Chapter 3 of the Seattle Squeeze – Fall 2019 & Winter 2020
Seattle City Council – October 7, 2019

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 The Seattle Squeeze; Public Infrastructure Projects 2019-2024

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 Transportation changes happening now

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 What to expect when SR 99 tolling begins
The SR 520 Bridge Experience
In the first year of tolling, SR 520 traffic volumes
declined 34 percent from pre-toll levels.
People choosing not to pay the toll:
• Modified travel schedules to take advantage
of transit, vanpools, and off-peak travel
times.
• Took alternate routes (volumes increased 11
percent on I-90 and 9 percent on SR 522)
• Some chose not to cross the lake at all
(cross-lake trips declined by 6 percent)
In 2019, SR 520 traffic volumes were about 17
percent below pre-toll levels.
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Department
of Transportation

Source: WSDOT Toll Division

 What to expect when SR 99 tolling begins
For at least the first two years of tolling on SR 99 we expect travelers will adjust
their travel patterns before settling into a new normal.
Viaduct vs Tunnel Volumes (Pre- and Post- Tolling)
Average volumes per hour at peak times, both directions combined
(6-9 a.m. / 3-6 p.m.)
SR 99 Viaduct (2015)
Forecasts
Tolling (during
adjustment period)
Tolling (after
adjustment period)

SR 99 Tunnel
(Pre-toll, March 2019)
SR 99 Tunnel
(Post-toll forecast)
0

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Department
of Transportation

1,000

2,000

3,000
4,000
Vehicles Per Hour

5,000

6,000

 Monitoring Traffic
WSDOT gathers and analyzes data about
traffic patterns at three time periods:
1. Before the tunnel opens
2. After the tunnel opens
3. After tolling begins through the first year of
toll operations
Through our performance monitoring effort we
are working closely with City of Seattle, King
County and the Port of Seattle.

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Department
of Transportation

 To Northgate

Connecting the Eastside to existing Link service

To Angle Lake

10 stations
14 miles
Opens 2023

Department
of Transportation
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 Train and rider movement

Department
of Transportation
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 Combined Rider Impacts
Weekend station closures (Capitol Hill – SODO)
Sat & Sun
Jan 4 & 5, 2020

Oct '19

Nov '19

Dec '19

Pioneer Square platform prep

Fri 11pm – Sun
Oct 11 - Oct 13

Fri 11pm -Sun
Nov 8 - Nov 10
Fri 11pm - Sun
Oct 25 - Oct 27

Department
of Transportation
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Jan '20

Sat & Sun
Feb 8 & 9, 2020
(dates TBD)

Feb '20

Sat & Sun
Mar 14 & 15, 2020
(dates TBD)

Mar '20

 Rider Communication Strategy
PARTNER CHANNELS.

FRONT LINE
Signage

EARNED MEDIA

MICROSITE

Ambassadors
Audio announcements

OWNED CHANNELS

“Riders, know your
options & plan
ahead”

PAID MEDIA/ADVERTISING

Department
of Transportation
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Security
Customer service
Digital rider alerts &
Twitter

 Our Five Pillars for Downtown Mobility
Monitoring and managing
our transportation system

Reducing the number of
drive-alone trips downtown

Investing in transit and
expanding access

Managing the public
right-of-way

Communicating
with the public

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 Strategies to manage our transportation system and ROW
• Prepare and deploy customized signal
plans to anticipate congested corridors
• Conduct 24/ 7 transportation system
performance monitoring and make realtime adjustments
• Communicate with technology providers
about closures and reroutes that do not
fit into real-time feeds
• Proactively manage construction project
schedules to minimize impacts to
downtown streets

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 Invest in transit and expand access
• Add more than 50,000 service hours through the Seattle
Transportation Benefit District
• Partner with Metro and Sound Transit to improve access
to transit at park-and-rides, Via to Transit and Ride2
• Augment existing and create four new shared mobility
hubs to improve first-mile/ last-mile transfers
• Expand access to ORCA and ORCA Lift
• Paint red transit lanes and make spot improvements to
relieve transit congestion
• Center City Bike Network connections
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 Reduce drive-alone trips downtown and communications
• Partner with major employers to promote and
expand flexible work options –Flexwork Challenge 2
• Launch “Flip Your Trip” to promote non-SOV travel
• Maintain www.seattle.gov/ traffic as a single source
for Seattle Squeeze information
• Use translation, trusted community liaisons and
ethnic media to expand access to traffic information
• Coordinate communications with WSDOT, Metro,
Sound Transit, the Port and Commute Seattle

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 Contact Information
City of Seattle Department of Transportation
Heather Marx, Director of Downtown Mobility
206-684-ROAD
www.seattle.gov/traffic

Washington State Department of Transportation
Ed Barry, Toll Division Manager
SR99TunnelTolls@wsdot.wa.gov

Sound Transit

Leda Chahim, Government and Community Relations Corridor Manager
https://www.soundtransit.org/ride-with-us/changes-affect-myride/connect-2020

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