Traffic congestion that has jammed up the West Seattle Bridge in the past few days with truck traffic trying to get to container terminals has gotten the attention of drivers and city officials too. Now the union that represents the longshore workers in Seattle has come forward offering a simple solution to break up the daytime traffic mess outside the container terminals: open the gates at night.

In a press release on the issue the union said:

"Though the Port of Seattle has been cooperating with Mayor Murray and the City of Seattle to alleviate some of the congestion, Jason Gross, ILWU Local 19 Vice President elaborates on opening the port gates at night, something other ports routinely do.

“The terminal operators, including Stevedoring Services of America at T18, need to immediately address the daytime traffic problems in Seattle by shifting operations to service trucks at night as well as days. It really is that simple,” says Gross.

The ILWU’s dispute with shippers and terminal operators has made more headlines in recent weeks, as the parties continue to meet to address outstanding issues in coastwise negotiations.

But the union contends that the terminal operators indefinitely laid off the work force at night, and made the problems worse, not better. This causes the lines of container trucks to back up onto Seattle’s roadways, interfering with the commute, because two shifts worth of productivity is crammed into one day shift--when workers and residents use the streets the most.

“This problem falls into the lap of terminal operators, they can solve it, and they could do it today,” adds Gross."