West Seattleites facing delays in getting to and from downtown Seattle during the nine day viaduct closure set to begin Oct. 21 can use a variety of routes and methods to avoid the issue or at least make it more tolerable.

Depending on time of day and of course traffic mishaps which could affect travel times, here are some suggestions:

1. Take an alternate route
Depending on your starting point your time to destination will vary of course but it's possible to take one of the following routes to downtown that will help you to avoid the crush.
A. Highland Park Way s.w. (sometimes called Boeing Hill) down the hill and over to West Marginal Way s.w. looping back to come over the First Avenue South Bridge. Once across the bridge First Avenue
is the natural route downtown.
B. From Avalon Way s.w. take the lower level Spokane Street Bridge to First Avenue South.
C. Take the West Seattle Bridge to the First Avenue South or Fourth Avenue South exit and head north.

2. If your employer allows it, use Flex Time
A. Come in earlier and stay later avoiding the peak travel times
B. Work a weekend day in exchange for a weekday
C. Work split shifts in which you work a half day one day and the other half another day

3. Work from home
A. plan your work ahead so tele-commuting is made easier
B. Use programs like WebEx, GotoMyPC, or other remote control applications (such as LogMeIn for the Mac) and meeting software
C. Meet with co-workers outside the office if possible.

4. Take Metro
A. More buses will be available on standby to ensure that people will be able to get a ride downtown
B. Check the Metro site for times and any issues with getting where you are going.

If you have any creative suggestions for dealing with the viaduct downtime share them in the comments below or email them to WestSeattle@robinsonnews.com so we can share them with everyone.