Living near Seattle, I always laugh when the people from the flat Midwest chime in about this.....
Yes, most of the drivers are clueless, but I guarantee that even those from Minnesota would be sliding down that hill.
Here is why:
The ground in Seattle never really gets cold, so when the snow first starts to fall, it melts on contact. But as more snow falls, that initial wet layer from the melting snow turns to ice.
Now you've got an ice layer underneath the snow. Snow actually has a decent amount of traction, but as more cars go over it, it compacts and is basically as slick as ice at that point. Now you've got compact snow on top of a solid layer of ice. Without spiked tires or chains (I doubt studs would help), you are sliding down that hill.
Combine those conditions with significant hills, and you've got a winter slip-n-slide. We have some streets that exceed a 25% grade.
Quote:
According to Andy King, civil-engineering specialist with the city Department of Engineering, Queen Anne North between Prospect and Highland Drive has an 18.5 percent grade. But the city has far steeper streets.
Most vertical of all is a block-long street in the Phinney Ridge neighborhood: Northwest 60th Street between Second and Third avenues Northwest has a 28 percent grade. What's more, the street has never been paved. The grading dates back to 1908.
Two other standouts are East Valley Street between 25th and 26th avenues East, which has a 25 percent grade, and Fourth Avenue North between Newell and Dexter streets, also 25 percent.
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The cities around here will routinely close roads when it starts to snow, but some drivers ignore the signs, or they don't get put up quickly enough.
Notice how the one car (the white SUV, MDX?), even from a dead stand still, starts to slide down the hill? Can't go much slower than nearly stopped. So even going slow isn't necessarily going to get you safely up or down that hill.
I did laugh when the bus took out the bus stop sign. The irony was just too much....