From: crystal@glia.biostr.washington.edu (Crystal)
Subject: Re: Hi.
Organization: University of Washington
Date: Sat, 7 Nov 1992 23:09:19 GMT

In <1992Nov1.090336.1489@u.washington.edu> tzs@stein.u.washington.edu (Tim Smith) writes:

>witters@tc.fluke.COM (John Witters) writes:
>>Seattle has inherited many features of more famous cities:  Gridlock hour
>>looks much the same here as it does in Los Angeles.

>There's a big difference, though.  In Los Angeles, your destination might
>easily be twenty or thirty miles away, all of it gridlocked.  That's much
>more annoying.

>--Tim Smith

I just couldn't let this go without comment - especially after driving in
Los Angeles for several days a week or so ago..

I was driving through evening rush hour traffic on Southbound 405 tonight,
and many observations occurred to me.  All this talk about our own gridlock,
L.A. and NJ, and I just had to write this.  Those who complain about HERE,
have obviously never been THERE.

Here in Seattle, I was in virtually standstill traffic for about 10 minutes
(5 is more typical) between Bellevue and the Mercer Island bridge - a
distance of only a couple of miles (It was slow enough to allow me to clean
my windshield while driving - very handy to be able to make the best of a bad
situation :>)  And then it broke free and I was tooling along at 45-55 for
the rest of the 20-minute commute to Sea-Tac.  The cars were spaced out very
well.  (probably the drivers, too, but I'll ignore that...)

Anyway, all of a sudden I had an immediate memory flash of night driving in 
Los Angeles only a week ago!  The volume, spacing, and speed during SEATTLE
RUSH HOUR on 2 to 3 lane I-405 was BETTER than the NON-PEAK traffic I found
on the 5-lane San Diego Freeway (I-405) and the Santa Ana Freeway (I-5)
between 8 to 11 in the evenings!!!  (I was "commuting" between Santa Monica 
and Anaheim for 3 days, a distance of nearly 60 miles one way - so I saw a 
LOT of traffic!)

Now bear in mind that I managed to miss L.A. rush hour very strategically
all while I was there, but I remember clearly thinking "Geez, look at
all the crowded traffic THIS late at night!" (and it was about the same
at 6am on a Monday morning, I might add!)

So if you want to see Seattle rush hour traffic, just drive in Los Angeles
during non-peak load times.  You'll appreciate Seattle's traffic "problems" a
lot more - they are non-existent by comparison!

Also, someone mentioned impolite drivers up here. HA!  They haven't met the
Californian's (or the Vancouver, BC or Phoenix, AZ drivers!).  I can't begin
to tell you how many people I saw driving at top speed changing lanes dashing
through the spaces on the San Diego Freeway!  Folks cutting people off, etc.
Freeway shootings in L.A., not here (read clari.local.california!  I can think
of several states whose news I've been reading that are MUCH tamer in terms of
freeway incidents and murders, most noteably Texas.  Now THAT's a tame state!)

While I was in L.A., I was told by one of my passengers that I was too polite
to be driving there!  So if you see me on a Seattle freeway, wave - and I'll
let you cut in... ;>

Another observation:

Up here, I'm used to virtually empty roadways throughout the entire state,
particularly at night around 2-3 am.  Not so, California... I've driven
there so many times, from border to border and I don't think I've ever
gotten the road to myself once I hit Redding/RedBluff in Northern Cal.  And
by the time you make it to Sacramento, Napa, or Oakland, you can say Hello 
to LOS ANGELES.  REALLY!

The CITY of California runs from San Diego to just north of San Francisco.
The whole area is nothing but suburbs of Los Angeles.  Wall to wall concrete
and freeway.  If it weren't for the freeway signs you'd never know where one
city left off and another began.  Here, you just look for a thinning of the
trees for your next city...

Which leads me to another observation:

Seattle freeways have FORESTS along the edges!  Even the S-curves of Renton
have nature's wonders to enjoy while you sit and contemplate the accident
up ahead.  I've seen red-tailed hawks on the street lamps along 509.  A few
buildings, and a few 5-10 mile stretches of concrete, but definitely much
more greenery than L.A. could EVER hope to replant.  520 has Lake Washington
to enjoy, with its sailboats and yes, even winter waves splashing over the
freeway are something wonderous that you just don't see anywhere else.  (I
like to think of it as a free carwash!)

And downtown Bellevue, that burgeoning metropolis, is more beautiful than
Beverly Hills.  Trees with 10-12 inch diameter trunks through out the
downtown area.  If you want flashy architecture and fine cars with an
occassional palm tree, choose Cal...  If you want a city that doesn't
feel or look like a city, choose the Seattle/Bellevue area.

Tracy, don't let the Lesser Seattle/Emmett Watson clones scare you away!  I
love this area so much that I just can't help but want to share it with
others!  The forests, the mountains, the rivers, the beaches, the marine
life - all to be shared and TAKEN CARE OF.  I've lived here for 35 years -
virtually all of my concious life.  I can't imagine being any place else,
except on a temporary basis in order to help me gain a better appreciation
for what I may have taken for granted here after all that time. (I'd like to
live in the desert for a couple of years, and then return here, for example)

I have friends in various parts of the US that have never been here, and I 
know that, like you, if they ever get the chance to visit, they will love
it, too.  And I would dearly love to have all my friends together in one
beautiful place... :>

Forgive me, KBO members, but I'm just not a selfish person...and when you 
love something, it's hard not to share that love with others.

Crystal
  ;>
"The bluest skies you've ever seen
Are in Seattle...
And the hills the greenest green,
In Seattle...
Like a beautiful child
Growing free, growing wild..."
        --sung by Bobby Sherman