Seattle weekend traffic and transit: Emerald City Ride, motocross, and more

Another weekend, another whole list of things that could disrupt getting around. Some of these events might be things you’re doing, too—thousands of people are going to be riding bikes up the Viaduct, there’s a big motocross event on, and, of course, there’s a 5K.

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: Emerald City Ride and an MS 5K

The viaduct is about to be gone forever, so Cascade Bicycle Club is running a ride for people that want to ride a bike over the thing. That means the Viaduct, northbound Aurora Avenue through the Aurora Bridge, is closed northbound from before 7 a.m. to about 11:30 a.m. on Sunday.

The ride starts at Pyramid; Link Light Rail is a good option (Pioneer Square or stadium stop) as well as a whole host of buses that run through Sodo. Update: Originally, we mentioned the First Hill Streetcar as a decent option that’s easy to put a bike on, but that might just be for the trip back, since it doesn’t start service until 10 a.m. on Sundays for some reason.

Speaking of cycling: Annual fundraiser 5K Walk MS/Run MS will be using the Burke Gilman Trail, so cyclists might want to watch for extra pedestrians between 8 a.m. and noonish on Sunday. It’ll start and finish at University of Washington’s E-1 parking lot; that’s right by Husky Stadium, so Link Light Rail goes right there, along with the 44, 45, and 73.

Road work and bus service changes

There were supposed to be some I-5 closures this weekend, but it’s supposed to be rainy. So, hooray, kind of?

Because of the Emerald City Ride, buses that normally run down Aurora will be rerouted to Dexter on Sunday morning: The 5, 26, 28, and E Line. Buses that usually jump to downtown from the Viaduct will also have small reroutes: the 120, 125, and C Line.

Update: In the original version of this piece, we neglected to mention Montlake Bridge closures on Saturday. Fortunately, it should just be one southbound lane (the right one); unfortunately, this will probably still gum stuff up. That closure’s going on from 6:30 to 11 a.m.

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: Motocross

Yeah, we just got the Mariners back, but they’re in Minnesota all weekend—so baseball shouldn’t be a factor in downtown and stadium district traffic.

But there’s still a sport happening around the stadium district: Supercross. The party starts at noon in a lot by Centurylink, then the event itself is happening in the stadium starting at 6:30.

To get to the stadium, take Link Light Rail (take your pick of the International District or Stadium stations) the First Hill Streetcar, or one of a ton of bus routes from Metro, Community Transit, and Sound Transit.