Summer Fest road closures about to take effect

Just so you’re not startled trying to drive through The Junction tonight or tomorrow morning even before the festival begins — the city reminds us that the road closures for Summer Fest kick in at 6 tonight and continue till late Sunday night. (And in an outside-WS note, if you need to travel to the Eastside, remember this is one of those “520 bridge shutdown” weekends, 11 pm Friday till 5 am Monday.)

MW July 12, 2007 (10:14 pm)

Ok, so here’s my big idea…

I was just in the Junction tonight and its an amazing place to be without cars… kids running all over the streets, stores spilling out into the streets – it’s great.
How about we shut down California between Edmonds and Oregon on every Saturday during the months of July and August?
How great would that be?
MW

WSB July 12, 2007 (10:26 pm)

We were just down there too (see next post) — and we agree, that would be an AMAZING idea. It was a blast, and we felt free to wander … only thing missing was more places staying open (Husky needed to be open for ice cream past 9 pm!). Call it the Junction Summer Saturday Street Party or something. Let’s get Dave in on this!

MW July 12, 2007 (10:48 pm)

That is so funny…
I was in Elliot Bay and I was hoping that Husky Deli would be open past nine… but no such luck!
And then I swung by West 5 for one more beer (Schooner Exact IPA, to be specific!!!), and I talked to Dave about that very topic.
Let’s think about this for next year!!!
MW

MsBette July 13, 2007 (10:04 am)

I’d like to go even farther with this idea – shut down the street altogether. Have the cars go around where the parking is. Cali is always so backed up and difficult to drive if you’re trying to get through it. Wouldn’t it be nice to see that area be a plaza all year round? The farmers market wouldn’t have to be relegated to a parking lot; the movies could be shown here during the summer – lots lots more.

Jenny July 13, 2007 (11:27 am)

Mmmmmmm… no.

Please.

I can understand the appeal, but there’s more to WS than the Junction. There’s Morgan Junction, Charlestown, Admiral… and those of us who live on the opposite side from these destinations wouldn’t appreciate the Junction being blocked off AT ALL.

I think what the Junction really needs is more parking. Remember how alive the Junction was during the Big Windstorm, when everyone south of there came up to the Junction & Admiral just so we could find a place to eat and stay warm? More parking spaces would go a ways toward bringing some of that vitality back to the Junction again.

(I don’t know how more parking could ever materialize, but still, that’s what it would take instead of blocking off traffic, IMO…)

Keith July 13, 2007 (12:08 pm)

Don’t forget that the Junction is a major hub for Metro bus services. Shutting it down once a week would cause major havoc and confusion for bus riders, routes, drivers, everyone.

And diverting all that bus and auto traffic onto the residential side streets would be a nightmare, probably resulting in a lot of car/pedestrian accidents. It’s a nice idea, but the reality begs to differ.