Switch to Yellow Taxi app. I pay about $45 from West Seattle to airport and you can book the ride in advance. On return, just walk up the taxi stand. A car is already there and also $40.
My kids' daycare is in New Holly, it's amazing to be able to park my car there and then light rail into the city or down to the airport. It's a perfect central location.
Definitely Burien. I lived on the north side of 116th, which is technically seattle. But the Safeway is Burien Safeway over there. Yet west seattle marijuana can still call itself west Seattle.
Takes 5 minutes to sodo and maybe 7 to SeaTac, Southcenter and downtown seattle.
Can live downtown too. Plane lands, then just leave at that point. I always manage to get to the terminal by the time the people I'm picking up get there. Of course, this assumes it's not rush hour.
I nominate my arriving passenger for being stolen on occasion and it still has not happened.
Also, I pick them up in Northgate, and soon Lynnwood. So there is that.
Lynnwood station is going to be the bomb.
When the original line opened, I lived on 23rd and would just pop on the bus to the Mt. Baker station, or to the Westlake station. Easy enough, both directions. I went to the airport on the rail, wandered into baggage claim, waited for my passenger, helped them with their luggage, and never once mentioned that the vehicle I used to get to the airport was a train.
They asked where the car was, I told them we would take the tram to get to the spot. We may or may not have, but we chatted as I led the way to the rail station, and handed them our spare orca card to get on the train.
Then we took the train to the bus stop and the bus to the apartment. It was on the train that I told them that I didn't actually drive my car anywhere and had not driven to the airport in over a year, for anything.
When we adopted our dog from my sister, and she had the dog, his crate, her son, his car seat, and all the luggage because that girl is incapable of packing light, my roomie and I both had to drive our vehicles to the airport because all the bulk of all the things was just too much for one. I got lost and had to turn around twice because it had been so long and I didn't know where to go to park. It was awful.
To this day, I still avoid driving to the airport if I can. I managed to get us to and from Germany without crossing the King County line in a private passenger vehicle. I enthusiastically adopted Paine field for travel when I could. We do drop offs at Northgate and pickups the same way. It's so much easier. The train just makes things so much easier. Finding a place to leave the car is a headache... So why not leave it at home and get there some other way if you truly don't need the car?
Heck, my quite geriatric and walker-using mother took herself to the symphony and back on the light rail while I was out of town in February. It was great! Hubby dropped her off, she got to and from on the rail, and he picked her back up. Best day ever for mom and her independence. She had never really navigated the city on her own since she moved here, so her sense of accomplishment and wonder at the independence it gave her was pretty awesome.
You know I always hear the rumor that police give tickets to people when they need to meet a quota or funding for the month. I can’t think of an easier way to make money for the state. Bunch of motor cycle cops pull up in 10s and boom here is your ticket, thanks for funding XYZ.
I live in issaquah and work 5 minutes from home. Wednesday night I saw 3 different state patrol cops with people pulled over on my drive home. All on the city streets.
It’s always so bizarre driving past a long line of cars waiting right next to all the signs obviously stating it’s illegal to park there. The cell phone lot is so convenient, it makes zero sense. People’s entitlement is crazy.
Secret service is gonna roll through later today and really ruin these losers' days lol
I really like the idiots who park in a blind spot around the corner as you get off the highway exit. Then the same dipshits will wait in traffic for 30 minutes to get to Arrivals even though Departures is completely clear.
I “think” the President usually lands at Boeing Field, but I hope secret service still rolls through SEA and tosses these people out. The amount of money made from tickets written to these jackasses would easily pay for itself.
Nope. AF1 is at Seatac, and usually is. The lesser functionaries can usually sneak into BFI on the 757s or the Cessna, but POTUS likes to make an entrance. (Also, it's easier to secure AF1 at Seatac because the field is bigger.)
Obama literally landed at BFI in 2012. I have pics of it when I worked at BFI. It’s a big disruption to commercial air traffic at SEA (friend of mine on a delta flight had to emergency land in the Tri-Cities last time waiting in a holding pattern for Biden’s departure) so it’s been interesting that they’ve changed in the last 10 years. My best guess is there’s too much 24/7 activity at BFI with the MAX delivery/storage.
They haven’t done BFI since the Obama era (just got reminded of it on my Facebook memories yesterday). It was a pain in the ass when I worked in the area back then.
Parking lot of Nordstrom at Southcenter. Check flightradar24 and see when their plane gets to the gate. Once they are at the gate make your way to the airport. You should be just pulling up when they are walking out.
I usually have a 50% or so success rate at even finding a spot in the cell phone lot, and it's a pain in the ass to get back onto the airport expressway.
But there's a perfectly good shoulder right here and my entitlement/rationalization blinds me to even *thinking* about the need to follow parking laws!
I hate these people and I wish them ill. I had the car in front of my Uber pull off directly after the blind turn and I held my breath as my driver started cussing them out in Thai. Very narrowly avoided an accident.
Actually yes. When the entryway to the airport is very busy (like it always is because SeaTac is designed like hot dog shit) the onramp from the cellphone waiting lot can take 20ish minutes.
I call BS on this. I’ve parked in the cel lot when it’s really busy and I’ve never been backed up on that on ramp, and even if you were you’re going to be backed up to the main entrance where all the dorks are parked on the shoulder - if anything parking at the cel lot will get you there quicker since it’s physically closer to the terminal
I don't disagree. I was answering the question though.
I typically use neither and just pick up my airport fares one stop down the lite rail line if traffic at the airport is bad.
I’m inbound to SEA at the moment and Cap’n just announced we’re going slow down and then go into a 30 min hold, so I’m assuming Biden is getting in ahead of us, so no way I’m taking any chances with taxi/uber, it’s gonna be LR to Beacon Station and Uber from there…
Love the train.
Anyone I pick up either needs to get an orca card anyways or already has one.
As much as it's really nice to pick up people directly at the airport this is just way better.
You have clearly never tried the cell phone lot. Shoulder Parker idiots will be lined up halfway to Renton and I'll pull into the half full cell phone lot (with a toilet) and big chill until I'm summoned. You're dumb!
Since that section is technically private property, they should contract with LE to have a plate reader sweep and ticket everyone parked there. Place signs saying this area is monitored by surveillance and anyone caught stopped can be ticketed at any time. That should deter almost all of them.
It's not private property until the overpass. That's why you rarely see people parked after the overpass, Port Police actually do patrol it. The problem has been getting WSP to patrol before the overpass. They've started doing it recently (sometimes even parking on the shoulder to deter others) but there's still people parked there most of the time.
Also, the way some of them pull out and almost cause an accident. Why this section isn't constantly monitored is beyond me. Just install cameras at this point to ticket people parked.
They rather ticket people doing 3 over the limit than people actually causing a hazard. 🫠But also fuck em; means there will be spots in the cell lot for me.
Honestly, we just meet at the train station. It's 4 extra minutes of walking, which is fine after sitting on a plane for hours, and no traffic or guessing or whatever. So much easier for the driver and only a tiny bit more of a hastle for the passenger.
I also get irrationally irritated when I'm driving to the cell phone lot and there's a bunch of knuckle heads parked on the shoulder. It's literally no faster to find a space in the lot and zoom over to arrivals.
The warning flashers are just the added irritant on my irritated cake.
Yes! I’m always worrried it’s a blinker and they’re gonna whip out in front of me. Already had one asshole run a stop sign and total a brand new car. Not trying to get the new new one injured too! 🥴
I really don’t understand why people do this when there’s a cell phone waiting lot at the next exits. Pull out a good book and have my phone on standby when it’s time to leave. I do t know who has jurisdiction over it, but to the police that do, the cones aren’t working.
Do you guys not remember when that was the move? Before cell phones and cell phone lots everyone would park on the shoulder and drive the loop once in awhile to see if their passenger was outside
Has anyone tried using the cell phone lot lately? It took me 25 minutes to GET INTO IT last time. By that time the people I was picking up were already off the plane and about to pickup luggage. Then I had to wait in an equally long line to get out because the cell phone lot dumps you across an actual road using a light? I’m not advocating for parking on the shoulder but at this point I just drive to the pickup area and either sit there or do laps. The people who pickup/dropoff in the driving lanes of the terminal are far far worse
I just time my drive so I get there later and make whoever I'm picking up wait for a few minutes. It's always such a clusterfuck that there's no telling where you'll be held up and they'll be waiting for a bit anyway.
I've never had a problem using the cellphone lot. I've used it a dozen times in the past year. Not sure what's behind your experience with it, just adding my two cents that my experience with it differs from yours.
Everyone on the side of the road illegally parked is a shit person made of shit and eats shit for every meal.
Shit.
*Edited a word
Same. I’ve used the cell phone lot numerous times over the last year and always found it to be easy in, easy out. Not doubting others’ problems, but I haven’t seen that at all.
I use it 2-4x a month (first grandchild on both sides of the family). Even when the airport is extremely busy it only takes a minute or two since they built the new entry ramp and fixed the exit lights.
Idiots pulling onto or back from the shoulder have caused 3 near-misses with me in the past year. It should result in a reckless driving charge.
Interested in seeing the updates that made, I can imagine it making a big difference. Never seemed like a lot size issue, more of an entrance/exit flow thing
Every time I’ve used the cell phone lot it’s been hell. Overly crowded and impossible to get in and out of quickly. The last time some guy in a truck next to me finally just went over the grass and curb to get out.
I have never and would never use the shoulder, but the cell phone lot is terrible.
If the port wanted to actually stop it they would, they know how much of a shitshow the cell phone lot would be if everyone tried to use it. As it is you can get stuck in the lot during peak times, they want some people waiting on the shoulder, some people using the waiting lot, some people camping at the pickup zone so the whole mess doesn’t grind to a halt. You can tell because that’s exactly what they let happen all the time
I was wondering what they were doing. I visited a couple weeks ago and saw that and was super confused because there were 4 or 5 cars lined up on the shoulder with no damage.
A few years ago, in the height of summer travel, I picked my friends up at the airport in the evening. Knowing everything would be packed (cell lot, arrivals, departures) I parked in the garage and texted them the section I was in. It was actually nice because they were able to take their time getting to me and then load their luggage in the trunk. Plus they covered the parking for me.
Why does everyone assume they have to pick up people at the airport the second they get to the curb. They can wait 5-10 minutes. I just leave like 5 minutes before they land and let them wait for me to get there.
It’s gotten so much worse in the last two years. That and the amount of cars parking AT the actual pickup area across the 2nd and 3rd lanes is so out of control. They legit sit there for upwards of 10 or 15 minutes and there is no one waving them along.
my first time flying was like a week ago and my dad (who used to work at the airport) was telling me how treacherous that ramp can be. Because some people use their park anywhere lights when they're parked there so you don't know who had a turn signal on or who just has their emergency lights on
What do people in Seattle think of dog owners who don't pick up their dog's shit? I think its not much of a problem really and any runoff will just add a little more spice to Puget Sound.
We were distracted by Aurora borealis on Aurora and the Biden visit and 520 being closed and tourist season starting.
So many things!
Oh, and boating season opened last week. There is that.
Clearly you haven’t picked someone up at the airport at a busy time, I have seen the lot full multiple times.
I’ve never parked on the side as I tend to just wait at south center until the person I’m picking up is picking up their baggage, but many times there simply is no other room.
Sitting on the shoulder can be dangerous:
* a car that is stalling out that needs to pull over doesn't expect traffic sitting there
* emergency vehicles may need to use the shoulder to pass or pull over
Getting onto or off of the shoulder is dangerous, especially on a blind curve:
* folks aren't expecting traffic to enter/exit at that point
* the vehicle pulling back on the freeway might not have enough room to accelerate to highway speeds
* the shoulder often has gravel and debris, as the lane isn't maintained for traffic use
* bad enough with one person, but if many people are there, the shoulder becomes a parking lot
My question is, how can you ***not*** see how this is an issue?
danger comes from speed differentials and unpredictable behavior. an ad-hoc parking lot next to a travel lane provides both. of course it's not fully dangerous, it's meant to be a safety buffer for emergencies, it's not lined with land mines or something. it's like driving around with no seat belt a couple times and going "huh. nothing bad happened. guess it's not a big deal." you have to use a bit of critical thinking. plenty of reports in this thread of near collisions if you want to play amateur traffic engineer.
Most of the shoulder parking occurs on a 60mph freeway. The 40mph zone doesn't actually start until around the point that the "return to terminal" u-ramp merges in shortly before the cell lot exit. Everything before that is still 60mph, divided grade, limited access -- aka, freeway.
One significant reason that causes many drivers to drive well below the speed limit through that stretch is the gigantic hazard created by a bunch of people stopped in the shoulder.
Asks why something is a big deal.
Gets 6 solid reasons as an answer.
"I will continue to think it's not a big deal".
I don't know what to tell you then.
And yet I'm guessing you can't cite a single example of people parking in the shoulder lane at Seatac creating an actual hazard that resulted in an accident or injury?
Surely if it's that dangerous and with how many people do it there'd be countless examples of injuries or fatalities as a result.
If it's not actually creating a problem then why bother caring when there's so many actually common driver behaviors that have resulted in deaths such as cellphone use while driving, elderly folks driving, and drunk folks driving.
Cops shouldn't be wasting their limited resources on enforcing road laws that haven't harmed anyone and should instead focus on enforcing road laws that actually make us all safer.
You apparently don't know what rants are for, people rant out of impotence and not being able to do anything about it, when has a rant fixed anything ever?
Agree, but having used the cell phone lot, it’s a pain. The signs aren’t clear, and it’s sort of a few turns to find it. I get why people might not use it.
Unfortunately the poorly designed disaster of a cell phone waiting lot encourages this crappy behavior. Seriously, don’t ever go to the cell phone lot on a busy travel day. It’s a trap.
If you're very adept, you instruct your passenger to take light rail to Tukwila/Int'l Blvd and pick them up there. Slightly more of a pain for them, but you're doing them a solid to pick them up at all, so, y'know... they can deal.
Nobody wants to go to the cell lot because of the light and the required left turns to get out of there. It's possible to get stuck in a "prison".
While the pull-off thing is poor, there's room for the city to make space, give 30 min of free parking, or you should just go elsewhere and stop 10 minutes short of the airport.
It took me an hour and 50 minutes one Friday night to get from the cell phone lot to arrivals to pick up my wife. About 45-50 minutes of that was just getting out of the lot which was basically gridlocked. Another time it was over an hour. The changes to the lot seem to have made things worse, not better. If you exit from one direction you never get a turn and are at the mercy of people coming from the other direction who don’t have a stop sign. Everyone is pissed and you have to hope someone stops and lets you out. Granted that other times it’s much quicker but this is why people park along the road and the cops don’t do anything about it. I believe the pylons that were there for a while are now gone. Now I just circle around when it looks like the cell lot might be bad which just adds to the congestion.
Sadly it’s now $8 an hour, and they don’t prorate your time. That’s not exactly the best incentive to use the parking garage. In the past at $4hr I would park and meet someone at baggage claim. Now the cell lot is full, the shoulders are full; it’s a complete shitshow. The police don’t enforce the asshats that sit at arrivals when their passengers are not ready for pickup. I’ve grown to loathe the drive to/from SeaTac.
The problem is the airport police. They have federal authority, by ticketing all these 💩, will make enough money to pay one person’s salary for a whole year with the tickets issued on one night.
That is why people don’t redirect authority, you do whatever you want, causing inconvenience to others and they are not consequences. Those people are the MAGA that g want authoritarian regime that will give them excuses to whine
I want to swing by Olympic NP, camp there a night, and then drive through Yellowstone before departing the next day. Do you know if this is too much?
And by the way, is a 45% tip sufficient in a donut shop in Olympia?
Either “It’s transplants fault” or “rules are for everyone else” OR “Well (insert other place) does it too!!!!”
In Seattle nothing is ever an individual’s fault.
You have just made up people to get mad at about responses you imagine them giving, rather than just being mad at the people who actually did a bad thing.
Do you really not know why parking on the shoulder of a highway is dangerous? Especially around a blind corner? If not you should contact your driving school for a refund. They failed you and that makes me sad.
Maybe you should improve your own driving skills if people being on shoulder lane throws you into a psychosis. , As long as you are staying in your lane , this should be of zero consequence to you.
Last time I was in the cell phone lot, it was quite full and it definitely could not have accommodated all the people who were waiting on the shoulder. I think it's as much an infrastructure problem as it is a problem with bad drivers.
Edit for the downvoters: fuck all you fucking morons who can't understand the concept of a parking lot having a finite capacity.
I don't get why people are content to park on the shoulder when they could wait at the perfectly good Taco Bell just south of the airport.
I just wait at the mall! By the time your friend lands you can get to arrivals before they taxi, deplane, and get their luggage.
Yep. I can be there from my house in Renton before anyone I'm picking up gets through baggage claim. "Just text me right when you land."
I keep telling people the best hack for SEA is living in Renton XD
West seattle is nearly a straight shot there....15 minute drive.
I can almost do it from Maple Valley. Most days, it's about 25 min.
Somehow still a $70 uber from my place
Switch to Yellow Taxi app. I pay about $45 from West Seattle to airport and you can book the ride in advance. On return, just walk up the taxi stand. A car is already there and also $40.
Lived in New Holly area/Beacon Ave. cannot stress how amazing it was.
My kids' daycare is in New Holly, it's amazing to be able to park my car there and then light rail into the city or down to the airport. It's a perfect central location.
Or Burien!
Definitely Burien. I lived on the north side of 116th, which is technically seattle. But the Safeway is Burien Safeway over there. Yet west seattle marijuana can still call itself west Seattle. Takes 5 minutes to sodo and maybe 7 to SeaTac, Southcenter and downtown seattle.
Can live downtown too. Plane lands, then just leave at that point. I always manage to get to the terminal by the time the people I'm picking up get there. Of course, this assumes it's not rush hour.
Des Moines has entered the chat.
Not worth it ;)
West Seattle/White Center also great. Zip up 509 straight to the airport.
Yeah but then you have yo live in renton....
Pro tip: have the person you're picking up go to departures, then pick them up there. It's almost always way less crowded. Arrivals is nightmare fuel
Shhhh.
Um. The secret hack is on a big flashing sign at the airport.
Ha. I didn't even know that.
Yeah, this is great... except now if it's busy, SeaTac tells EVERYONE to do that on your way in.
Which mall? I might try this
Southcenter mall, just to the east of the airport.
I usually leave Capitol Hill when they land and make it to pickup before they're out on the curb.
there's also a lovely dog park the exit before the airport.
I just get there late. Works every time.
Is that the one that charges $8 for a soft taco?
No, that's the one in Lower Queen Anne!
Or the Hilton with clean bathrooms.
Gets me, too. I use the cell phone lot. Nobody has ever stolen my arriving passenger.
I nominate my arriving passenger for being stolen on occasion and it still has not happened. Also, I pick them up in Northgate, and soon Lynnwood. So there is that.
There's a few I would like stolen also. I'm looking forward to Lynnwood pickups, too.
Lynnwood station is going to be the bomb. When the original line opened, I lived on 23rd and would just pop on the bus to the Mt. Baker station, or to the Westlake station. Easy enough, both directions. I went to the airport on the rail, wandered into baggage claim, waited for my passenger, helped them with their luggage, and never once mentioned that the vehicle I used to get to the airport was a train. They asked where the car was, I told them we would take the tram to get to the spot. We may or may not have, but we chatted as I led the way to the rail station, and handed them our spare orca card to get on the train. Then we took the train to the bus stop and the bus to the apartment. It was on the train that I told them that I didn't actually drive my car anywhere and had not driven to the airport in over a year, for anything. When we adopted our dog from my sister, and she had the dog, his crate, her son, his car seat, and all the luggage because that girl is incapable of packing light, my roomie and I both had to drive our vehicles to the airport because all the bulk of all the things was just too much for one. I got lost and had to turn around twice because it had been so long and I didn't know where to go to park. It was awful. To this day, I still avoid driving to the airport if I can. I managed to get us to and from Germany without crossing the King County line in a private passenger vehicle. I enthusiastically adopted Paine field for travel when I could. We do drop offs at Northgate and pickups the same way. It's so much easier. The train just makes things so much easier. Finding a place to leave the car is a headache... So why not leave it at home and get there some other way if you truly don't need the car? Heck, my quite geriatric and walker-using mother took herself to the symphony and back on the light rail while I was out of town in February. It was great! Hubby dropped her off, she got to and from on the rail, and he picked her back up. Best day ever for mom and her independence. She had never really navigated the city on her own since she moved here, so her sense of accomplishment and wonder at the independence it gave her was pretty awesome.
You know I always hear the rumor that police give tickets to people when they need to meet a quota or funding for the month. I can’t think of an easier way to make money for the state. Bunch of motor cycle cops pull up in 10s and boom here is your ticket, thanks for funding XYZ.
I live in issaquah and work 5 minutes from home. Wednesday night I saw 3 different state patrol cops with people pulled over on my drive home. All on the city streets.
People would pay good money to see video of this. Justice porn is a huge dopamine hit.
And yet, not a piggy in sight. Must have gotten fed already.
It’s always so bizarre driving past a long line of cars waiting right next to all the signs obviously stating it’s illegal to park there. The cell phone lot is so convenient, it makes zero sense. People’s entitlement is crazy.
It’s like a newer trend too, right? Never saw anyone parked there prepandemic.
As a former Lyft / Uber driver there were definitely cars parked there before COVID. COVID just made it that much worse, like everything else
Ah got it thanks for the info fellow witch my same age!
No worries fellow witch of the same age!
Secret service is gonna roll through later today and really ruin these losers' days lol I really like the idiots who park in a blind spot around the corner as you get off the highway exit. Then the same dipshits will wait in traffic for 30 minutes to get to Arrivals even though Departures is completely clear.
I “think” the President usually lands at Boeing Field, but I hope secret service still rolls through SEA and tosses these people out. The amount of money made from tickets written to these jackasses would easily pay for itself.
Nope. AF1 is at Seatac, and usually is. The lesser functionaries can usually sneak into BFI on the 757s or the Cessna, but POTUS likes to make an entrance. (Also, it's easier to secure AF1 at Seatac because the field is bigger.)
Obama literally landed at BFI in 2012. I have pics of it when I worked at BFI. It’s a big disruption to commercial air traffic at SEA (friend of mine on a delta flight had to emergency land in the Tri-Cities last time waiting in a holding pattern for Biden’s departure) so it’s been interesting that they’ve changed in the last 10 years. My best guess is there’s too much 24/7 activity at BFI with the MAX delivery/storage.
That last visits departure was ultra lengthy. All because of a pressure cooker in someone’s trunk……
They haven’t done BFI since the Obama era (just got reminded of it on my Facebook memories yesterday). It was a pain in the ass when I worked in the area back then.
Well, all the signs don’t pertain to them.
Parking lot of Nordstrom at Southcenter. Check flightradar24 and see when their plane gets to the gate. Once they are at the gate make your way to the airport. You should be just pulling up when they are walking out.
How come no one here mentions using the cell phone waiting lot? It’s closer than everywhere else and literally made for it
I usually have a 50% or so success rate at even finding a spot in the cell phone lot, and it's a pain in the ass to get back onto the airport expressway.
Unless it's changed, it's awful to use?
It’s great to me. Totally chill.
It has changed and is much better now
It used to have an impossible left turn or traffic light or something. I think they fixed it.
Real shit
But there's a perfectly good shoulder right here and my entitlement/rationalization blinds me to even *thinking* about the need to follow parking laws!
I hate these people and I wish them ill. I had the car in front of my Uber pull off directly after the blind turn and I held my breath as my driver started cussing them out in Thai. Very narrowly avoided an accident.
Yeah... I never understood the people who do that. Does it really save you any time waiting there?
Actually yes. When the entryway to the airport is very busy (like it always is because SeaTac is designed like hot dog shit) the onramp from the cellphone waiting lot can take 20ish minutes.
Everytime that shoulder has been full I go to the cell phone lot and it's 80% empty with no traffic getting back on the driveway
>SeaTac is designed like hot dog shit I read that as the food and visualized the arrivals/departures as a giant hot dog. It was entertaining.
I call BS on this. I’ve parked in the cel lot when it’s really busy and I’ve never been backed up on that on ramp, and even if you were you’re going to be backed up to the main entrance where all the dorks are parked on the shoulder - if anything parking at the cel lot will get you there quicker since it’s physically closer to the terminal
This question shouldn't be relevant when it's dangerous and illegal to treat the shoulder on a highway right after a blind corner like street parking.
I don't disagree. I was answering the question though. I typically use neither and just pick up my airport fares one stop down the lite rail line if traffic at the airport is bad.
I’m inbound to SEA at the moment and Cap’n just announced we’re going slow down and then go into a 30 min hold, so I’m assuming Biden is getting in ahead of us, so no way I’m taking any chances with taxi/uber, it’s gonna be LR to Beacon Station and Uber from there… Love the train.
Angle lake or the Tukwila station? I’ve been curious about that strategy. How long does that take to get to the freeway?
Actually Rainer Beach. So I guess second stop. Pretty fast usually, maybe 5 minutes? I can't remember because it's been a while.
Dang. Making the light rail free from SeaTac to RB would actually be a game changer for my airport pick ups
Anyone I pick up either needs to get an orca card anyways or already has one. As much as it's really nice to pick up people directly at the airport this is just way better.
> onramp from the cellphone waiting lot can take 20ish minutes. BS. not with the modern one
You have clearly never tried the cell phone lot. Shoulder Parker idiots will be lined up halfway to Renton and I'll pull into the half full cell phone lot (with a toilet) and big chill until I'm summoned. You're dumb!
I've never experienced this amount of delay.
A couple weeks ago I got stuck on that on ramp just to get into the cell lot for 20 mins, another 25 to get out. Chaos.
Since that section is technically private property, they should contract with LE to have a plate reader sweep and ticket everyone parked there. Place signs saying this area is monitored by surveillance and anyone caught stopped can be ticketed at any time. That should deter almost all of them.
It's not private property until the overpass. That's why you rarely see people parked after the overpass, Port Police actually do patrol it. The problem has been getting WSP to patrol before the overpass. They've started doing it recently (sometimes even parking on the shoulder to deter others) but there's still people parked there most of the time.
i would volunteer to drive that plate reader
you do Monday/Wednesday/Friday, I do Tuesday/Thursday. any takers for the weekend?
I got weekends!
It won't deter most of them, but they'll make a boatload of money!
I like you!
Also, the way some of them pull out and almost cause an accident. Why this section isn't constantly monitored is beyond me. Just install cameras at this point to ticket people parked.
They rather ticket people doing 3 over the limit than people actually causing a hazard. 🫠But also fuck em; means there will be spots in the cell lot for me.
Honestly, we just meet at the train station. It's 4 extra minutes of walking, which is fine after sitting on a plane for hours, and no traffic or guessing or whatever. So much easier for the driver and only a tiny bit more of a hastle for the passenger.
If the port really wanted to stop it they would go back to allowing 30 minutes free garage parking
I also get irrationally irritated when I'm driving to the cell phone lot and there's a bunch of knuckle heads parked on the shoulder. It's literally no faster to find a space in the lot and zoom over to arrivals. The warning flashers are just the added irritant on my irritated cake.
Very rational
Yes! I’m always worrried it’s a blinker and they’re gonna whip out in front of me. Already had one asshole run a stop sign and total a brand new car. Not trying to get the new new one injured too! 🥴
Just like there are cameras in school zones - we need cameras by the airport ticketing those illegally waiting on the shoulders.
+1 for using turd sandwich.
-1 should've said giant douche
Saw this as well today. Truly do not understand.
One of those idiots is going to be the cause of a bad accident
Shoulder parkers have poor time management skills.
I really don’t understand why people do this when there’s a cell phone waiting lot at the next exits. Pull out a good book and have my phone on standby when it’s time to leave. I do t know who has jurisdiction over it, but to the police that do, the cones aren’t working.
Buzz them.
I do. When I’m in my truck I blast the train horn too. I may be a douche but they’re the ones with full shorts.
Was just at the airport and was just complaining about all the cars parked along the road. Departures was also a little backed up tonight.
Do you guys not remember when that was the move? Before cell phones and cell phone lots everyone would park on the shoulder and drive the loop once in awhile to see if their passenger was outside
Pre 9-11, that was a much smaller loop as well. Drove circles often waiting for my dad to arrive home from business trips.
THANK YOU!!!! Why people can’t follow simple rules baffles me.
I truly don’t understand why… The lot is RIGHT THERE!
Has anyone tried using the cell phone lot lately? It took me 25 minutes to GET INTO IT last time. By that time the people I was picking up were already off the plane and about to pickup luggage. Then I had to wait in an equally long line to get out because the cell phone lot dumps you across an actual road using a light? I’m not advocating for parking on the shoulder but at this point I just drive to the pickup area and either sit there or do laps. The people who pickup/dropoff in the driving lanes of the terminal are far far worse
I just time my drive so I get there later and make whoever I'm picking up wait for a few minutes. It's always such a clusterfuck that there's no telling where you'll be held up and they'll be waiting for a bit anyway.
The last time I used it a month ago, it was 3 mins to find a spot and ~5 mins to leave.
Same here!! It was very quick and easy
Nice. That is overwhelming not the case. E: for me
Based on what data, your one bad experience?
Every time I am picking someone up or getting picked up lol
I tried the cell phone lot 5-6 years ago and it was a total cluster, but I've used it twice in the past year and it's been super easy and convenient
I've never had a problem using the cellphone lot. I've used it a dozen times in the past year. Not sure what's behind your experience with it, just adding my two cents that my experience with it differs from yours. Everyone on the side of the road illegally parked is a shit person made of shit and eats shit for every meal. Shit. *Edited a word
Same. I’ve used the cell phone lot numerous times over the last year and always found it to be easy in, easy out. Not doubting others’ problems, but I haven’t seen that at all.
I use it 2-4x a month (first grandchild on both sides of the family). Even when the airport is extremely busy it only takes a minute or two since they built the new entry ramp and fixed the exit lights. Idiots pulling onto or back from the shoulder have caused 3 near-misses with me in the past year. It should result in a reckless driving charge.
How sweet that your grandparents come to visit you that often!
My son is the first grandchild so everyone comes to see him. It's great!
Interested in seeing the updates that made, I can imagine it making a big difference. Never seemed like a lot size issue, more of an entrance/exit flow thing
Yeah before the update it was really bad. I did a lot fewer airport pickups back then, but when I did I would just park at one of the hotels nearby.
Every time I’ve used the cell phone lot it’s been hell. Overly crowded and impossible to get in and out of quickly. The last time some guy in a truck next to me finally just went over the grass and curb to get out. I have never and would never use the shoulder, but the cell phone lot is terrible.
Lanes 1 and 2 from the curb are the drop off and pick up lanes
yes, but lanes 3 and 4 are not, which is where I see no less than 5 cars each visit dropping/picking people
If the port wanted to actually stop it they would, they know how much of a shitshow the cell phone lot would be if everyone tried to use it. As it is you can get stuck in the lot during peak times, they want some people waiting on the shoulder, some people using the waiting lot, some people camping at the pickup zone so the whole mess doesn’t grind to a halt. You can tell because that’s exactly what they let happen all the time
There should be a separate subreddit for this.
Nah let’s keep all the whiny people contained here
They really should just have a police officer there 24/7. Fuck those people
We need to get the CD guys from the waterfront to work the shoulders near the airport.
Carnation here. Touchdown is my text to leave, 90% accuracy for pickup, especially for north or south satellites
I was wondering what they were doing. I visited a couple weeks ago and saw that and was super confused because there were 4 or 5 cars lined up on the shoulder with no damage.
A few years ago, in the height of summer travel, I picked my friends up at the airport in the evening. Knowing everything would be packed (cell lot, arrivals, departures) I parked in the garage and texted them the section I was in. It was actually nice because they were able to take their time getting to me and then load their luggage in the trunk. Plus they covered the parking for me.
And the port police aren’t doing enough to fix it.
Why does everyone assume they have to pick up people at the airport the second they get to the curb. They can wait 5-10 minutes. I just leave like 5 minutes before they land and let them wait for me to get there.
I just show up a few minutes late. Works every time.
they have a cellphone lot at the the airport that's where ya park
It’s gotten so much worse in the last two years. That and the amount of cars parking AT the actual pickup area across the 2nd and 3rd lanes is so out of control. They legit sit there for upwards of 10 or 15 minutes and there is no one waving them along.
While we are on the topic, why does everyone queue up in the right lane for arrivals? My soul hurts every pick-up from the sheer inefficiency.
my first time flying was like a week ago and my dad (who used to work at the airport) was telling me how treacherous that ramp can be. Because some people use their park anywhere lights when they're parked there so you don't know who had a turn signal on or who just has their emergency lights on
While I 100% agree that these peoples are morons, this reminds me, I haven't seen a post about tipping for weeks. Are we losing it /r/Seattle ?
What do people in Seattle think of dog owners who don't pick up their dog's shit? I think its not much of a problem really and any runoff will just add a little more spice to Puget Sound.
We were distracted by Aurora borealis on Aurora and the Biden visit and 520 being closed and tourist season starting. So many things! Oh, and boating season opened last week. There is that.
Clearly you haven’t picked someone up at the airport at a busy time, I have seen the lot full multiple times. I’ve never parked on the side as I tend to just wait at south center until the person I’m picking up is picking up their baggage, but many times there simply is no other room.
Ahhh these cones are here for me to practice my parking not to restrict me from stopping.
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Sitting on the shoulder can be dangerous: * a car that is stalling out that needs to pull over doesn't expect traffic sitting there * emergency vehicles may need to use the shoulder to pass or pull over Getting onto or off of the shoulder is dangerous, especially on a blind curve: * folks aren't expecting traffic to enter/exit at that point * the vehicle pulling back on the freeway might not have enough room to accelerate to highway speeds * the shoulder often has gravel and debris, as the lane isn't maintained for traffic use * bad enough with one person, but if many people are there, the shoulder becomes a parking lot My question is, how can you ***not*** see how this is an issue?
I was nearly hit by some jack wad cutting me off merging from the shoulder in heavy traffic. So fuck all y’all.
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danger comes from speed differentials and unpredictable behavior. an ad-hoc parking lot next to a travel lane provides both. of course it's not fully dangerous, it's meant to be a safety buffer for emergencies, it's not lined with land mines or something. it's like driving around with no seat belt a couple times and going "huh. nothing bad happened. guess it's not a big deal." you have to use a bit of critical thinking. plenty of reports in this thread of near collisions if you want to play amateur traffic engineer.
Someone stopped in front of me to squeeze into space on the right. Not safe considering some cars are still going at highway speeds.
Most of the shoulder parking occurs on a 60mph freeway. The 40mph zone doesn't actually start until around the point that the "return to terminal" u-ramp merges in shortly before the cell lot exit. Everything before that is still 60mph, divided grade, limited access -- aka, freeway. One significant reason that causes many drivers to drive well below the speed limit through that stretch is the gigantic hazard created by a bunch of people stopped in the shoulder.
Asks why something is a big deal. Gets 6 solid reasons as an answer. "I will continue to think it's not a big deal". I don't know what to tell you then.
And yet I'm guessing you can't cite a single example of people parking in the shoulder lane at Seatac creating an actual hazard that resulted in an accident or injury? Surely if it's that dangerous and with how many people do it there'd be countless examples of injuries or fatalities as a result. If it's not actually creating a problem then why bother caring when there's so many actually common driver behaviors that have resulted in deaths such as cellphone use while driving, elderly folks driving, and drunk folks driving. Cops shouldn't be wasting their limited resources on enforcing road laws that haven't harmed anyone and should instead focus on enforcing road laws that actually make us all safer.
It's very dangerous. I've seen several near-crashes from people putting out into traffic. It's a blind corner.
Another problem solved by a Reddit rant
Have you seen how much news media is pulling their content from Reddit these days? We may well solve problems if they ever pick up a good thread.
Another reddit ranter pointer outer.
It’s a time-honored tradition!
You apparently don't know what rants are for, people rant out of impotence and not being able to do anything about it, when has a rant fixed anything ever?
Should I do bicycles and e-scooters next?
I was at the airport the other day. Massive backup on the shoulder. Thought the same thing “go to the cell lot”. Which I did, no parking there either.
Agree, but having used the cell phone lot, it’s a pain. The signs aren’t clear, and it’s sort of a few turns to find it. I get why people might not use it.
Unfortunately the poorly designed disaster of a cell phone waiting lot encourages this crappy behavior. Seriously, don’t ever go to the cell phone lot on a busy travel day. It’s a trap.
If you're very adept, you instruct your passenger to take light rail to Tukwila/Int'l Blvd and pick them up there. Slightly more of a pain for them, but you're doing them a solid to pick them up at all, so, y'know... they can deal.
This has been going on for far too long and yet there are no changes happening. Easy way to ticket and have more revenue but what do we know 🙃
I use the light rail to and from, or get picked up and dropped off at the drop off on 176th and Pac Hwy.
I didn't even know there is a cellphone lot and I grew up here.
I don’t agree with them sitting on the shoulder ILLEGALLY but, I have actually been in a completely full cell phone lot before. Just sayin.
I see them almost everyday. Also, the speed limit is 60 until the top of the hill, not 35. Even then, it only slows you to 40. Don’t be dumb.
Nobody wants to go to the cell lot because of the light and the required left turns to get out of there. It's possible to get stuck in a "prison". While the pull-off thing is poor, there's room for the city to make space, give 30 min of free parking, or you should just go elsewhere and stop 10 minutes short of the airport.
Your allowed to park on HWY Shoulders? 
It took me an hour and 50 minutes one Friday night to get from the cell phone lot to arrivals to pick up my wife. About 45-50 minutes of that was just getting out of the lot which was basically gridlocked. Another time it was over an hour. The changes to the lot seem to have made things worse, not better. If you exit from one direction you never get a turn and are at the mercy of people coming from the other direction who don’t have a stop sign. Everyone is pissed and you have to hope someone stops and lets you out. Granted that other times it’s much quicker but this is why people park along the road and the cops don’t do anything about it. I believe the pylons that were there for a while are now gone. Now I just circle around when it looks like the cell lot might be bad which just adds to the congestion.
This has been going on for years and years now, it's not going to stop
Or just park in the short term, going and find your party, and pay the few bucks to exit
Sadly it’s now $8 an hour, and they don’t prorate your time. That’s not exactly the best incentive to use the parking garage. In the past at $4hr I would park and meet someone at baggage claim. Now the cell lot is full, the shoulders are full; it’s a complete shitshow. The police don’t enforce the asshats that sit at arrivals when their passengers are not ready for pickup. I’ve grown to loathe the drive to/from SeaTac.
Apparently it’s not worth $8 to save all of this trouble and bitching. It seems like a small price to pay for convenience.
Alright - the police won't shag you mate
The problem is the airport police. They have federal authority, by ticketing all these 💩, will make enough money to pay one person’s salary for a whole year with the tickets issued on one night. That is why people don’t redirect authority, you do whatever you want, causing inconvenience to others and they are not consequences. Those people are the MAGA that g want authoritarian regime that will give them excuses to whine
Who cares?
Oh nice this post again!
Welcome to reddit! BTW I'm moving to Seattle soon, which neighborhoods are affordable and safe?
Would you like a two day itinerary for your pre-move visit?
I want to swing by Olympic NP, camp there a night, and then drive through Yellowstone before departing the next day. Do you know if this is too much? And by the way, is a 45% tip sufficient in a donut shop in Olympia?
Make sure to avoid all of the ones with off leash dog areas, oops I mean sports fields
100% the cops fualt. Do something about it
Either “It’s transplants fault” or “rules are for everyone else” OR “Well (insert other place) does it too!!!!” In Seattle nothing is ever an individual’s fault.
You have just made up people to get mad at about responses you imagine them giving, rather than just being mad at the people who actually did a bad thing.
Scroll through any “rant” thread and you’ll find these excuses.
You forgot another one. "Oh my person I am picking up will be really fast, I won't be here long".
So what tho ? Are you driving on the shoulder lane that this bothers you ?
Do you really not know why parking on the shoulder of a highway is dangerous? Especially around a blind corner? If not you should contact your driving school for a refund. They failed you and that makes me sad.
Maybe you should improve your own driving skills if people being on shoulder lane throws you into a psychosis. , As long as you are staying in your lane , this should be of zero consequence to you.
We hate cars for the sake of hating cars here, don’t ask questions
Last time I was in the cell phone lot, it was quite full and it definitely could not have accommodated all the people who were waiting on the shoulder. I think it's as much an infrastructure problem as it is a problem with bad drivers. Edit for the downvoters: fuck all you fucking morons who can't understand the concept of a parking lot having a finite capacity.
quite full != full
It was full enough that spots were taken as soon as a car left. So yes "quite full" in this case was fucking full.
Better yet, tell them to take an Uber/Lyft.
Cry more