It’s been slightly busier in some spots, but business as usual in others on State Route 522 the last week through Bothell and Kenmore, according to locals.
Tolls on the SR 520 bridge began Dec. 29, and Bothell and Kenmore officials, along with Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) Tolls Director Craig Stone, have said that an influx of drivers will be traveling SR 522 and interstates 90 and 405 to avoid paying tolls.
“Drivers from Issaquah to Seattle and Tukwila to Shoreline will see changes to their commute,” Stone said. “We expect traffic patterns will change daily, and it will take several months before traffic settles into a predictable new pattern.”
Don Villegas and Eric Deines, employees at a business on Northeast Bothell Way in Kenmore, said SR 522 was more congested Dec. 29 than normal.
“Especially this morning. Normally, the crows are around and they stick around until about 8, but they were gone because a lot of traffic was around,” Villegas said of the large flock of birds that are ever-present in Kenmore.
Added Deines of the traffic: “A little bit more than normal so far, nothing major. Oh, we’ll see an increase there, for sure.”
Deines was referring to Tuesday, when most people returned to work after their holiday vacations and hit the roads in full force again.
Over at Bothell Ski and Bike on Northeast Bothell Way in Kenmore, co-owner Greg Pergament agreed that Tuesday would be the “real test” in witnessing how much additional traffic would roll on SR 522.
“It certainly may lead to more exposure for our business, people going a little bit slower, and maybe some people that normally took 520 and are now taking this will see our business for the first time,” Pergament said.
When Tuesday morning finally came, Kenmore Tully’s employee Madison Rengli said a big traffic surge didn’t hit near her job spot, but that doesn’t mean it’s not coming.
But there was one addition that the slight traffic change may have blown in: “I definitely noticed different customers. ”
Up the street, another SR 522 employee, Gabe Day, said that his commute to Kenmore from Sammamish was affected on Tuesday. He travels state routes 202 to 520, then hits I-405 and exits onto SR 522.
“It seems like it was a bit little harder to get here in the morning when I drove here,” he said, noting that people were clearly avoiding the bridge. “It’s logical — who wants to have to pay when they can just go around?”
Over at Fritters n’ Jitters on SR 522 in Bothell on Tuesday morning, employee Chandell (last name withheld) added: “It seems about the same amount of traffic that normally drives by here. The tolling started a week ago, and I’m assuming that people aren’t quite back to their normal schedules from the holidays.”
According to WSDOT statistics and checking of traffic-monitoring cameras on Tuesday, on SR 522 from SR 202 in Woodinville to downtown Seattle, westbound traffic took about five minutes longer than usual during the morning commute. There was no change in travel times on eastbound SR 522.
On Tuesday evening on SR 522 from SR 202 in Woodinville to downtown Seattle, westbound traffic volumes increased 6 percent and travel times increased up to seven minutes. Eastbound SR 522 from Seattle to Woodinville traffic volumes increased 5 percent and travel times increased up to 13 minutes.
Pergament added that the SR 522 improvements, like the widening of the road and the better timing of the traffic lights, should be able to handle the additional traffic.
While waiting for tires to be put on his vehicle at a shop on Northeast Bothell Way on Dec. 29, Bothell resident Wade Foley said he knows more traffic will be coming his way: “I’ll have to cross that bridge when we come to it.”
And while he concurs with Pergament that businesses will benefit from the extra traffic, he added: “The people that live around here might not be so happy because they’ll get more traffic.”
Nat Levy contributed to this story.
