Retired bus driver Pamela Compton of Everett wonders why the on- and off-ramps from I-5 to the South Everett Freeway Station Park and Ride are for carpools only. She feels it would make more sense if all vehicles that are taking the ramp in order to use the Park and Ride lot — including a single-occupant driver joining or just leaving a carpool — could use the ramps “rather than having to worry about Eastmont or going to 128th Street. It seems it would alleviate some of the problem.”
There are no plans to change the rules, said Tom Pearce, a spokesman for the Washington State Department of Transportation. The issue at that Park and Ride, and others with direct access to the interstate, is reducing opportunities for congestion and collisions, he said.
“The South Everett Freeway Station Park and Ride on- and off-ramps are located midway between two heavily used interchanges at 128th Street and at State Route 526. Allowing all vehicles to use the park and ride ramps could create situations where many drivers would attempt to use the facility’s ramps, then weave across traffic to reach either SR 526 or 128th Street. This would increase congestion in that area and could increase the risk of collisions as well,” Pearce wrote. “We see the impact of a similar situation on I-5 in Seattle between the Mercer Street interchange and SR 520, where vehicles have a short space to cross several lanes to reach their destination ramps.”
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