As drivers adjust to the new ramp meters on I-5 entrances from Mercer Street, there are already mixed reviews.
During Tuesday's commute, one driver preparing to turn onto Mercer Street said, "it is probably going to make It worse. It is just going to slow down our ability to get on the freeway."
A few cars down, another driver had a different point of view, saying, "I think meters help."
The Washington State Department of Transportation started using Mercer Street ramp metering in March with traffic signals just deployed on the weekends. Traffic engineers have been monitoring and evaluating the results. The ramp meters were fully activated on Tuesday.
WSDOT explains that the ramp meters help prevent slow-merging vehicles from clogging up traffic. The ramp meters typically allow one vehicle through each green light, creating a delay anywhere from 4 to 15 seconds between cars. Traffic engineers say by doing that it makes it easier to merge onto I-5, and it will reduce collisions.
Along Mercer Street, in an area known as 'Mercer Mess,' there is concern that ramp meters will slow traffic along an already congested route, but WSDOT says it does not expect any negative effect.
At the height of the commute, 7,000 vehicles an hour travel the stretch of interstate, according to WSDOT. WSDOT expects ramp meters to assist in increasing the number of vehicles on I-5 by 3 to 5%, to reduce collisions, and not impact the Mercer Corridor.
"I think anything is worth a try because right now it does get backed up quite a bit," said Libby Barnett, who avoids driving along Mercer Street.
WSDOT already has ramp meters on a number of highways, and says system-wide it has reduced collisions by at least 30%. Traffic engineers with the state and the city of Seattle will be monitoring the meters.
SDOT spokesperson Norm Mah released this statement:
SDOT is continuing to work with WSDOT to monitor WSDOT’s Mercer Street I-5 ramp metering. The SDOT Transportation Operations center will continue to monitor Mercer as a part of its normal operations and will make any adjustments necessary to minimize the impacts of the PM commute on the I-5 approach on Mercer St. We have tools such as adaptive signal control along Mercer St that we already use to mitigate issues.
Learn more about Mercer Street ramp metering here.
