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How do I lime for fuckin' truth?
I agree about downtown congestion - that's why I oppose the tunnel. The State Department of Transportation's numbers show that there would be less congestion in the downtown core with the surface/transit/I-5 plan than the tunnel plan. The numbers are right there in the chart - fewer vehicle hours of delay for surface/transit/I-5 than tunnel.
IMHO, one of the biggest problems is that I-5 goes from a four lane down to a two lane as it cuts through downtown Seattle. Have they proposed anything that can reasonably fix that example of "Oh yeah, this will always be enough for traffic" lack of forethought?
Why would you even do that? You could take 90 up to 405 and then 405 connects to 5 around lynnwood thus skipping seattle altogether.
They think they can maybe add another lane, probably going Northbound. It's tough because I-5 goes through the Washington State Convention Center so there are limits to how wide it can be. The other, probably better idea is to close some of the exits. Particularly the Seneca St exit, which is on the left side. Getting into or out of that exit lane means a lot of people have to make lane changes which leads to a lot of slow down, and if the exit is closed then people don't need to make so many lane changes. But reconfiguring can only do so much - eventually we are going to have to get people out of their cars. There is only so much space on the road and the number of cars is increasing more than the space is or can. Light rail on the east side of Seattle (Rainier Valley- Downtown - U District - Northgate) will be completed in the next ~10-15 years but ridership so far on what has been completed hasn't be as high as hoped, and there are no good ideas for light rail on the west side - West Seattle light rail involves going up a VERY high slope, over one of the most polluted rivers in America, and Ballard light rail will either need a very high bridge ala Aurora or will need a draw bridge to let ships under, which defeats the whole point of fast, reliable transit. So there are some challenges.
Edit:
Lol at ever driving on 405. 405 between I-90 and 520 is even more congested than I-5.
And in the late 60s, Seattle was offered a deal from the federal government to build a rapid transit system. 2/3rds federal money, 1/3rd local. In 1970, voters voted it down, so the Feds took the money to Atlanta and built MARTA instead. Whoops. And we've regretted it ever since.
There were a few instances of cities putting them in, and then in a bid to raise revenue (because tax hikes are way too obvious apparently), they'd cut the yellow light timers, which is dangerous as fuck.
That said, red light cameras are not inherently bad, they just lack oversight. They're in theory heartless methods of enforcing a very important traffic rule that people break a lot.
They're also an awesome example of why ballot initiatives are terrible: they're something everyone can get their hate on against, but still should exist. We'd likely vote away speed limits and traffic tickets if we could, even if it would be a terrible idea. Because we vote in our short term interest, and damn the consequences.
Extra lanes is not going to solve the traffic jams. The 480 outside Cleveland, Ohio is four lanes all the way and constantly backed up. Better driving skills would solve the problem far better. If everyone kept 2-3 car lengths between themselves and the car in front of them almost all congestion would go away as people now have enough room to shift lanes and enter the highway without causing complete stops. And at normal driving speeds, every car that goes into your lane in front of you (forcing you to slow down a bit to grow the distance) would only slow your total travel time by a second or so, making the 'cost' rather irrelevant.
But I have no faith in people's ability to actually drive like that.
SHOCKED.
Ah, changing "code:lime" to "color=lime" does the trick.
On topic, I just got a petition form in the mail for the red light camera initiative. It promptly went into the recycling.
That paper is a goddamn abomination. I swear to god, they make a point of being on the wrong fucking side of every possible issue. If you haven't looked at what they're talking about cutting without that fee, you should take a gander. All of the night owl buses to north Seattle are on the chopping block (hope you like drunk drivers), as are a metric fuckton of other buses.
Odds are, most Seattle drivers will spend less on the $20 car tab than they'll spend in increased costs due to higher traffic congestion and/or having to drive places they previously could have ridden a goddamn bus to. Fucking idiots.
RE: The Tunnel
I don't know how to go on that. Downtown traffic is expected to be worse but overall traffic
is supposed to get better. Selfishly, I want to be for anything that makes the back and forth from Eastside easier. Obviously that means I want Eyman and Freeman to diaf.
Don't really see a downside to Inslee, his congress seat is pretty safe right?
Ahh so that was the seat he was going to run for? Awesome. I think I'm in Inslee's district if I remember right. I'd say I wish I could vote out riechert but honestly thats not going to happen and I'd hate for that clown to represent me.
I think a decent candidate has a shot; not a great one, but a shot.
I want to say Riecherts district covers places like Duvall, which aside from some liberal white flight is mainly rural dirt farmers who aren't exactly well known for their super intelligence. Its the only reason he keeps being reelected.
I cynically vote my own interests in every election.
As a middle class white man, that's Democrat every time. If the Republican party had anything worthwhile to offer me I'd vote for them, but they don't.
Rob McKenna is the Republican nominee for Governor in this state.
So yes, I'm a Democrat.
Or that wanting to improve anything related to transportation (including the I-5 corridor as Slider claimed on this very page) is in direct opposition to supporting anything Tim Eyman has ever done (as Slider did on the last page).
I get so frustrated with the fucking NIMBYs in this state, though; before it was "if we pass this, every gas station will be selling vodka to teenagers!" So, Costco re-writes the law so that only large stores can do it. Then, everyone says "this is just the big-box stores trying to drive the little guys out of business!"
I'm so tired of not being able to buy a goddamn bottle of whiskey at 9:00 at night, and having to plan my night around a goddamn liquor store run.
I can't wait until we have BevMo up here. Seriously, it's like a Toys R Us for adults; the happiest place on earth.
I support liquor privatization, but I won't support any plan that isn't revenue neutral or positive. I believe the current plan on the table, like both last year's initiatives, reduces state revenue. In this time of historically low state revenues, I'm not giving up a dime. I don't know if a fiscal impact statement has yet been completed for it but I will be watching for that.
Also, most of the revenue estimates you get from the state are just that: revenue estimates. They don't factor in the fact that the state will no longer be buying liquor, having to employ people to staff the liquor stores, paying rent on the liquor stores, etc.
It was nice.