[Update 4:38pm: P-I reports some more lanes are open, but traffic still looks ugly. Apparently, this was all caused by a moron tossing a cigarette into a bone-dry median.]
Brian Bundridge, out at Tukwila station, has several items to report:
“due to the brush fire in Des Moines, buses are being rerouted to Hwy 99/Pacific Hwy”
“I-5 and Hwy 99 are complete gridlock”
“Parking at Tukwila station is COMPLETELY FULL. And there are 4 TVM’s”
“I’ve already been hearing that street parking several blocks away is stuffed, too.”
“and businesses have been towing people”
“I just got on board Link (got lucky to see someone pulling out) and it is almost standing…”
Nothing on any agency websites about the reroute.
If this persists, I’d take Sounder to go South.
The 564 to the 410 @ South Hill looks mighty tempting
Your observations on parking are interesting and make me wonder how the Seattle Times will report on this.
On the one hand, if they report that “significant parking problems” have developed around Link stations after only two weeks of operation, then they are tacitly admitting that Link is working. This would obviously undercut their multi-year anti-LR campaign.
But on the other hand, if they don’t report it then they are missing an opportunity to make ST look bad by bashing on LR design……and we all know how they like to do that.
I wonder what they will do……
Feel bad for people stuck in the backup with no AC. Must be hell.
and we just got this gem from Metro…
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News release, King County Department of Transportation
Date: July 29, 2009
Contact: Rochelle Ogershok at (206) 296-6515
Record heat prompts Metro Transit travel advisory
A prediction of record heat is prompting a warning from King County Metro Transit that many customers will find their bus trips very hot as we head into the afternoon hours.
Customers should expect longer trips and crowded buses following the baseball game and afternoon commute. Those trips will be especially uncomfortable if you are traveling on a bus that is not air conditioned. Only about 30 percent of Metro’s bus fleet is equipped with air conditioning. But even those buses with AC will likely be hot, especially when they are crowded and doors are being opened frequently.
Given the excessive heat warning now in effect, Metro customers may want to consider traveling later in the day when it’s cooler and buses aren’t as crowded. Customers with health problems may even want to consider forgoing their bus travel until temperatures moderate.
If you do need to travel during the heat wave, there are some additional tips to keep in mind. Dress for the weather on these hotter days. Remove jackets and sweaters you wear in air conditioned buildings before you board the bus. Visit Metro Online at: http://metro.kingcounty.gov/ and Public Health Seattle-King County at: http://www.kingcounty.gov/healthservices/health/news/2008/BeatTheHeat.aspx for additional hot weather travel tips.
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So basically since we got this notice this afternoon Metro would like us to stay at work until it cools off like on Saturday???
“sweaters??” “jackets”… after all if you happen to enter a bus wearing a sweater there is no way you could possibly remove it once on the bus.
Who writes this stuff???
Community Transit sent out a simmilar warning. I guess they want you to sweat a minimal amount so it smells less.
Keaping your sweater/jacket on in an air conditionned area will make it easier to adapt to a non air conditionned area when taking off the sweater/jacket. I’m not many people will consider that though.
CT also mentions using the travel planner to ‘escape to the water’! =D
CT’s message:
Community Transit advises customers that the record heat outside often means hot bus travel as well. Please be prepared by drinking water, waiting at shaded stops when possible and removing jackets before leaving air-conditioned buildings. Wearing sunscreen can also keep you cooler when outside.
Although most Community Transit commuter buses are air-conditioned, even buses with AC have been hot this week, especially when they are crowded and doors are opened frequently. Traveling at off-peak times can help keep you cooler.
Some buses, such as those equipped with WiFi, have had AC problems which we are trying to repair as quickly as possible, but parts orders may not be in until the end of the week. Routes 422 and 441 will not have WiFi but will have buses with air-conditioning assigned to them until repairs can be made.
Most local buses are not air-conditioned, but open windows offer a welcome breeze when the bus is in motion.
Although your bus ride may not be as comfortable as usual, passengers are doing their part to reduce high smog levels during this heat wave. Thank you for your patience.
For more hot weather tips, see the Centers for Disease Control website.
For passengers who rely on the bus to get around, remember that Community Transit serves some “cool” places including: local libraries, Mukilteo and Edmonds waterfronts, Lake Stevens, Martha Lake County Park, McCollum Park pool and Lynnwood Recreation Center. Use our Trip Planner to plan your escape to the water.
I’ve been tempted to bring my hoodie to school. For some reason they set the thermostat at 65, which is far too cold for an indoor temperature. I don’t see a problem with setting it at 70: not only will it bring the temperature back up to normal inside temperatures, but it’ll save on cooling costs.
It’s probably a legal thing. Cover the bases. “Hey, we warned them in writing, so now they can’t sue us for getting heat stroke out on the bus.”
But seriously, people, if you have to take a non-AC bus today, think! Use your brain. That’s why you’re a human. Plan ahead. Bring a container or bag of ice with a washcloth in it. Bring a bottle of water. Bring a battery powered fan if you have one.
Don’t be that idiot on the bus with none of those things, moaning and complaining about how hot it is. You knew for days it would be 100+ degrees today. And it will be equally hot tomorrow!
Bags of ice are large, and using electrified items will cause more heat…
I’d say, stay outside a bit so you adapt to the temperature, then take the even hotter bus.
That works for me when I’m on vacation in hot places.
What about small bags of ice?
Power is out to trolley buses in the U.D.
Someone mentioned in a blog (not this one) comment that the A/C units were taken out of the KC Metro 40′ low-floor buses and another person mentioned that the units were installed on other buses (didn’t mention which ones). It was .
Oops, the link didn’t show up.
http://blog.seattlepi.com/buschick/archives/174874.asp
The only thing Sound Transit ordered during Metro’s order for the D40LF’s is 9200–the DE40LF. There’s only one of these and I don’t know if it has A/C. Look for it on the 560.
Since that person mixed that up, I wouldn’t trust them when they say Metro removed the A/C.
Also, the next guy down thinks the Orions will be delivered next year. 2011 is the actual date.
All I can say is that the link was extremely comfortable, and remained cool even in packed conditions after picking up fans from the Mariner’s game.
I asked on another post here, but I’ll ask again. Any chance the LINK LRVs were delivered with the same Air Conditioners the same manufacturer put in the LRVs they delivered to Phoenix? If so, I am sure it came in handy today, if they had it. Still, if that was a standard AC system they used, it seemed more than enough for the job.
I do not know, but it seemed like it was able to keep the temperature around 70 degrees, maybe even below at points.
The I-5 traffic was my excuse to ride Link today. I went down there and shot some video.
Link zips past I-5 traffic on YouTube