Transportation in Seattle
Transportation in Seattle is largely focused on the
Due to Seattle's
Transportation to and from the east is via State Route 520's
Two
Seattle contains most of
History
Even though Seattle is old enough that railways and streetcars once dominated its transportation system, the city is now largely dominated by automobiles but has recently started rebuilding
Organized land transportation in Seattle dates back at least to 1871; by that date, a wagon traveled twice daily from what is now First Avenue (near Elliott Bay) to Lake Washington; the fare was 50 cents, no small sum for that era. In 1880 a two-horse carriage carried passengers and freight from roughly today's
Water transport was important even within what are now city limits. A steamer connected
The first street railway,
The
At the turn of the century, the streets were so bad that a boy named Joseph Bufonchio drowned in a sink-hole at the corner of Third and Jackson. As Gordon Newell noted in 1956, contemporary reports did not seem to consider this particularly unusual.[6]
At that time, there were about 25 independent transit lines in Seattle.[citation needed] By 1907, the Seattle Electric Company, owned by Boston-based Stone & Webster, leveraged its foothold in the electric power industry to consolidate these into one operation, known after 1912 as the Puget Sound Traction, Light and Power Company. It cost a nickel to ride. Puget Sound Traction was bought out by the city in 1919 for US$15 million. However, under the city's management, the streetcars chronically ran a loss (even after a 1923 fare increase to three rides for a quarter, a fare of 8-and-a-third cents), and the quality of the system deteriorated.[7]
The advent of the automobile sounded the death knell for rail in Seattle. Tacoma–Seattle railway service ended in 1929 and the Everett–Seattle service came to an end in 1939, replaced by automobiles running on the recently developed highway system. When the city received a US$10.2 million federal grant to pay off transit-related debts and modernize its transit system, rails on city streets were paved over or removed, and the opening in 1940 of the Seattle trolleybus system brought the end of streetcar service in Seattle in the early hours of April 12, 1941. This left an extensive network of buses (including 188 miles (303 km) of trolleybus lines) under an independent Municipal Transportation Commission as the only mass transit within the city and throughout the region.[8][9]
The new transit system was jammed and profitable during the gasoline and rubber rationing of World War II, but the automobile reigned supreme after the war. Fares rose to 10 cents,[10] the first of many increases that would lead to a present-day regular adult fare of $2.75.[11]
Streets, roads, and automobiles
Seattle set its first
The city is described in a mid-20th-century
Even with the lesser population of that time and fewer major highways, difficulty parking downtown had already become "practically an institution".
Over 15,000 Seattleites are members of the
SR 99 Tunnel
The SR 99 Tunnel is a 2-mile (3.2 km)
Since the
Construction began in July 2013 using "Bertha", at the time the world's largest-diameter tunnel boring machine. After several delays, tunnel boring was completed in April 2017, and the tunnel opened to traffic on February 4, 2019.
Freeways in the metropolitan region
West Seattle Freeway . Interstate 5 is the major north–south route through the region. Interstate 5 is four or five lanes for most of its way through the metro area. The freeway connects the metro area to California, Oregon, and British Columbia.
The freeway system uses carpools faster on many freeways and arterials. The HOV lanes on I-405 allow general purpose traffic to use them after 7pm (till about 5am), and the lanes on SR 167 are actually HOT lanes (carpools may use the lanes free; solo drivers can use the lanes for a variable fee). There are 225 lane miles of HOV lanes built and another 100 unbuilt. Freeway improvements are paid for by two gas taxes, 2003 Gas Tax and 2005 Gas Tax.
Interstate 5This is Seattle's largest and widest freeway. Traffic back-ups going into Seattle from the north and south are very common during the morning and evening rush hours.  Everett in 1964.
Interstate 90Link light rail .
Interstate 405HOV lanes were added in the 1980s and 1990s, the interchange between I-405 and SR 520 was upgraded in the early 1990s, and new ramps have been added in downtown Bellevue in recent years to supplement the original interchange at NE 8th Street.
SR 520The Washington State Department of Transportation is currently widening the freeway on the Eastside, modifying interchanges, and moving the HOV lanes to the inside of the roadway.
SR 167HOV lanes between I-405 and SR 18 which also allow single-passenger vehicles to use them for a variable fee, also known as HOT lanes .
SR 99/SR 599George Washington Memorial Bridge .
West Seattle FreewayThe West Seattle Freeway begins in Seattle at I-5 and continues west, where it interchanges with SR 99 and terminates at a signal at Fauntleroy Way SW and 35th Avenue SW. The West Seattle Freeway was built in 1941, and the high-level bridge opened in 1984 and the roadway was widened in 2012 between I-5 and SR 99.
Other freewaysMost of the other freeways in the Seattle area are two lanes in each direction and generally travel in a north–south direction, with the exceptions of US 2, SR 410, SR 512, SR 518, SR 526, and Waaga Way. SR 16 is signed east–west but it travels mostly north–south. Mass transit.jpg){kind=spacer} University Street Station Two suburbs and cities. Metro Transit's system includes a network of trolleybus routes
The Sounder commuter rail system consists of two lines, linking Seattle with Lakewood along its South Line and Seattle with Everett along its North Line. Several stations in intermediate cities along the lines are also served; the trains run primarily during peak hours in the peak direction.[16] The light rail system, called Link light rail, includes the initial 15.7-mile (25.3 km) from downtown Seattle to Sea-Tac Airport, which began service in 2009. Extension to the University of Washington via the University Link tunnel and Angle Lake station began service in 2016; they were followed by the Northgate Link Extension in 2021. It was named the 1 Line and will be joined by other lines in future extensions approved by voters in 2008 and 2016; a second line, the 2 Line, opened in 2024 to serve the Eastside and is planned to be extended into Seattle in 2025.[16] Further light rail extensions are planned to connect to Lynnwood and other areas to the north; east across Lake Washington to Bellevue and Redmond; and south to Federal Way. The Sound Transit 3 ballot measure, passed in 2016, will further expand the system both regionally and within the city, with service to Tacoma, Everett, Issaquah, south Kirkland, and to the neighborhoods Ballard and West Seattle.  The Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel is a 1.3-mile tunnel under downtown built in 1987 and opened in 1990, to relieve bus congestion along surface streets. Originally served by dual-mode buses that operated electrically within it, the tunnel was retrofitted from 2005 to 2007 to accommodate light rail, and in 2009, Link light rail trains began serving tunnel stations as part of the initial Central Link segment. All tunnel bus routes were rerouted to surface streets in 2019 to make way for the demolition of Convention Place Station, making the tunnel an exclusive subway for Link trains within the city core.[17] Above the tunnel, 3rd Avenue through downtown serves as a major bus arterial, with access restricted to buses only during peak commuting hours.[18] The city is currently in the process of expanding a modern streetcar network. In December 2007, the city inaugurated its South Lake Union Streetcar line between Westlake Center and stops in the South Lake Union neighborhood. In 2009, the Seattle city council approved a second line, the First Hill Streetcar, to connect First Hill to Link light rail at Capitol Hill and International District/Chinatown stations. The line began service in 2016 after two years of delays.[19] Metro Transit also operated a historic Waterfront Streetcar line that ran along Alaskan Way, but the streetcar's maintenance barn was demolished to make room for the Olympic Sculpture Park, resulting in the subsequent closure of the line. King County Metro now operates a replacement bus line that mirrors the route.[citation needed] The proposed City Center Connector project would connect the South Lake Union and First Hill streetcars into a single line with a routing along 1st Avenue in Downtown Seattle .
In 2009, the RFID technology to handle payment from either passes, vouchers, or the E-purse, a stored value debit account. ORCA's precursor, PugetPass, will be retained as one of the several passes that can be loaded automatically onto the card. The system also calculates transfers for a two-hour window for those paying with the E-purse.[citation needed] Since 2022, all transit agencies in the Puget Sound area have waived fares for passengers under the age of 18 as part of a statewide program.[20]
 The Downtown .
Local transit agencies offer trip planners on their web sites that provides information for public transit in Seattle and surrounding areas (King, Pierce, and Snohomish counties). Riders enter their intended origin and destination, along with optional time, date, and other information, and the trip planner displays itineraries showing the stops, departure and arrival times, and times to get from the origin to the destination. Trip planning, schedules, and real-time arrivals are also available on third-party maps, such as intercity coach service in May 2012, with Portland as its first destination.[22] The service later expanded with stops in Everett and Tacoma, but was discontinued by parent company Greyhound in 2021.[23][24]
Public transportation statisticsThe Seattle metropolitan area has historically had robust ridership for a predominantly bus-based transit system. It was one of the few major transit systems to gain ridership in the 2010s, in a period of increased ride-hailing services and lower gas prices. Only 10% of King County Metro riders rely on the agency for all or most of their trips and do not have access to a vehicle.[25] As of 2016, 48% of all trips to downtown were on transit.[26] Following the COVID-19 pandemic, transit use by downtown commuters declined by 55 percent and was largely replaced by remote work according to 2022 statistics from the American Community Survey.[27] According to Moovit, the average amount of time Seattle-area commuters spend using public transit on a weekday is 74 minutes. 27% of public transit riders commute for more than two hours every day. The average amount of time people wait at a stop or station for public transit is 14 minutes, while 22% of riders wait for over 20 minutes on average every day. The average distance people usually ride in a single trip with public transit is 12.5 km, while 34% travel for over 12 km in a single direction.[28] Bicycles and scootersThere are extensive multi-use car-free regional pathways linking the city and county to the surrounding areas, including the protected bike lanes, and trails, within the city by 2034.[30] The city opened its first protected intersection in May 2024 at Dexter Avenue and Thomas Street in South Lake Union, which was used by a daily average of 680 cyclists in October 2023.[31]
An urban Bird, Lime, Link, and Veo) to deploy up to 12,500 vehicles. In 2022, SDOT recorded 1.1 million bicycle trips and 2.7 million scooter trips on these systems.[34]
Airports  The Seattle metropolitan area has several airports that support commercial use as well as general aviation. The city's primary commercial airport is Seattle–Tacoma International Airport, locally known as Sea-Tac Airport and located in the city of SeaTac, which is named for the airport. It is operated by the Port of Seattle and is served by a number of airlines connecting the region with international, national, and domestic destinations.[35] The airport is a major hub for Delta Air Lines as well as Alaska Airlines and its regional subsidiary, Horizon Air. Paine Field in Everett also began operating flights in March 2019 following the construction of a two-gate passenger terminal. It receives a limited number of daily flights from Alaska Airlines; prior to 2021, it also had United Airlines service.[36] Closer to downtown, Boeing Field is primarily used for general aviation, cargo flights, and testing/delivery of Boeing airliners. In 2005, Southwest Airlines requested permission to move passenger operations from Sea-Tac to Boeing Field but were rejected by the county.[37] Boeing Field has commercial flights to the San Juan Islands. The Kenmore Air Harbor Seaplane Base on Lake Union, immediately north of downtown, is used by two airlines that operate floatplanes to the San Juan Islands and British Columbia.[35][38] Proposed airportsThe state government formed the Commercial Aviation Coordinating Commission (CACC) in 2019 to investigate sites for a new commercial airport that would serve the Puget Sound region and relieve pressure at Sea-Tac.[39] The new airport would accommodate 20 million passengers annually by 2050 and have two runways.[40] The plan assumes that Sea-Tac and Paine Field would be expanded to handle 67 million annual passengers, which would fall below the projected 94 million annual passengers using Seattle-area airports.[41] In September 2022, the commission identified expansion of Paine Field or the construction of a new airport in southern Pierce County or northern Thurston County as potential options.[39] The wider field of 10 candidates also included options in Kitsap, Skagit, and Snohomish counties.[42] Opposition to the Pierce County and Thurston County sites formed following the September 2022 announcement, citing potential noise and traffic impacts. The CACC was planned to recommend a site to the state legislature by June 2023.[43] The commission was dissolved by the legislature in May 2023 due to public backlash and is planned to be replaced by a new working group that would monitor and review statewide aviation needs on an annual basis.[44] See also
Bibliography
References
External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Transport in Seattle. Wikimedia Commons has media related to Streets in Seattle.
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