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We Aim to Please!

 

If you use SDOT’s Traveler’s Information Map, we’d like you to take a survey that will help us to improve the traveler information that we provide via the map.  We plan to continually improve the map as funds become available.  Because the map project received funding from the Federal Highway Administration, we are also required by law to conduct the survey.  Rest assured, if you take the survey, no personal information will be collected, unless you want someone to contact you to answer questions. The survey was developed by the Washington State Transportation Center (TRAC) at the University of Washington to measure customer satisfaction.  If you have questions about the evaluation of the survey, please contact Ron Porter at rdporter@uw.edu.

If you’re unfamiliar with the map, you may want to add it to your commuting arsenal!  It provides up-to-date information about construction and special events that might impact your travels; traffic incidents that could block your route; color coded traffic volumes on major routes which depict the range from light to heavy traffic,  and  links to over 100 cameras throughout Seattle in addition to links to cameras on  Washington State interstate and state routes.   As of October 18, SDOT launched a new feature to its intelligent traffic system  (ITS) – real-time travel times on eight key city corridors: 15th Avenue NW/Elliott Ave W/15th Ave W; Airport Way S; Denny Way; First Avenue S, Fourth Avenue S; E Marginal Way S; West Seattle; and Aurora Avenue (which will be available in March, 2011)  Seattle is proud to be the first city in the nation to provide travel times on arterials, in contrast to other intelligent transportation systems that only track travel times on freeways. The actual travel times between two points on a corridor are displayed on  SDOT’s  five new electronic signs (called dynamic message signs) at key commuter locations and is available on the Travelers Map accessible on any desktop computer, and via a mobile interface with I-phone and I- pad.  You can also subscribe to our “tweets” that give you updates about traffic problems in the Seattle area.

 

In addition to what you can pull up of information on our Traveler’s Information map, SDOT’s ITS allows staff in the Transportation Management center to monitor traffic and remotely adjust traffic signals;  also automated traffic signals adjust for ferry traffic at Coleman Dock, event traffic at the Seattle Center, trains blocking traffic at S Holgate Street, and First Avenue S Bridge openings.  Automated signal timing also manages congestion on three corridors: First Avenue S, Fourth Avenue S, and 15th Avenue W south of the Ballard Bridge.