Q&A | Share the road | Traffic cameras | Let there be light

Q: Beacon Hill resident Mai Yee says new bicycle lanes along Beacon Avenue South are being abused daily by vehicle commuters, especially northbound traffic. She notices the problem every morning as she heads north in her car toward Interstate 5's South Columbian Way entrance. En route, traffic along Beacon gets backed up, and drivers tend to form two lanes where it seems there should be only one. Then drivers tend to jockey for positions to get through major intersections.

"I see commuters ... use the bike lane as a car lane, turning the road back to the old two-lane road," she said, pointing out problems at South Othello Street and at South Graham Street on Beacon Hill. "What is the city doing to ensure all commuters follow the rules and allow the bikers their lane?"

A: Last year, Seattle's Department of Transportation added sharrows along Beacon Avenue South between 15th Avenue South and South Henderson Street. Sharrow markings are symbols stenciled in a street lane indicating that motorists should expect to see and share the lane with bicyclists.

But unlike designated bicycle lanes, says Wayne Wentz, the transportation department's traffic-management director, those symbols do not designate a particular part of the roadway for the exclusive use of bicyclists.

Motorists sharing the lane on Beacon are not breaking the law as long as they obey traffic regulations and regard bicycles as vehicles.

Wentz says the sharrows on Beacon are part of the city's effort to increase bicycle use, while reducing the number of collisions, a priority outlined in the Seattle Bicycle Master Plan.

Q: Ravenna resident Jef Jaisun doesn't care as much about Seattle's red-light cameras as he does about live traffic cameras. He's suggested a real-time camera in the University Village area for traffic on Montlake Boulevard Northeast at the Northeast 45th Street overpass. At certain times of the day, traffic gets bogged down, and he'd like to be able to check the traffic situation online before he leaves home. That way, he could opt to travel another route.

A: Seattle's transportation department has four live cameras in the Montlake area that monitor traffic and post photos to the traffic Web site at www.seattle.gov/trafficcams. The camera view labeled "Montlake Blvd. NE and 25th Ave NE" might be the most help for Jaisun's issue, says Heather Marx, the transportation department's traffic-management deputy director. That camera is very near the overpass and provides a decent view of traffic on Montlake, she said.

Marx says the number of live traffic cameras throughout the city will be doubled over the next two years.

Q: While driving home from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport one recent evening, Ballard resident Joseph Souther says he counted more than 50 streetlights out along Highway 99 between the north end of the First Avenue South Bridge and North 80th Street.

"I can understand a few burnouts," he said. "But what gives?"

A: The streetlight outages along Highway 99, particularly on the Alaskan Way Viaduct, were most likely the result of a cable accidentally cut by workers in the area, said Seattle City Light spokesman Mike Eagan. Outages were reported by a number of citizens that evening, and repairs were made and the lighting restored within hours.

But some streetlights along Aurora Avenue North, which is part of Highway 99, and along 15th Avenue West, were simply burned out. Eagan says that's part of City Light's "ongoing challenge of maintaining over 120,000 streetlights" within the city.

City Light maintains a list of light outages reported by its own crews. But citizen reports help, too.

"There are several hundred lights out at any given time, but the estimated time for repair is now about half what it was a year ago, usually less than two weeks," said Eagan.

Streetlight outages can and should be reported by calling 206-684-7056, or online at www.seattle.gov/light/streetlight/form.asp. Every pole has a designated number affixed to it. Eagan says that number should be included in the report.