The title of this post says it all. One thing about moving from Enumclaw to Seattle is that I can’t just be anywhere in the city limits within 5 minutes or less. Of course, Seattle has MANY more things available within those city limits, so it’s a tradeoff.

But I have been learning how to better get around the city. One thing about living in the downtown core is that you have to deal with traffic. What I’ve learned is that Second Avenue rocks when you’re trying to get from the north end of downtown (say, up in Belltown or by the Seattle Center) to the stadium end of downtown. The lights are synchronized, so once you’re in the flow you just go straight through downtown.

Fourth Avenue does the same thing northbound, and I believe the lights are synched on Third as well. There are a couple of problems with Third, though; first and foremost, since the bus tunnel is closed while they rip out the light rail tracks that are in it (so they can put new and improved light rail tracks in the tunnel- no, I’m not making this up), Third is closed to anything but busses during the morning and evening commute hours. Secondly, Third is a two-way street, so it only has two lanes in each direction- meaning if anyone is making a turn right or left off of Third, they often block the intersection while waiting for the cross street or crosswalk to clear.

I’ve also learned about trains. Since my condo is near the tracks and I have to cross over them to get to/from the freeway, I’ve learned that if it’s a passenger train- the Sounder rail service or the Amtrak service- those are tolerable to wait for. They’re short. But if it’s a freight train, it’s easier to go down to the south side of Safeco Field, then over the tracks on the elevated Edgar Martinez Drive, and then onto Fourth or I-5 or I-90.

Coming into the city in the afternoons (after work), I frequently find traffic on northbound I-5 backed up or severely slowed starting at the exit ramp for the West Seattle Bridge, or sometimes even further south. I jump into that lane, take the ramp to the bridge, and then turn immediately right (north) onto Fourth… whips me right along compared to stop-and-go on the freeway. If traffic is okay then I just take the Fourth Avenue off-ramp from I-5, or possibly the Dearborn exit, and work my way over to the Stadium.

Dearborn, by the way, is a great secret ramp. People don’t really realize it’s there but often during the pregame times for Safeco and/or Qwest, it’s a great way to sneak in relatively close. Don’t tell anyone I told you, let’s keep it a secret.