- US Navy
Anybody who’s ever been to Seafair, or who happens to live in the vicinity, knows how much the traffic sucks getting in or out of Southeast Seattle on Seafair weekend. Well, thanks to an ongoing repaving project along Rainier Avenue South, this year it could be even worse.
I called SDOT to find out the status of the project, which currently has one lane closed in each direction between S. Walden and S. Alaska, and was assured that all lanes would be reopened by Thursday. Well… I wasn’t exactly assured. The person I spoke to didn’t want me to use his name, and insisted his comments were only on background. In other words, the lanes are scheduled to be open by Thursday, but might not.
Under normal conditions, that stretch of Rainier is a nightmare during Seafair, the main N/S thoroughfare to the area near the Stan Sayres Pits. Close a lane or two, and you might as well just walk.
So my suggestion: take the goddamn train! The Columbia City Station is less than a mile and a half walk from the pits, and the Mt. Baker Station is less than a mile from the beach at Mt. Baker Park. You’ve been warned. Choose light rail, and you’ll be thanking me on Monday; choose to drive, and you’ll be cursing yourself.
UPDATE:
SDOT Communications Manager Rick Sheridan emails me a more reassuring clarification:
SDOT will reopen all lanes on Rainier Avenue S. from Walden to Alaska by the end of the day on Wednesday. To ensure drivers and bus riders don’t face construction related back-ups, we will suspend paving work on Rainier from Thursday through Sunday. But your recommendation to use transit, especially Link Light rail, to reach the Seafair area is a good one.
And you can attribute that to me.
Ride a bike.
Ahhh Seafair, the lovely time of year when the city of Seattle puts a fence around lake Washington.
And the only time of year that I actually see parking enforcement.
There are going to be free shuttle buses from Othello Station.
http://seafair.com/AnEvent.aspx?ID=16&Se…
Ah Seafair, the one weekend I’m guaranteed to be out of town, every year.
Speaking of, where is Schamder’s annual Blue Angels hate-fest post?
@ 5, I was wondering the same thing. The “most commented” slog posts have positively anemic comment counts. Let’s get it going, Stranger staff!
@5 It’ll probably be up by Thursday afternoon when they start practicing.
As far as not driving to Seafair, I’m opting for doing something completely unrelated to Seafair and not located near the lake so I won’t have to deal with the traffic.
The average Seafair attendee would have trouble walking three total miles, especially after a hard day of drinking and watching machines go fast and and make big noises.
Wait, WTF? It’s fucking Seafear again? Oh good lord. Looks like Ima take the ferry to Bainbridge and spend the weekend out in the woods away from the blasted noise and drunken people. Oh shit, my cats…
it’s Stan Sayres, actually.
it’s not often you get to say, ‘we’re going to the pits!’
me hipster me no like seafair seafair lame seafair no trendy
@8 That’s a really fun stereotype but actually the average attendees are families with young kids.
But I get it, you don’t like Seafair, so everyone who does must be a bunch a drunken slack yawed yokels.
Is ST adding trains for Seafair? Having taken the train for major events before it can be a crowded overcapacity mess if they don’t.
@12- Having young kids doesn’t stop them from drinking, sadly.
I grew up out in the country, and while it’s true country folk like to watch things race around in circles a lot it is the suburban asswipe who fills the stands at NASCAR and SeaFair. I like country people, I like city people. I’ve met some fine people from the suburbs but they were always the ones escaping.