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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: the March For Our Lives is this weekend, as well as Taste Washington. And the Alaskan Way Viaduct is closed this weekend, so if you’re out of the house in Seattle, you might be experiencing some effects of that.
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.
Some of this weekend’s advisories—and transit-oriented alternate routes to events—are listed below.
Weekend events: A march, a parade, and some wine
For local wine enthusiasts, Taste Washington is happening all weekend long—Thursday through Sunday—at CenturyLink Field Event Center from 2 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Link light Rail can be your designated driver (take your pick of the International District or Stadium stations), or the First Hill Streetcar, or one of a ton of bus routes from Metro, Community Transit, and Sound Transit.
In Magnolia on Saturday morning (starting at 10), there will be an adorable little league parade to kick off the season, marching down West McGraw Street to 32nd Avenue West before ending at Magnolia Playfield. Take Metro route 24 to get there.
On Sunday, the Big Climb, an event raising money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, will send a bunch of folks climbing up the length of the Columbia Tower. Essentially any bus that goes downtown will get you there—or disembark Link Light Rail at the Pioneer Square station.
March For Our Lives: Route, start times, and street closures
This weekend’s biggest event is probably the March For Our Lives, a youth-led event for “common-sense gun legislation”—in solidarity with the national march.
In Seattle, the march starts at Cal Anderson Park at 10:00 a.m. and concludes at the International Fountain at Seattle Center at 2:00 p.m. The route winds down Pike Street to Fourth Avenue, then heads north, pivoting to Fifth Avenue North around Cedar Street before heading into the Seattle Center.
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Link Light Rail goes directly to Cal Anderson Park—one exit is literally in the park—and won’t get stuck in traffic, so your best bet might be getting to a light rail stop. The best buses for getting directly to the starting line are the 10, 11, 43, 49, and 60.
Metro and Sound Transit are running additional bus service for the march to address overcrowding, but you’ll have to just happen across them. From Metro:
Metro will operate on a normal Saturday schedule and will have additional buses as needed on routes 8, 41, 44, 101, 150, 255 and RapidRide C, D, and E Lines. ST Express Routes 550 and 554 will operate extra service; additional service on ST Express Route 594 may run if needed.
Extra Metro buses do not have schedules, will not appear in Metro’s online Trip Planner or One Bus Away, and will be dispatched based on demand. Riders should prepare for overcrowding and for some buses that may be too full to accommodate all passengers.
In addition, the Seattle Department of Transportation plans rolling closures for all traffic on Fourth Avenue during the march. Metro and ST Express buses will be rerouted, and ST Express Route 512 will pick up and drop off passengers near Westlake Station on Olive Way between Fifth and Sixth avenues.
Detailed information about revisions to Metro and Sound Transit bus service during this event is available on Metro’s Service Advisories page and on Sound Transit’s rider alerts page.
Road work and bus service changes: The viaduct is closed
The Alaskan Way Viaduct will be closed for its semiannual inspection, possibly its last one ever (but probably second-to-last), from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday between South Spokane Street and the Battery Street Tunnel. Because of the closure, the 120, the 125, and the C Line will all be rerouted during those hours.
The March For Our Lives is going to cause some road closures that affect bus routes on Fourth Avenue downtown—and some routes will get extra buses to help with overcrowding. If you just skimmed down here, check the block-quote above. Buses that will be rerouted for the event are the 3, 4, 5, 8, 10, 11, 24, 26, 27, 28, 31, 40, 47, 49, 62, 70, the C Line, and the E Line.
The 101 and the 150 are being rerouted off the Sodo Busway all weekend long.
Sound Transit routes 512, 545, and 554 will be rerouted around their Fourth and Fifth Avenue stops around Cherry Street for the Big Climb.
Note: We put immediate and new closures in this section, but not every single planned street closure appears here. Explore all 100 active SDOT projects, many of which involve street and lane closures, here. Here are Sound Transit rider alerts; here are King County Metro rider alerts.
Sports: ???
Sports activity continues to be light around Seattle, but baseball season is coming up soon.