How to get around during the Seattle Squeeze

With the closure of SR 99, you might be wondering how your daily travel will be impacted. Now is the perfect time to try out new ways to boost your commute, and your bike is a great place to start. We’ve compiled a few helpful tips and resources to get you started, and we’ll continue to provide updates and ideas for how to get around once the closure is underway.

Biking is a great way to get around during the Seattle Squeeze/Viadoom/Period of Max Constraint. Maybe it's time to try biking, giving you a chance to enjoy the benefits of biking while heading to work. A recent article in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and Letter to the Editor in Seattle Times featured many of the benefits of biking during the Seattle Squeeze. Read on for ideas and information about biking, transit, carpooling and more.

RESOURCES

Interested in adding some exercise to your day while bypassing all the traffic? The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) has plentiful bicycle resources online. Learn more. You can also check out a helpful bike map here and updates around the viaduct closure. And the West Seattle Bike Connections website has a "Resources" page that includes a "Pick a Route" section with links to RWGPS maps of good commute routes from West Seattle. You can also view RideWithGPS.com routes for Eastlake and Westlake loop from Greenlake to downtown core and West Seattle Junction to downtown core and South Lake Union.

Taking the bus from West Seattle? New temporary bus-only lanes will allow buses traveling from West Seattle to access the SODO busway and improve bus travel time. Learn more.

Looking for ways to incorporate Metro Transit into your commute? King County Metro has options. Learn more. Consider combining your bike with transit using this helpful resource about loading your bike onto the bus.

Are you an employer hoping to guide your employees through a successful work week? Commute Seattle’s can help. Learn more.

Do you work downtown and want to hop on the Free Waterfront Shuttle? Hours on the North/South Loop are expanding from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. weekdays. Find a shuttle here. 

For ongoing updates about the closure, visit the Washington State Department of Transportation. Don’t forget to check out WSDOT’s tips for travel alternatives.

Dusting cobwebs off your bike?

Cascade is here to help you get you and your bike ready. We have all the important tips and tricks for helping you become a world-class bicycle commuter in the New Year. We’re here to help you get through the wettest months of the year.

Learn the best commuting route with Free Group Rides

Cascade’s Free Group Rides is offering “commuting-themed" rides to the downtown core from neighborhoods without easy access to Link Light Rail. We already had one “Survive 99 Realign” Free Group Ride from West Seattle. We'll update this page with upcoming commuting-themed rides.

Our Free Group Rides program offers fun daily riding opportunities, completely free of charge, to help you meet new friends, stay healthy and find alternative ways to get around the region. Check out all the Free Group Ride opportunities.

Commuter Tutors: Cascade has volunteer FGR Ride Leaders who are bike commuters that could be your commuter tutor and help with routes and maybe an escorted ride. See below for Commuter Tutors and their contact information.

Let’s Connect Seattle

The Seattle Squeeze highlights the need for fast and affordable transportation options. We envision a Seattle where 1 in 10 trips is made by bike. It’s a vision that’s within reach; and we’ve got a plan to get there: Connect Seattle.

Making that vision a reality isn’t about hitting a magic number. It’s about creating happier, healthier and more inclusive neighborhoods – connected by bike – all across Seattle. We envision a Seattle where everyone, regardless of how we look or where we live, has the choice to hop on a bike to get to the store, to commute to school or work, or to cross town to visit friends and family for dinner.  1 in 10 trips by bike isn’t just an aspirational goal.

If Seattle follows through on a handful of Connect Seattle projects that are already in the works – and completes them over the next three years  – we’ll have a basic network of bikeways across the city by 2021. When we Connect Seattle, we connect people to the places they need and want to go by bike. And that means more people, taking more trips by bike.

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