A little over a year ago, I wrote a post about the strange routes our Magellan eXplorist autorouter comes up with. Specifically, in order to get from Capitol Hill to West Seattle, the eXplorist wanted us to get onto southbound I-5, exit a quarter mile later, drive through Downtown to Highway 99, and then merge from 99 to the West Seattle Bridge – instead of simply continuing south on I-5 and merging onto the West Seattle bridge from there.
Now, it seems that route, though possibly still odd, is well-loved.
We’re going to a geocaching event this weekend, on the other side of Puget Sound. I’ve saved the event coordinates as a Favorite in our TomTom. I’ve looked at the route it consistently gives us. (I love that Demo feature!) It’s going to take us on the Fauntleroy-Southworth ferry, via West Seattle. And the TomTom, like the Magellan, wants us to get onto I-5, exit I-5, drive through Downtown, etc.
Is the junction of Interstate 5 and the West Seattle Bridge one of Seattle’s hidden treasures, so hidden that only locals know about it?
Is driving through Downtown really better than a direct freeway route? (This is even with the TomTom’s “Fastest Route” option selected.)
