Police chief clears up BAT lane confusion

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The rules of the BAT lanes on 15th Ave just south of the Ballard Bridge have been confusing since day one. Our sister site, MagnoliaVoice, is reporting that Seattle Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske has clarified the enforcement issues. Here is what the chief said in a letter:

Drivers may now use the lanes northbound at Mercer Place if they are intending to access the Galer Street ramp to the Magnolia Bridge. This meets the community’s request for safer access.

BAT lane signage indicating hours of operation should be interpreted to mean the lane is available to all vehicles outside the posted hours. Specifically, this means that drivers may use this as a normal lane outside the posted hours.

The ticket for BAT lane violations is $124. The transportation department will deploy electronic signs to inform drivers during the week of April 20th. After a two week period, SPD will begin enforcement of the BAT lane rules.

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19 thoughts to “Police chief clears up BAT lane confusion”

  1. “BAT lane signage indicating hours of operation should be interpreted to mean the lane is available to all vehicles outside the posted hours. Specifically, this means that drivers may use this as a normal lane outside the posted hours.”

    Gil, FTW! We can now drive in the lanes off-hours without worrying about the right turn only signs!

  2. So that means we can drive in that lane now? Holy crap…. Well, I am amused. I always thought that was the case but then they tried to clear up the confusion the first time they changed it. Now we are back to what I thought the first time….

    When will they change their minds again?

  3. Great move by Gil….this was confusing and the city has changed their minds on several occasions. It's nice they finally made up their mind once and for all! makes me feel a little better about the BAT lanes.

  4. What a buncha friggin hoeey. Anybody else old enough to recall that song with the famous line “do this don't do that cant YOU read the sign”??? Talk about control of us sheople. Here a nanny there a nanny everywhere a nanny. Holy bleep

  5. Gil Kerlikowske needs to have a chat with Bill Bryant of the Seattle Department of Transportation. Bryant's statement to the Seattle Times was that the right turn only signs applied at all times and that one could not drive straight through at any time of day: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/bumpertob…

    I intend to ask the Bumper to Bumper columnist to check this out for us and I'll report back if I get a response.

  7. I'm not feeling confident enuf to trust ol' Gil's statements. It goes against the “clarifications” that I'd read previously, so I'll wait until I know it's true.

  8. I don't understand what all the confusion is. “Right Turns Permitted” does not mean the same thing as “Right Turns Only”.

    Also, it will be nice to see our oh-so-special-and-in-a-rush neighbors shooting down the lane getting tickets during rush hour.

  10. I am not clear why this was ever confusing. It's like every other hourly sign — it only applies during the hours/days posted. I like that most people don't understand it though, because I enjoy using the lane as my own personal express lane when it's legal to do so!

  11. PS — before I get a reply about “my own personal express lane” equaling “speeding”, that's not what I meant. I just meant that while everyone else is going slow using only 67% of the roadway, I'm attempting to make everyone realize that traffic will move faster if all three lanes are being used (outside of the posted hours of course). Any idea why this lane isn't also open to 2+ or at least 3+ carpools as well? That would make sense I think…

  12. If you're not smart enough to understand how the BAT lane works you're not smart enough to be behind the wheel of a car. This isn't rocket science people. How stupid do you have to be to get a ticket? Let's see….it's rush hour and NOBODY is using this lane except me…gee, I'm so clever…and EVERYONE else isn't??? Are you people really so stupid/arrogant as to think that excuse is going to fly?? You must be the same morons who arrive at an intersection with a green light, see all the other cars are stopped but decide since the light is green it's OK for you to go only to then get T-boned by the big fire truck everyone else was stopped for. Stop suffering from cranial-rectal inversion syndrome, pay attention to the world around you and learn to drive before you kill someone.

  13. Every intersection along the BAT lane has a “Curb Lane Must Turn Right” sign with no hours posted. So those signs apply 27/7. The only exception on these signs is for buses and bicycles.

    As far as I can tell, when you combine the “buses only 7-9” signs with the “Curb Lane Must Turn Right” signs, there is no difference as to how the lanes can be used between the posted hours and outside those posted hours.

    Between the bus only hours, only buses and bikes can use the lane, however cars can use the lane to turn right. (The “Right Turns Permitted” sign). Outside the posted hours anybody can use the lanes, but unless you are a bus or a bike, you have to turn right. (“Curb Lane Must Turn Right, except buses and bikes” signs). So a bus or a bike can use the lane for straight through travel at any hour, and a car can use the lane for right turns only at any hour.

  14. The reason it was confusing is because they came out and said you couldn't use those lanes outside those hours except for parking. I always assumed outside those hours it was ok to drive but the city said NO.

  15. SS, as UG points out, the issue has not been what to do during the posted rush hours, but rather what is allowed during non-peak hours. The signs seem to indicate that cars may not continue straight through an intersection in that right lane, even during non-peak hours.

    Oh, and a dash more politeness in your posting tone wouldn't hurt.

  17. Yup. This is the problem: the signs conflict. They need to remove the “Curb Lane Must Turn Right” signs, or the signage is incoherent.

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