President Obama and several other dignitaries are visiting Seattle this weekend just as Seattle Pride gets underway, which means it’s time to start planning for traffic impacts around the city.
Downtown streets, arterials and some freeway on and off-ramps will be subject to intermittent closures throughout the weekend, altering normal traffic flow of buses and cars through downtown.
Travelers should expect delays and are advised to plan ahead on June 24th, 25th and 26th. Buses on surface streets in the north part of downtown will be rerouted; check with King County Metro Alert for routes impacted. The South Lake Union Streetcar will continue to operate, but the stop at the Westlake Hub at McGraw Square will remain closed. The downtown transit tunnel is expected to remain open and operating.
Parking on Downtown streets will be restricted as needed and some parking garages near the Washington State Convention Center may be closed during portions of the visit. We’ll update this post with additional information about garage and street closures as it becomes available.
Per the United States Secret Service, vehicle access to the area bounded by Olive St., 7th Avenue, Lenora St and 4th Avenue will be limited to 5th Avenue between Lenora and Virginia and on Stewart between 6th and 7th Avenue. Commuters are encouraged to use transit or park outside the area and walk in. People entering the area should expect delays and additional security screening, as outlined in this United States Secret Service flier:
Roads in Capitol Hill and downtown Seattle will also be impacted by weekend Pride festivities. On Sunday, 4th Avenue will close from Union Street to Denny Way between 7 AM and 4 PM for the Pride Parade. A portion of 2nd Avenue will also close as part of the parade’s route into Seattle Center.
For a full list of this weekend’s parades, baseball games, pirate landings and other events, please visit the Seattle Department of Transportation’s On the Move blog and follow @SeattlePD and @SeattleDOT on twitter additional travel info.