrease in free downtown parking, and increased population density downtown.

“Metro’s not only going to have to improve capacity on existing routes,” Mount said, “but expand deeper into other neighborhoods if the city’s efforts to reduce traffic downtown are going to be effective.”

He’s curious to know what Metro has in mind.

A: Metro spokeswoman Rochelle Ogershok says that as part of Metro’s Transit Now initiative, funding will be available over the next decade to improve bus service not only in Seattle but throughout the county.

The agency has already started adding service, she said. Five months ago, improvements were made to 12 routes, including two routes serving Capitol Hill and South Lake Union, Uptown, Ballard, Wallingford and University District neighborhoods.

She said city residents can expect to see other major investments, including limited-stop express service in three heavily traveled corridors in West Seattle, Ballard and along Aurora Avenue North, in addition to more service for several other high-ridership routes.

Metro is calling its limited-stop express service RapidRide, which it expects to be faster and more heavily used, operating at least 18 hours a day.

The target date for the reopening of the downtown bus tunnel is Sept. 24.

With that reopening, 17 Metro routes and one Sound Transit route will use the tunnel, freeing up downtown surface streets to spread out other bus routes. That should help relieve some downtown traffic congestion.

The city also has decided that Third Avenue should remain a priority corridor for buses during peak hours (6-9 a.m. and 3-6:30 p.m.), even after the tunnel reopens.

Several routes will be moved from First, Second, Fourth and Fifth avenues to Third Avenue, and new stops will be added on Columbia and Seneca streets for buses that use the Alaskan Way Viaduct. Third Avenue will be open to other traffic during nonpeak hours, including nights and weekends.

Q: Is it legal when exiting a parking garage on the west side of First Avenue in downtown Seattle to cross two solid yellow lines separating traffic to make a left turn to head north? Brian Belka, who parks in a garage just south of Columbia Street, wants to make sure he wouldn’t get a ticket for doing that.

A: Wayne Wentz, the city’s traffic-management director, says it’s OK to exit and turn left over the double yellow lines as long as you don’t delay other drivers and providing you can do so safely. So, too, says Seattle’s municipal code.

Two solid yellow lines between lanes of traffic means neither side can pass. But it’s OK to cross yellow lane markings, except medians, to turn left, if it is safe to do so. So says the state Department of Licensing’s Washington Driver Guide.

Bumper note

Scrap all those California jokes.

The number of California drivers moving to Washington is shrinking. The latest report from the state Department of Licensing shows that the number of incoming Californians dropped nearly 11 percent between June 2006 and June 2007. The number of Oregonians also shrank, by 2.5 percent, while the number from Texas grew nearly 8 percent.

Dear Reader

Got a traffic-related question or comment?

E-mail bumper@seattletimes.com or call Charles E. Brown at 206-464-2206. Please include your name and city if you agree to publication.

—–

To see more of The Seattle Times, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.seattletimes.com.

Copyright (c) 2007, Seattle Times

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.