KENMORE, Wash. -- Cities on arterial roads leading into Seattle complain drivers are skipping toll roads and using surface streets instead.
Kenmore city officials estimate traffic has increased by about 12 percent on Juanita Drive leading to State Route 522 ever since tolling started on the State Route 520 floating bridge.
Mayor David Baker said many of those drivers are cutting around the north end of Lake Washington through Kenmore to avoid tolls. It's known as toll diversion.
Kira Martin lives in Kenmore and commutes to downtown Seattle. She gets stuck in the mess that added congestion creates on most days.
"Sometimes I get home and I'm like, 'I'm never driving again. I'm just not,'" Martin said. "Everyone is on the road together and it is just stop-and-go."
Martin's Husband, Matthew, notices the change as well, every morning when he takes the kids to school.
"It's unbelievable and it's just gotten worse," Matthew Martin said.
Mayor Baker said the number of people avoiding tolls by driving through his town is unbearable and about to get worse when the state turns carpools lanes on Interstate 405 into express toll lanes later this year.
"I think they are going to look long and hard at that and we are going to see more diversions," Baker said.
Baker and the Lake Forest Park Mayor Mary Jane Goss wrote to the state requesting financial help with all the wear and tear those extra cars are putting on their roads.
"What frustrates me is the state is not allowing for it. The state is not admitting it," Baker said.
WSDOT said drivers will still have a free option along I-405 in the general purpose lanes.
A spokesperson said WSDOT legally couldn't give cities any money tied to the project unless lawmakers approved it.
People like Kira are now bracing for what they worry could be an even more painful commute later this year.
"So, everybody is getting really sick of driving," Kira Martin said.
The Washington State Transportation Commission called toll diversion an unfortunate side effect of tolling.
The state stands by its promise that tolling is the best way to address a lot of our traffic in Western Washington.
Mayor Baker said he will continue his fight for funding.
