Steve Bloom/The Olympian
Despite the closure of the quake-damaged Fourth Avenue bridge, the Monday morning commute over Olympia's Fifth Avenue bridge was brisk but orderly, suggesting that many motorists might have used alternate routes into the city.

Commuters cooperate

Despite closed bridge, drivers avoid gridlock -- at least for now

JOHN DODGE, THE OLYMPIAN

OLYMPIA -- The first Monday commute into downtown Olympia since Wednesday's big earthquake was slow -- but fell short of gridlock, commuters and transportation officials said.

"It went better than expected," said Sophie Stimson, Olympia transportation planner.

Earthquake damage to the Fourth Avenue bridge and Deschutes Parkway leaves Fifth Avenue as the only direct link to Olympia's west side.

The double-whammy eliminated the routes for 30,500 daily vehicle trips from one end of town to the other.

Commuters are encouraged to take the bus, car pool, bike or walk to work to ease inevitable traffic congestion caused by the bottleneck between downtown Olympia and west Olympia.

Some west-side residents left their cars home Monday.

"I walked downtown," said Plymouth Street resident Leslie Romer, a volunteer campaign worker for the Clean Water Investment Act initiative.

Romer said drivers seem more considerate than normal -- recognizing that conditions have changed.

"I walked today -- I walk every day," said Kay Atwood, an employee at Radiance Herbs and Massage.

Atwood said traffic across the Fifth Avenue Bridge was moving smoothly at 7:30 a.m.

"I came down Fifth Avenue at 8:30 a.m. and the traffic was flowing well," said Rob Panowicz, owner of Panowicz Jewelers.

Monday's smooth commute might not be the best test of downtown's tighter traffic grid, said Mike Harbour, Intercity Transit's general manager.

Many people still haven't returned to their regular commute, so traffic problems may crop up during the next few days, Harbour said.

Monday ridership on the six Intercity Transit routes serving west Olympia won't be tallied until this morning, said IT spokeswoman Meg Kester.

"Bus service appeared to be about normal," Kester said.

Kester said IT is teaming up with the city to explore setting up an express shuttle route that would run every five minutes or 10 minutes during morning and evening rush hour from the Westfield Shoppingtown Capital Mall to downtown Olympia. The plan would include creating a temporary park-and-ride lot at the mall.

City and state officials also are working on agreements to encourage staggered starts to the work day for state employees at the Capitol Campus, Stimson said.

John Dodge covers the environment and energy for The Olympian. He can be reached at 754-5444.

Commuting choices

For general information on commuting options, call the city of Olympia at 753-8497.

The Olympian Copyright 2000

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