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Another weekend, another whole list of things that could disrupt getting around. Some of these events might be things you’re doing, too—there’s a whopping three Mariners home games, and the second weekend of Pride Month. Interested in not getting stuck behind the wheel? Our weekend traffic report is here for you.
We’ve combed through the alerts and advisories from both the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) and the Washington Department of Transportation (WSDOT) to deliver transit-friendly solutions for your weekend outings. Plus, the Link Light Rail is your best option if you’re headed to baseball or Pride, which bypasses the road altogether.
Some of this weekend’s advisories—and transit-oriented alternate routes to events—are listed below.
Road work
WSDOT has decided to take a week off from work on I-5 because of the University of Washington graduation, so no worries about that. But watch out for the weekends to come; the next five in a row include some kind of work.
Other theoretically-good news: HOV lanes in both directions are now officially running on I-90, instead of a one-way-at-a-time express lane.
Here’s where the bad stuff starts. Speaking of I-90, it’ll be down to one lane westbound overnight on Saturday from 11:59 p.m. until 6 a.m. Sunday morning. If you’re coming into the city early on Sunday or returning from a late night in Bellevue, that could cause some problems.
The First Avenue South Bridge is also getting some work this weekend. WSDOT maintenance crews are closing the two right lanes from 5:30 to 11:30 a.m. for repairs, perhaps causing delays for cars or buses that use that stretch of SR-99.
Lenora Street between Third and Fourth Avenue in the Downtown/Belltown area will be closed to cars on Saturday for utility work, but pedestrians will still be able to walk through.
Sports and the stadium district
The Mariners face the Toronto Blue Jays for a three-game series all weekend long—and they’re all right here at home. Get ready for sports snarls surrounding Friday and Saturday’s evening game and a day game on Sunday.
Sounder trains will run for Sunday’s game, giving people an alternate option from as far south as Tacoma and as far north as Everett (and perhaps clearing a little traffic for others). But note that Sounder trains will not run late enough to take you home to Friday’s game—and not at all on Saturday. As mentioned before, Link Light Rail goes to the stadium, as does the Seattle Streetcar and a ton of bus routes from Metro, Community Transit, and Sound Transit.
The Sounders don’t have a game this weekend, providing a little relief from the stadium backup. The Seattle Storm, however, have a game at KeyArena Friday afternoon and another at noon on Sunday—and while that may not compound the Mariners traffic, it’s still something to watch out for. A whole host of buses serve Seattle Center, but the ones that get closest to KeyArena are Metro route 1, 2, 8, 13, 32, and RapidRide D.
Pride, graduations, and more
It’s the second weekend of Pride Month, and there’s a whole lot of stuff happening around the city to celebrate:
- Seattle is participating in a national, coordinated march for Pride this weekend in a big way: Two permits have been issued for our local sister demonstration on Sunday. Plan on demonstrations taking place throughout the day starting in the mid-morning starting on Capitol Hill and moving through downtown. Link light rail, or King County Metro Routes 10, 11, 43, and 49, are all fine ways to get to the starting point in Cal Anderson Park.
- Capitol Hill PrideFest is running related programming on Broadway between John and Roy all weekend long, including a brief march on Saturday morning around Capitol Hill. The closest transit options are going to be Link Light Rail or Metro routes 10, 43, or 49.
- Seattle PrideFest is throwing a festival at Volunteer Park on Saturday, as well—so if you want a full day of Pride festivities, once you walk through the Capitol Hill PrideFest events from south to north, Volunteer Park isn’t much farther. (Metro route 49 will also get you directly there.)
There’s always a 5k somewhere: The Shore Run is along the western shore of Lake Washington starting at 8:15 a.m. Metro route 11 will take you to the starting line.
Also, bikes: It’s a smaller event, but a bike race sponsored by Taco Time is happening at Volunteer Park on Sunday from 11 a.m. through the evening. The park is served by Metro route 49.
So many graduations: Both the University of Washington (in, of course, the University District) and Seattle University have their commencement ceremonies this weekend. UW starts at 12:30 on Saturday at Husky Stadium, which has its own Link Light Rail stop. SU has two separate ceremonies on Sunday at 9:30 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. at KeyArena, with the same transit options as the Storm game, and the 2 will take you straight there from the edge of campus.
Seattle issued a permit to an anti-Muslim demonstration—March Against Sharia—after Portland pulled a permit for the same march in the wake of a double-murder on the MAX train. Counterprotests could make the crowd bigger. That starts at 10 a.m.
The Georgetown Carnival arts festival means closing Airport Way South between Corson Avenue South and 13th Avenue South from noon to 10 p.m. on Saturday. Also, here’s a fun thing to do this weekend: The Georgetown Carnival. The 124 will take you straight there.