Contacts
For more information, please contact Wesley Blount.
Screenshot of WSDOT traveler
information website with traffic alerts
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Washington State Department of Transportation's (WSDOT) provides an extensive website supplying travelers with travel information in the area. In effort to decrease congestion, secondary accidents, and to increase the overall livability of Seattle, travelers can log onto http://www.wsdot.com/traffic/ and be tuned in to up-to-date information on road conditions.
Real-time traffic flow, estimated travel times and wait times along popular routes, and traffic camera images are updated every 1.5 minutes on the website. Travel information is also available on the WSDOT's 511 telephone service. The 511 service also provides information to contact rail and airlines and statewide construction and incident information. These services are all managed through a state-of-the-art speech recognition program that allows callers to ask specifically for what they want to know, such as route travel time and traffic flow on precise highways.
Using this information, travelers are given the option to change to another mode of transportation upon delays and incidents. This option improves the overall roadway conditions by significantly reducing the number travelers delayed and wasted fuel during congestion.
A screenshot of the Vessel Watch
service on the WSDOT website
The same information is available through "Vessel Watch" for those riding the ferries in the area at www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries. "Vessel Watch" provides tracking information for the Washington State ferries, live camera images of the ferry terminals, and wait times. Subscriptions are available to further enhance the convenience of this service, proving email alerts on delays, schedule changes, and other critical information as it arises
As with the livability efforts of the US Department of Transportation, Seattle's traveler information website shows the region's great strides and participation in the initiative. Livability is defined as " a suitable and comfortable living environment". Seattle's availability of travel information prepares travelers for upcoming oncoming incidents, giving them the opportunity to change modes of transportation to avoid inconvenient delays and wait times. Having multiple modes of transportation in Seattle makes this process simple, giving travelers the options enough in advance to take an earlier exit, or transfer to a different mean of transportation. Having a multimodal community promotes driving less, which is highly encouraged in Seattle DOT's "Drive Less" Program, and promotes a livable and sustainable environment. More information on this program is available at http://www.cityofseattle.net/waytogo/drivelessefforts.htm.
Seattle's "Drive Less" Program Promotes:
