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Commuters sound off on I-5 closure's first
weekday commute
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this video clip (Real Media) Length: (2:18)
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(2:18)
Narrator Says:
It’s an event many were anticipating, but no one was looking forward
to.
Washington State DOT began closing a varying number of lanes on
northbound I-5 from Spokane Street to I-90 last Friday.
Today, Monday, August 13th marked the first full commute with those
lanes closed.
In the lead up to the closure, King County Metro has been coordinating
with several agencies to encourage the use of its services as
alternatives to driving during the scheduled 19-day closure.
As of day one, it may be a little crowded.
Commuter Says:
Yes, standing room only.
Commuter Keir Warner Says:
The bus was a little bit more crowded than normal, so I take that bus
normally from the airport to downtown Seattle, and there were a lot more
people on it, and it took a different route this time, it was pretty
fast though, the bus way, was really nice, because the buses can just go
along the regular traffic route and they don't get slowed up so it only
took 25 minutes or so from the airport (so overall it wasn't too big an
inconvenience?) no it didn't affect us at all.
Narrator Says:
But commuters are using Metro service as an alternative, and commute
times seem to be similar to normal.
Commuter Robert Velez Says:
First day of the commute was pretty easy, it was a new route for the
driver and for us, they ended up taking the 599 instead of I-5, you
know, blew everyone away, it was nice to see something different as
well, it was an extra 5-10 min. but it was fine, it definitely beat
sitting in the I-5 closure.
On top of the extra bus ridership, the Metro Water Taxi carried a huge
part of the commuter load this morning. The taxi saw its ridership
increase as much as 6 times on some runs.
And riders say this closure has been an opportunity for the Water
Taxi to get the exposure as a great alternative to driving a car.
Commuter David Rehfeld Says:
Yeah, which I think is a tremendous thing, I really hope this ridership
continues, there's no way to know if it will or not, but I think people
realize the definite benefit, and ease of getting over there, that's
going to catch on.
Narrator Says:
The Water Taxi averages about 30 passengers per trip on your average
weekday. Today it saw three trips exceed 100 passengers topping out at
191 by mid-morning, which is a record for the Water Taxi.
Commuter Darcy Quinn Says:
(very busy) Yeah we're regular commuters, we normally take the 8:50 but
we came early b/c we knew it was going to be busy and late b/c there
were going to be so many people.
Narrator Says
Metro plans to continue its re-routed service as long as the closures
last. Commuters can watch for Rider Alerts at bus stops or visit
Metro Online for current
information and updates.
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