Q&A | The great barrier debate | Which way to Market?

Q: Are concrete highway dividers better than cable barriers at saving lives? Bill Habenicht, of Woodinville, is inclined to think so.

"You never hear about cars smashing through the concrete barriers, ever, whether they are the permanent ones, or the moveable ones used in construction zones," he said.

"I just don't understand why there is any debate on the solution at all," he said. Wouldn't concrete barriers solve head-on collisions once and for all?

A: State Department of Transportation spokesman Travis Phelps says the agency this year analyzed more than 9,000 collisions around the state involving concrete barriers, steel guardrails and cable median barriers.

The results of the analysis, he said, showed that more than 80 percent of drivers who collide with cable median barriers walk away uninjured. "Comparatively, drivers who collide with concrete and steel guardrail walk away uninjured only 59 percent of the time," he said.

He reasons that concrete and steel are more rigid, and more often bounce vehicles back into traffic, which increases odds of colliding with a second or third vehicle.

"This is why concrete barriers and steel guardrail are not always the right choice for every stretch of highway," he said. "Sometimes concrete barrier or steel guardrail may make the problem worse."

Phelps says the department's consideration of which type of divider goes where includes consideration of motorists' driving patterns, traffic volumes, median widths and collision trends. The department considers "what solution will keep the highest number of drivers safe" and the consequences of installing the wrong barrier, he said.

"No barrier is 100 percent effective 100 percent of the time."

Still, as a result of a fatality accident on Interstate 5 near Marysville on Feb. 13, in which an SUV went through cable barriers and collided head-on with a charter bus, Gov. Christine Gregoire has ordered the state Transportation Department and the State Patrol to coordinate a thorough review of cable median barriers on state highways. The accident had prompted inquiries regarding the effectiveness of cable median barriers, especially in the area of I-5 near Marysville.

Q: At the end of the Seneca Street exit ramp from the Alaskan Way Viaduct to First Avenue in downtown Seattle, Terry Hulscher, who commutes from West Seattle to his downtown banking job, has noticed a brown sign — he presumes it's mainly for tourists — that has arrows for both Pioneer Square and Pike Place Market pointing south.

Yes, Pioneer Square is south of there. But most locals, of course, know that Pike Place Market is actually three blocks north of there. "That sign has been that way for years now," Hulscher said. "Am I missing something?"

A: Wayne Wentz, the Seattle Transportation Department's traffic-management director, says that sign is intended to direct motorists to the route with the least congestion and the best chance for finding parking.

The sign is directing motorists to turn right on First Avenue, and a second sign posted on First directs motorists to turn right and head west on Madison Street to Western Avenue, where motorists then are directed to head north to reach Pike Place Market. At that point, motorists should be able to find abundant and accessible parking, he said.

Of course, motorists can head north on First Avenue to get to the Market. But Wentz says parking is not as plentiful along First in the Market area.

Bumper feedback

Jennifer Bravo, the Snohomish County Tourism Bureau's visitor-services manager, has an inside tip for a Bellevue man who questioned in last Monday's Bumper whether a visitor-information center can be found anywhere between Seattle and Vancouver, B.C., even though an information sign posted on Interstate 90 — just before it merges traffic into I-5 — — says there should be one coming up.

Not only is there a visitor center in the Washington State Convention and Trade Center in downtown Seattle (that's why that I-90 sign is posted), but there also are a few more up north.

In her territory alone, Bravo points out that there's a visitor center off exit 181 in Lynnwood, with signs posted along I-5. It's in Lynnwood's Heritage Park, behind the Lowe's store.

There's also a visitor center in Snohomish, on First Street and Avenue D, with signs posted on Highway 2 and Highway 9. And, the Snohomish County Bureau's north county center recently has moved from Stanwood to Smokey Point, on 168th Street Northeast off of Smokey Point Boulevard. Signs are to be installed soon on I-5 at exit 206.

Bravo says volunteer-staffed visitor centers are not just for tourists. Locals also can find a range of information.

OK, Jennifer. We've passed the information along.

Bumper's soapbox

Larry Burns, of Kirkland, says he has a suggestion for improving traffic, at very little cost: How about making I-90 westbound-only between I-5 in Seattle and I-405 on the Eastside, and the Evergreen Point Bridge eastbound-only between I-5 and I-405?

"The distance from I-90 to the Evergreen Bridge is only two or three miles," he says. "No big deal."

But would it help?