In response to the traffic plaguing drivers, cyclists & pedestrians traveling thru Montlake, neighbor, Eddie Speer shared lyrics for an Eagles parody called “Hotel Montlake”.  You may find yourself singing this as you wait to leave Montlake, if you can….

On a dark floating highway, cool wind in my hair
Warm smell of cement trucks, rising up through the air
Up ahead in the distance, I saw a trail of red lights
My head grew heavy and my sight grew dim
I encountered a frightening sight…

The traffic was stopped in the roadway;
I heard a driver curse and yell
And I was thinking to myself,
“This sure ain’t Heaven and it appears to be Hell”
Then a short detour appeared, and showed me the way
There were voices running through my head,
I thought I heard them say…

CHORUS:
Welcome to the Montlake Intercluster
Such a lovely park (such a lovely park)
Just don’t try to park
Plenty of cars at the Montlake Intercluster
Any time of day (Any time of day)
This is what they say….

The road is Tiffany-twisted, I saw a Mercedes Benz
There are a lot of pretty, pretty SUVs, packed end-to-end
How the trucks belch their diesel, sweet summer smoke
As I read the “best management practices”, is this some kind of joke?

So I called up the schedule,
And asked “Please explain this line..”
They said, “We haven’t met a milestone here since Nineteen sixty nine”
And still those jack-hammers call from right next door,
Wake you up in the middle of the night
As if you were asking for more…

Welcome to the Montlake Intercluster
Such a lovely park (such a lovely park)
Just don’t try to park
We’re livin’ it up at the Montlake Intercluster
Get used to being late (used to being late)
It’s our collective fate….

The back seat starts to lose it
A tantrum to be more precise
And I said “We are all just prisoners here, of our own device”
And on the freeway off-ramp,
They gathered for the wait
They exit their cars just to stretch their legs,
And they just can’t believe this State

Last thing I remember, I was
Running for the door
I had to find the passage back
To the place I was before
“Relax, ” said the bridge tender,
“We are programmed to receive.
You can start your engine any time you like,
But you can never leave! “