According to the post, the purpose of the videos was to document everything from the number of lanes to the pavement types used and the posted speed limits. The videos, it should be noted, aren’t newly released, even if YouTubers and befuddled, old social media users (like me) continue to find them for the first time.Īsked about the footage, a spokesperson for the Washington State Archives pointed me to a 2022 Facebook post from the agency - including a video taken while crossing the Tacoma-Narrows Bridge in 1982 - explaining that WSDOT captured video of “thousands of miles” of state highways over the years, much of which is now part of the state’s collection. Every long-gone regional bank branch sign, familiar fast food joint and sputtering Datsun was like discovering a photo of an old family friend. Even after speeding up the playback speed (which I highly recommend), I found myself entranced, watching the miles go by.
TACOMA TRAFFIC WSDOT HOW TO
If you grew up in the Pacific Northwest - and you harbor vague memories of what it was like - the videos offer a hypnotic trip back in time. Tacoma Traffic Map No Traffic Flow Zoom in Closer How to use the Tacoma Traffic Map Traffic flow lines: Red lines Heavy traffic flow, Yellow/Orange lines Medium flow and Green normal traffic or no traffic. Hodgson told me he discovered the YouTube channel - which is run by the anonymous user and now has almost 2,000 subscribers - about a month ago, searching for “vintage travel Tacoma.” Attempts to reach were unsuccessful, but the channel attributes the videos to WSDOT, and the Washington State Archives, which is exactly where they’re now held.Īs strange as that might seem, Hodgson is exactly right. More important to this story, he’s also something of a Pacific Northwest history buff, and during what he described as his typical Internet activities, he hit on a YouTube channel where, over the last year or so, dozens of the videos have been uploaded. Hodgson DJed around town for years, once ran a cool local coffee shop and all-ages club with his wife, Char, and has forgotten more about Tacoma music than most will ever know.
Crews will work at night when traffic volumes are lower. There I was, scrolling, when I encountered a post by John Hodgson, a 53-year-old old-school local music guy who I know - mainly in the social media sense of the word - from my days working for long-defunct alt-weeklies. Northbound and southbound right lanes of SR 7 from north of SR 512 to South 38th Street in Tacoma. Since I’ve already admitted I’m middle-aged, I suppose there’s no additional shame in acknowledging all of this happened thanks to Facebook. Wait for all images to load, then click on the image for a larger picture I-5 Vancouver WA (WSDOT), Mt.St.
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