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What You Need to Know for May Day 2014

Tomorrow is May Day, which means you’ll see a large crowd winding its way through the Central District and downtown Seattle during the afternoon and evening as part of the 13th Annual May Day March for Worker and Immigrant Rights, organized by El Comité.

The rally will leave Judkins Park—at 20th Ave S. and S. Dearborn Street in the Central District—at 3 PM and head toward Westlake Park in downtown Seattle. The marchers will move north on 20th to South Jackson Street; west on Jackson to Boren Avenue; north on Boren to Madison Street; west  on Madison to Fourth Avenue; north on Fourth to Pine Street and into Westlake Park for a rally. There is a possibility that Fourth Avenue will be closed during the rally at Westlake Park.

Seattle Police will escort the marchers, and motorists should expect a rolling slowdown and heavy traffic as the procession moves along the route to Westlake Park. Considerable congestion will likely occur and impact traffic throughout the Downtown area during the afternoon commute.

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There is also the possibility several other un-permitted demonstrations may be held in the evening at Seattle Central Community College and Youth Service Center at 12th and Alder. As the organizers of these events have not filed for permits, there is no official route map for these rallies.

You can check the @SeattleDOT and @SeattlePD Twitter feeds throughout the day for information about traffic impacts. Hopefully you won’t hear much from us.

A large number of uniformed officers will be present at tomorrow’s rallies. They’re there to ensure you’re able to freely and safely exercise your First Amendment rights, direct traffic around the marches, and to prevent or respond to any unlawful behavior.

So, come on down and revel in your First Amendment rights, hang out and enjoy the crowds, and take all the May Day selfies you can. As always, please contact an officer or call 911 if you have any concerns or need to report an emergency.