I mentioned the small number of bridges between downtown and north Seattle in an early post on The Montlake Mess. There are other “features” that drive new drivers in our area nuts. Chief among them: Streetus Interruptus.
In theory, Seattle’s thoroughfares are set up as a grid. Streets run east-west, avenues run north-south. Then we have regions: Northeast, north, northwest, southwest, south, and east. (No southeast in Seattle. Don’t ask me why.) If you think northeast 90th street should logically connect with north and northwest 90th, you are sadly mistaken. We found this out the hard way when we looked at a rental house on northeast 90th street. The street dead-ended at a stairway. To get to the house from our car, we had to walk down the stairs. We wound up living there for nearly ten years. We got used to the number of cars turning around in our driveway at all hours of the day and night because the drivers didn’t see the dead end sign before getting on the street in the opposite direction.
The causes of Streetus Interruptus can be categorized as natural and human-made. Bodies of water, cliffs, ravines, and other geologic features can necessitate dead ends. By far the major human-made reason is arterials such as Lake City Way and Interstate 5. You cannot take northeast 90th street across either road. When I was teaching at North Seattle College (off north 92nd street), I’d have to get on Lake City Way and get to 92nd street in a zigzag route through the Maple Leaf neighborhood. I opted to take the bus my last quarter teaching there. Much less stressful.
As much of an inconvenience as Streetus Interruptus can be, it pales in comparison to the closure of the West Seattle Bridge. This structure is out of commission until next year, which means that folks in that neighborhood have to drive the long way around to get to the rest of the city. Now there’s a real Streetus Interruptus.
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