People here think that we have so much density and so many cars, but both are untrue. What we have here in great supply is unending incompetence, poor planning, and a wealth of stupid piecemeal and feel good ideas when it comes to transportation planing (among other things). It is ridiculous that only 3-4 cars can move through a green light cycle as the result of reductions in road capacity as well as poor traffic light timing ( it’s as if the oil companies timed the lights around this city), when in many other large west coast cities traffic actually flows and a ton of cars can move, even during rush hour. Having traffic that moves helps public transit move as well, not to speak of the positive impact on the flow of commerce.

I find it typical of most people around here who are employees of someone else that they ignore the fact that commercial traffic plays as much of a vital role as commuter traffic. What I also find strange is how nobody here wants to tackle the issue of parking in these “dense” neighborhoods, hoping the traffic will magically go away. It won’t .

If Broadway were reverted to a 4 lane road, no streetcar, along with stations with multiple park and ride multilevel parking garages placed in strategic locations, this would have a much greater positive impact on traffic and commuter movement.

I fully agree that there is “and a wealth of stupid piecemeal and feel good ideas when it comes to transportation planing,” but I rather think that I will trust reams of data and years of study over loud opinions.

What’s piecemeal about broadway? Ensuring that there is an abundance of public transit attached to the coming light rail hub on cap hill? Providing a way for frustrated drivers to quickly navgate the hill (albeit without their cars)? Addressing our substantial and quickly increasing density with common sense and high capacity public transit options?

3-4 cars per light — I live that everyday, but not on broadway. And there is a traffic planner. Maybe you want to apply for his job?

Density: In Seattle, Cap Hill only slightly trails Belltown for most dense neighborhood. Its therefore fair to say that there is nowhere more dense in Seattle outside of downtown than Cap hill. So we do have density on the hill. The most density outside of downtown – but thats only if you want to continue to see the hill as seperate from the city center. As you can see below, we are dense, and all those cranes on the skyline mean we are getting denser. Those apartment rents that no one can afford anymore? Due to demand. A sign of density, and increasing density. Those lights that can only let 4 cars through? Density. That crush-loaded bus that you can’t get around? Density.

http://buildthecity.wordpress.com/2011/03/19/census-2010-city-of-seattle-population-density-map/

You may be right, that many west coast cities have less of a downtown traffic problem than we do, but I don’t know what bases you’re using for comparison. Heres the thing – no one expects to zoom down 5th avenue in Manhattan. The FiDi in SF isn’t known as a drag strip. Show me a traffic-free street in Chicago (there isn’t one). I have never seen a lament on the amount of traffic in downtown Seattle – its a fact of life. I don’t know why the most dense area outside of downtown Seattle should have car-centric traffic planning. It makes absolutely no sense.

I get that things weren’t like this even 5 years ago. Change can be tough. Day to day, or even year to year, things may not make sense. But that’s the thing about tactics – without full knowledge of the long-range strategy, maybe no single tactic makes any sense. I hate the bike tracks on broadway — especially when we went through late summer and fall with so many closures to facilitate its construction. And now I haven’t seen a single biker on the track. As a tactic I hate it. As a part of a larger strategy I think its critical and I know it will become a vital part of north-south transit on the hill. To some neighborhood blog editors, it could already be a vital route.

If broadway were reverted to 4 lanes of car traffic that would sure be nice for today – I won’t argue that. But tomorrow, and maybe literally tomorrow, 4 lanes on Broadway won’t cut it. Again, it’s not about me, its not about now – its about everyone, and its about being ready for, or sometimes simply responding to, the explosive growth our neighborhood is seeing.

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/11/19/public-transit-gif-toronto-streetcar-ttc_n_4304258.html

You can’t drive a delivery truck onto a bus, but let’s get real; those delivery drivers often make minimum wage. If you are some kind of delivery business owner, and a delivery costs you an extra $10 on an order for an extra hour in traffic, well, thats the cost of doing business in Seattle. Can’t manage that? Tell your competitor. He will love the referral.

Dense downtown cores aren’t car friendly. We accept that. It’s time to accept that Cap hill is now a fledgling member of our downtown core. Expect traffic, transit projects, construction projects, sometimes total chaos. Vote to fund and expand transit. Buy a bicycle, a bus pass or some good walking shoes. Or sit in traffic and pay as much in monthly vehicle costs (including parking, insurance, gas, maintenance) as many areas do in rent. It’s your choice.

Alternatively, I think West Seattle is still pretty suburban. Everett is, too. Lynnhood, anyone? In short, get out of my hood.

I don’t think you will win the argument that enabling or encouraging single occupant vehicle traffic is the way to go. Thousands (millions?) have been spent developing a long range strategy emphasizing public transit. Again, studies, experts, academics and our elected city council seem to agree that that bike track, street car, light rail connection, busses and the underground pedestrian tunnel are the best options for broadway. I don’t always like it, but I agree with them.

When it comes down to it, we can’t prioritize me in my car when there are 100+ people on the bus in front of me, 20 bikers blew by me while I was idling in traffic, 50 walkers casually pranced by me, 175 people are on the street car behind me and 250+ people just arrived via the tunnel beneath my feet from downtown. Who would advocate for more SOV capacity, or tactics that would encourage or enable SOV traffic? Think of those thousand or so people who just moved around you in the span of a minute all thrown into SOVs. Now think of the street you are on with double the current lanes. Or even triple. Its still not enough lanes. Now what about expanding considerations to include the environmental impact of all those extra cars, or the noise impact, or the economic impact (certainly not all of those transit users could afford a car, and now they are out of a job and not producing for the economy and are probably living off of public assistance).

http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/transitmasterplan.htm

What’s more, if parking is a viable business model for broadway and the hill (and I actually think that Diamond and others make a killing in this city) then more pay lots will be coming.

Traffic light timing — in my experience the lack of traffic progress has nothing to do with light timing and everything to do with traffic volume and pedestrians obstructing turning SOVs on single lane roads which are so common on the hill. Again, we have a great traffic planner, maybe one of the best, and I’ll bet he’s got some staff under him. I don’t do traffic, so I’ll let the experts worry about signal timing.

I never did, and still don’t, notice any issues with broadway traffic, but I have also stopped driving as much as possible, and If I needed to go north/south I wouldn’t use broadway anyway. Once our broadway transit options are fully activated, the human-moving capacity of that road will far exceed with two lanes what existed with 4 lanes.

Traffic in LA — yes, a 6 or 8 lane road with dedicated turning lanes (left and right) and access to a different freeway every 4 blocks would dramatically improve transit times. Unfortunately due to the topography you noted and the simple fact that there is almost nowhere in the city that could support that kind of arterial with the exception of I5, I don’t even think its worth addressing.

If not being able to drive to, on or from the hill keeps people away, fine, great. Firstly, that isn’t even close to what we who live on the hill experience every day, and if it is the case, then THANK GOD. I’d love to see visitors go elsewhere but they just won’t. In fact, through everything we have seen happen on the hill, we still can’t keep up with demand for housing and services. At peak hours our businesses run at capacity, and if development is a sign of a healthy economy, we got 99 problems but lack of customers ain’t one.