Date:
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Contact:
Jamie Holter, WSDOT Communications, (206) 440-4472 (Seattle)
Martin Dedinsky, WSDOT Traffic, (206) 440-4459 (Seattle)
Biggest Jumps No Surprise to Everett and Federal Way Commuters
SEATTLE - Fans of the WSDOT travel times Web page may notice some changes in the average commute times. Nearly every commute corridor travel average has jumped this week, some by a few minutes, some by as many as 10 minutes or more.
“Every two years, we count the cars. We run the numbers and we systematically update all the tools that use those averages. The average travel times are visible to everyday commuters,” said WSDOT Traffic Engineer Martin Dedinsky.
Every other year, WSDOT traffic engineers spend an entire summer calculating speeds, volumes, and peak commute times. The resulting Ramp and Roadway Report is released in November. The numbers to calculate informational tools like average daily commute times are then systematically updated.
The commute corridors that show the greatest change from 2004 are:
Bellevue to Federal Way + 14 minutes. The average commute is now 56 minutes.
Federal Way to Seattle + 6 minutes. The average commute is now 49 minutes.
Everett to Seattle + 7 minutes. The average commute is now 53 minutes.
Bellevue to Tukwila + 7 minutes. The average commute is now 33 minutes.
The most congested area is Tukwila to Bellevue where the speed averages 23 mph during the peak commute. Everett to Seattle speed averages 30 mph.
“These numbers confirm what drivers already know. Congestion is increasing, commute times are increasing, and the definition of rush hour is spreading on both sides of the day,” said Dedinsky.
The new numbers mirror exactly what we reported in November 2006 in the WSDOT Congestion Report. The report tracks several measures of delay and congestion on major commuting routes. On 34 of the 35 commute routes analyzed, travel times increased at peak periods, speeds slowed, peaks lengthened, and the reliability of travel times worsened. All those factors resulted in reduced productivity of the freeway system, which means the system is less successful in meeting the need of people and freight to move around the region at the peak use hours.
“Several factors are playing a part in the build-up of congestion,” said state Transportation Secretary Doug MacDonald. “In the period from 2003 to 2005, the Central Puget Sound region added more than 40,000 new jobs and more than 70,000 new people. Growth is placing ever greater demands on the system.”
According to the state’s Chief Traffic Engineer Ted Trepanier, WSDOT’s efforts to operate the transportation system more efficiently are helping, but not by enough to offset the continuing pressures of more people and more trips on the freeways.
“Our expanded program of moving disabled vehicles and expediting traffic movement through our highway Incident Response Program clearly helps,” said Trepanier. “HOV lanes in most areas are effectively increasing person throughput on the highways by giving good service to transit, vanpools and carpools. Our traffic information systems also give drivers better choices to anticipate and avoid congestion.”
For more information on the Web pages and reports referenced in this release, please check the links below.
*www.wsdot.wa.gov/traffic/seattle/traveltimes
**www.wsdot.wa.gov/Northwest/TrafficVolume/Archive.htm
***www.wsdot.wa.gov/Traffic/Congestion/
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