Seattle-area and Washington photos

[Bruce]

Figure I should show at least one demolition photo:


2&U site demolition, March 2017 by SounderBruce, on Flickr

Photos from the two of the few snowy days this year:

SR 531 in Smokey Point on a snowy morning by SounderBruce, on Flickr


CT 13612 in the snow near Smokey Point by SounderBruce, on Flickr


Everett Station park and ride by SounderBruce, on Flickr


I-5 southbound from 112th Street on a snowy day by SounderBruce, on Flickr


RapidRide C Line leaving Downtown Seattle by SounderBruce, on Flickr


Pronto Cycle Share on Capitol Hill by SounderBruce, on Flickr


Snow-covered monorail tracks and the MoPop by SounderBruce, on Flickr


Oil tankers in Seattle by SounderBruce, on Flickr


Oil tankers headed under Downtown Seattle by SounderBruce, on Flickr


King Street Station in the snow by SounderBruce, on Flickr

[Bruce]

A few ferry pictures:


Ferry at Colman Dock by SounderBruce, on Flickr


Ferries and water taxi in Seattle by SounderBruce, on Flickr


M/V Chimacum sea trials near West Seattle by SounderBruce, on Flickr

[Bruce]

Some recent skyline photos.


Seattle skyline from Kerry Park, July 2017 by SounderBruce, on Flickr


Seattle skyline from Bremerton Ferry, July 2017 by SounderBruce, on Flickr


Seattle skyline from Bremerton Ferry, July 2017 by SounderBruce, on Flickr


Seattle skyline and I-5 from NE 75th Street by SounderBruce, on Flickr


Downtown Seattle from Columbia Center by SounderBruce, on Flickr

[nexus73]

The haze seen in the third photo gets reprised here at times when I look across the bay to the east bay hills.  The clearer the view, the lower the humidity!  Then we have some mornings where the bay becomes a bowl of fog with clear sky overhead and everyplace else.  Watching water interact with the land via weather changes is interesting!

Rick

[Plutonic Panda]

Damn. That skyline could rival Chicago one day.

[Bruce]

Non-Seattle photos of the solar eclipse, taken in Buena Vista, Oregon.


Total solar eclipse from Buena Vista, OR by SounderBruce, on Flickr


Buena Vista Park during totality by SounderBruce, on Flickr


Buena Vista Park after totality by SounderBruce, on Flickr

[nexus73]

Over here in North Bend OR, the lighting effect was about the same for totality as your pix shows.  It made me think of being outside on a sunny day seeing the world through some dark sunglasses.

Rick

[Bruce]

Been a while since I last updated. Going to show some pictures of East Link, which is a 14-mile light rail extension scheduled to open in 2023. It will use the former express lanes of the I-90 floating bridge and part of the SR 520 buffer.



Lots of light rail construction starting to happen between 148th and 40th (near the Microsoft headquarters). Trains will fly over the 148th interchange and run along the east side of the freeway, stopping at two stations. An extension further to downtown Redmond will begin construction in 2019.


Future site of Overlake Village station by SounderBruce, on Flickr





And some progress on Mercer Island.


Mercer Island Link station construction by SounderBruce, on Flickr

One last look at the I-90 bridge. The deck will be removed in 2019 to make way for tracks and ties.



Bonus transit pictures:


Light rail in Columbia City by SounderBruce, on Flickr


Broadway by SounderBruce, on Flickr


Metro Atlantic Base by SounderBruce, on Flickr


MV Suquamish under construction by SounderBruce, on Flickr

[Plutonic Panda]

Why are they removing the express lanes?

[Bruce]

Why are they removing the express lanes?

The express lanes were always intended to become part of a Seattle-Bellevue rail line, as outlined in the 1976 agreement with the local governments that allowed I-90 to be finished (until then, it stopped at I-405 in Bellevue and went no further). To compensate, HOV lanes were added to the outer lanes, so there's only half as many "lost" lanes in the peak direction (plus a gain in reverse peak capacity, which helps the many Bellevue-bound commuters during the AM rush).



The way it's being built on the bridge is very interesting, since this is the first time a railway will be built on a floating bridge.

[jakeroot]

I think the new setup makes a lot more sense. Having 24/7 HOV not only helps reverse peak buses and cars, but also makes it so it's more in line with how "diamond lanes" are used in this area (free entry, left side of carriageway). Sure, peak AM westward traffic has one fewer HOV lane, but any lost capacity will be more than made up by light rail.

Bruce, do you know if there are any buses that do a Mercer Island loop, that might allow MI residents to access the light rail station without driving to it?

[Bruce]

I think the new setup makes a lot more sense. Having 24/7 HOV not only helps reverse peak buses and cars, but also makes it so it's more in line with how "diamond lanes" are used in this area (free entry, left side of carriageway). Sure, peak AM westward traffic has one fewer HOV lane, but any lost capacity will be more than made up by light rail.

Bruce, do you know if there are any buses that do a Mercer Island loop, that might allow MI residents to access the light rail station without driving to it?

Mercer Island only has one all-day route (204) that goes down Island Crest Way, and a peak-only route (201) that loops around on West Mercer Way. There is also a dial-a-ride shuttle that runs from the island directly to First Hill.

I don't think Mercer Island is a good place to be running feeder buses to East Link. Maybe some shuttles and vans, but nothing full-sized. The city did reject having the 554 truncate at Mercer Island Station, so they really don't want buses on the island.

[Plutonic Panda]

Thank you for the info. I am still undecided on whether or not I like the idea of floating bridges but they are obviously working well enough for WADOT to keep using them.

[jakeroot]

Thank you for the info. I am still undecided on whether or not I like the idea of floating bridges but they are obviously working well enough for WADOT to keep using them.

There's no alternative. The lake is too deep for traditional pillars, and too wide for arch supports (AFAIK).

[Plutonic Panda]

Thank you for the info. I am still undecided on whether or not I like the idea of floating bridges but they are obviously working well enough for WADOT to keep using them.

There's no alternative. The lake is too deep for traditional pillars, and too wide for arch supports (AFAIK).

How deep is it? I didn't realize the lake is that deep and I thought they had pillars in deep deep oceans and lakes elsewhere.

[jakeroot]

Thank you for the info. I am still undecided on whether or not I like the idea of floating bridges but they are obviously working well enough for WADOT to keep using them.

There's no alternative. The lake is too deep for traditional pillars, and too wide for arch supports (AFAIK).

How deep is it? I didn't realize the lake is that deep and I thought they had pillars in deep deep oceans and lakes elsewhere.

About 214 feet. This would require extremely tall main support towers, and would have been prohibitively expensive (so not impossibly deep, as I previously thought, but not feasible). Also not in keeping with the character of the surroundings (one of the reasons the new 520 bridge is also floating)

[Bruce]

This is the view of I-405 from atop Microsoft's (eastern) office tower in Downtown Bellevue.



Here's the new light rail station being built just below.

[mrsman]

Commenting on Broadway from upthread.  It is amazing to see how much they put on one street.  What used to be 2 lanes in each direction + parking on both sides has been converted to one lane in each direction, with streetcars, a left turn lane, 1 side of parking and protected bike lanes.  It's a really busy street and the city has accomplished providing room for everyone.

But it's quite congested, so thru traffic avoids Broadway.

[jakeroot]

Commenting on Broadway from upthread.  It is amazing to see how much they put on one street.  What used to be 2 lanes in each direction + parking on both sides has been converted to one lane in each direction, with streetcars, a left turn lane, 1 side of parking and protected bike lanes.  It's a really busy street and the city has accomplished providing room for everyone.

But it's quite congested, so thru traffic avoids Broadway.

The one issue with Broadway seems to be, despite the lower number of cars that seem to be using the street, the trolley seems to get stuck quite often. Either behind a line of left turning cars (tiny turn lanes and protected only lefts -- booo), or a car trying to park. Using nearby residential lanes is often faster.

[Bruce]

Two recent shots from my commute.


I-5 southbound traffic approaching Mercer Street by SounderBruce, on Flickr


I-5 southbound traffic approaching Mercer Street by SounderBruce, on Flickr

[jakeroot]

my commute.

[Bruce]

my commute.

It's way better when you're not the one in the driver's seat.

With the right music, it can feel downright tranquil.

[jakeroot]

my commute.

[Tracy Morgan "nope...nope...nope" GIF]

It's way better when you're not the one in the driver's seat.

With the right music, it can feel downright tranquil.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DVfCvrcVwAARIT4.jpg

Oh, no doubt. If I worked in downtown Seattle, there's no chance I'd drive. But my current commute is 12 minutes! 1.5 hours by bus or 12 minutes by car? I love a double tall, but I'll take the car.

I will say though, judging by recent data, it looks like the drive into Seattle from the south is slightly more bearable than the drive in from the north. Which I can attest to. I drive in via 509/99/4th Ave, and I rarely hit traffic except when the 1st Ave South Bridge opens.

[mrsman]

Two recent shots from my commute.


I-5 southbound traffic approaching Mercer Street by SounderBruce, on Flickr


I-5 southbound traffic approaching Mercer Street by SounderBruce, on Flickr

I notice the white signs for the HOV lane exits.  It is surprising to still see those.  I believe taht the MUTCD has mandated green signs to denote carpool lane exits after the Bluffton University bus crash in Atlanta (I-75 @ Northside Drive).  I know that CA and several other states that had  white signs changed them to green signs.

The white signs in Atlanta in 2007:

https://www.google.com/maps/@33.8041307,-84.4114035,3a,75y,105.44h,93.24t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sQ0y_rErf8IT0RQ0YNutwkg!2e0!7i3328!8i1664

The much clearer signage that was put up after the accident:

https://www.google.com/maps/@33.8043452,-84.4119028,3a,75y,115.28h,89.85t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s-q5X-SmSk-Bx2kHNurhbPg!2e0!5s20170801T000000!7i13312!8i6656

[jakeroot]

Two recent shots from my commute.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4658/40145074811_678c43fb9f_b.jpg

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4615/39246080565_582fe77c53_b.jpg

I notice the white signs for the HOV lane exits.  It is surprising to still see those.  I believe that the MUTCD has mandated green signs to denote carpool lane exits after the Bluffton University bus crash in Atlanta (I-75 @ Northside Drive).  I know that CA and several other states that had  white signs changed them to green signs.

Hmm. I barely remember that crash (was 11 at the time). As far as I know, WSDOT's only new* use of green guide signs with white tabs has been on the 405's express toll lanes, on the signs that tell you when to exit the toll lanes so that you don't miss your right-hand exit: https://goo.gl/qXGHH1

As far as traditional left-hand "restricted" exits, these continue to be black-on-white. This relatively new sign for an HOV exit (from 2014 -- eastbound 520 at 108 Ave NE) is black-on-white: https://goo.gl/vN5YSW. Here's an express lane exit towards NE 128 St from southbound 405, which is black-on-white (installed late 2015): https://goo.gl/dy35iZ. Other express exits are signed in this manner, as are all other restricted exits (HOV and bus-only, such as I-5 at Ash Way).

Does anyone know, following the bus crash, what exactly changed in the MUTCD with the lane markings requirements? Something about the addition of different lane markings for lanes not continuing beyond an intersection or interchange? Not sure what this is about. I do know that WSDOT is very bad at using edge extension markings, utilising them only when an HOV lane starts (and not even then all the time). There are several exits on curves that I see drivers almost take because they feel more natural than not exiting (here, for example), but guidance lines aren't provided to keep people from accidentally exiting. Even Oregon uses them, and they have very similar antics to WSDOT.

*The I-90 express HOV lanes (since closed) had California-esque green signs with HOV symbols, etc. But these have since been removed: https://goo.gl/dEE3qB. They would have been installed in the early 90s, alongside much of the early HOV infrastructure, which I believe used black-on-white signage.