Boats, Trains, and Automobiles

Making my way around my area of interest, the traffic was hard to ignore. Aside from the foot traffic I mentioned before, there were small boats, a big ship, and Fourth and Fifth Avenue were buzzing with car traffic. One of the main sounds I encountered was that of cars and motorcycles passing by. It is clear that these two roads are major arteries for the flow of traffic into downtown. It makes me wonder how protected they would be in a flood event, as they would be vital roadways to emergency service vehicles. When I looked out across Capitol Lake, I noticed a motionless train on a bridge over the water, so this area either is or was an important place for the transit of goods via railroad. The Port of Olympia lays just outside of my area of interest, but seeing it so close to the dammed up Capitol Lake makes me wonder how the port might be affected should the lake ever be returned  to it’s natural state as an estuary. I am certain the questions and lingering thoughts I have now are things I will find at least hesitant answers to as my observation and research continues.

Here is a sketch I made of some train tracks that appear to have fallen into disuse. In the background lies Bayview grocery store and the Port of Olympia.