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Traffic in this section of Edmonds Ave NE in North Renton Highlands (near McKnight Middle School) was extremely light this morning. This detour sign points southward, directing traffic toward Sunset Blvd, where Northbound travelers will be detoured to Coal Creek Parkway. This road often carries heavy volumes of highlands traffic onto Exit 6, which is temporarily closed.
If you live in Renton Highlands or Kennydale, you might want to step outside for a moment (before the wildfire smoke blows in) and notice the unusual quiet. Some residents have noticed how peaceful it sounds with the ubiquitous roar of I-405 quieted for 60 hours by the freeway’s complete closure from Exit 5 to Exit 10.
But don’t get too used to the quiet. The freeway is scheduled to be reopened by Monday Morning.
While we can’t expect traffic to go away on this corridor, perhaps 10 years in the future increased electric vehicles sporting better aerodynamics may quiet it down a little bit for us.
My wife Cathy and I also noticed something else. The section of Edmonds Avenue NE that runs through North Renton Highlands, a normally high-volume arterial, seemed all but empty this morning. While it’s typically not as busy on Saturdays, it was nearly deserted this morning. It makes it really clear to me how much this arterial is used to carry traffic between Renton Highlands and Exits 5 and 6. During traffic jams on I-405 this section of Edmonds Ave may even be used as a freeway bypass by some commuters.
I realize it’s possible people have just cut out most of their driving this weekend, so they don’t get stuck in a traffic jam anywhere.
I’ll be interested in hearing other people’s observations about traffic in our city during this I-405 closure. We may learn lessons about cut-through traffic that help us with future traffic planning.
I took a walk on a section of Edmonds south of sunset and noticed the same thing – very few cars and of course much quieter than usual without the freeway noise.
Renton doesn’t even get upgraded sound walls for this next round of freeway expansions. Meanwhile 1.2 Billion will be spent to put a lid on Seattle portion of 520.
Renton needs to negotiate better, and stop being a whipping boy.
It’s so peaceful without the freeway noise. We’re a block from I405 in Lower Kennydale and it’s a white noise we just live with. Thank you Randy for pointing out the quiet outside today!