Seattle's free-flowing experience with more than two weeks of freeway lane closures -- predicted to be traffic Armageddon -- shows that the conventional wisdom about traffic isn't always right.
In a Seattle Times op-ed published today, Sightline Institute's Clark Williams-Derry opines on what the great Seattle Clog that Wasn't can teach us about transportation.
Listening to the news stories beforehand, it was supposed to be an absolute nightmare, with predictions of traffic Armageddon. Then, on the first Monday of the closures, Aug. 10, the commute came and no disaster happened. "Drivers heeded the warnings, and many stayed out of their cars, finding other ways to get to work. In fact, not only was there no traffic disaster, it was, in the words of one commenter on The Seattle Times traffic blog, 'The best commute ever.'"
The main lesson is that traffic is more flexible than we think, which may teach us something about other national and local transportation debates. For example, the amount of northbound traffic diverted from I-5 was just about equal to the volumes that enter the Alaskan Way Viaduct every day from south of the West Seattle on-ramp.
The two cases aren't exactly parallel, but "the fact that the existing transportation system sufficed to forestall a disaster should give us more confidence that, with modest improvements in transit and traffic flow, the region's commuters can find workable commuting solutions without the massive costs and neighborhood disruption of rebuilding the viaduct."
Thanks to Elisa Murray
FULL STORY: The great clog of '07: Seattle met the challenge

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

Chicago’s Ghost Rails
Just beneath the surface of the modern city lie the remnants of its expansive early 20th-century streetcar system.

Amtrak Cutting Jobs, Funding to High-Speed Rail
The agency plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce and has confirmed it will not fund new high-speed rail projects.

Ohio Forces Data Centers to Prepay for Power
Utilities are calling on states to hold data center operators responsible for new energy demands to prevent leaving consumers on the hook for their bills.

MARTA CEO Steps Down Amid Citizenship Concerns
MARTA’s board announced Thursday that its chief, who is from Canada, is resigning due to questions about his immigration status.

Silicon Valley ‘Bike Superhighway’ Awarded $14M State Grant
A Caltrans grant brings the 10-mile Central Bikeway project connecting Santa Clara and East San Jose closer to fruition.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Caltrans
City of Fort Worth
Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
City of Portland
City of Laramie