Both the big downtown parade on Tuesday (reported here yesterday) and West Seattle’s own Admiral 4th of July Kids’ Parade on Monday (here’s our latest preview) are on the SDOT citywide-traffic-alerts list for the next five days – read on to see where you’re likely to find a lot of vehicles and people (oh, and zombies too):

The coming Fourth of July weekend is packed with fun for the whole family, but could be frustrating if you don’t plan your travels ahead of time. On Saturday, July 2, thousands of people will be turning out for the annual Wooden Boat Festival at Lake Union; meanwhile over 2,500 “Zombies” will stagger and stumble their way through Fremont that night. Sunday night, July 3, some 1,500 runners will tear around the Seattle Center for the Firecracker 5000, the city’s only midnight race. Monday night’s Family Fourth at Lake Union is expected to draw over 50,000 people to watch the fireworks at Gasworks Park; plus it is estimated that another 50,000 people will gather at viewpoints around the city to watch the nighttime show light in the sky. Tuesday, July 5, from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. downtown Seattle will be a sea of people with over 12,000 Lions Clubs members participating the Lions Club International Parade of Nations.

For more details about these and many other weekend events, please see the schedule below. To help reduce traffic congestion and carbon emissions, the Seattle Department of Transportation encourages event-goers to consider leave the car behind and try one of the many alternate modes of transportation available – Metro Transit, the West Seattle Water Taxi, the Sounder commuter train, Link light rail, car pool, bicycle or even walking, if feasible.

Friday, July 1

1st Annual Purpose of Life Festival: 10 a.m. – 10 p.m.

Purpose of Life Center (3613 S. Juneau St

500 expected

Streets closed 7 a.m. Friday – 12 midnight Sunday: S Juneau Street between Martin Luther King Jr Way S and 37th Avenue S, and 37th Avenue S between Martin Luther King Jr Way S and S Juneau Street.

Seattle Mariners vs. San Diego Padres 7:10 – 10:30 p.m.

Safeco Field

23,000 attending

Expect congestion in the area around the stadium before and after the game.

Saturday, July 2

1st Annual Purpose of Life Festival: 10 a.m. – 10 p.m.

Purpose of Life Center (3613 S. Juneau St

500 expected

Streets closed 7 a.m. Friday – 12 midnight Sunday: S Juneau Street between Martin Luther King Jr Way S and 37th Avenue S, and 37th Avenue S between Martin Luther King Jr Way S and S Juneau Street .

Red, White, and Dead Zombie Walk: 6 – 8 p.m. (event 3 – 11 p.m.)

Fremont

2,600

Streets closed 10 a.m. to 12 Midnight: N 35th Street between Phinney Avenue N and First Avenue NW from; zombies will dance and stagger on sidewalks from 6-8 p.m.

Lake Union Wooden Boat Festival: 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.

Center for Wooden Boats and South Lake Union Park

4,000 expected

Expect congestion in the area, particularly on Valley Street, which may impact traffic coming off of I-5 at Mercer Street.

Seattle Mariners vs. San Diego Padres 7:10 – 10:30 p.m.

Safeco Field

23,000 attending

Expect congestion in the area around the stadium before and after the game.

Sunday, July 3

1st Annual Purpose of Life Festival: 10 a.m. – 10 p.m.

Purpose of Life Center (3613 S. Juneau St

500 expected

Streets closed 7 a.m. Friday – 12 midnight Sunday: S Juneau Street between Martin Luther King Jr Way S and 37th Avenue S, and 37th Avenue S between Martin Luther King Jr Way S and S Juneau Street .

Lake Union Wooden Boat Festival: 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.

Center for Wooden Boats and South Lake Union Park

4,000 expected

Expect congestion in the area, especially on Valley Street, , which may impact traffic coming off of I-5 at Mercer Street.

Firecracker 5000: 11:55 p.m.

Memorial Stadium at Fourth Avenue N and Republican Street

1,500 participants

Midnight race starts at Memorial Stadium. Runners head north on Fourth to Mercer Street; east on Mercer to Eighth Ave N; south on Eighth to John Street; west on John to Dexter Avenue N; north on Dexter to Mercer Street; west on Mercer to Fifth Avenue N; south on Fifth to Broad Street; west on Broad to First Avenue N; north on First to Mercer Street; east on Mercer to Fourth Avenue N; south on Fourth to finish in Memorial Stadium.

Seattle Mariners vs. San Diego Padres: 1:10 – 3:30 p.m.

Safeco Field

24,000 attending

Expect congestion in the area around the stadium before and after the game.

Monday, July 4

Center for Wooden Boats and South Lake Union Park: 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.

4,000 expected

Expect congestion in the area, especially on Valley Street, which may impact traffic coming off of I-5 at Mercer Street.

Admiral Fourth of July Kids Parade: 10 a.m.

44th Avenue SW and Sunset Avenue SW

500 participants

Parade Route: From 44th Avenue SW and Sunset Avenue SW, parade heads south on Sunset to SW Atlantic Street; east on Atlantic to Palm Avenue SW; north on Palm into Hamilton View Point Park. Seattle Police will escort.

Family 4th at Lake Union: Park opens at 12 noon, Fireworks at 10 p.m.

Gasworks Park

50,000 expected

At 6 p.m.: Neighborhoods to the north of the Park (from N. Northlake Way to N 40th Street)will close to all but those needing local access; expect heavy congestion in the neighborhoods surrounding Lake Union.

Tuesday, July 5

Lions Club International Parade of Nations: 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.

Along Fifth Avenue from Denny to Pine Street

15,000 participants

The following closures should be expected:

· 7:00 a.m.- 3:00 p.m.: Southbound Fifth Avenue from Mercer to Denny Way for staging

· 9:45 a.m.- 3:00 p.m.:

o Parade route on Fifth Avenue from Denny Way to Pike Street

o Cross streets to Fifth Avenue (except for Metro/Sound Transit during parade)

o Pike Street from Fourth to Eighth avenues

o Sixth and Seventh avenues from Olive Way to Union Street

The parade route will open to traffic as the tail end of the parades passes by. Access to parking garages along the route will be restricted from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.

Metro and Sound Transit will be rerouting about 20 bus routes in the downtown area between 9:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. on Tuesday due to the parade’s activities. Please visit www.kingcounty.gov/metro/alerts and check the “Construction & Events” section for details or call Metro’s Customer Information Office at (206) 553-3000. (Please remember that all Metro offices will be closed on Monday, July 4.)

Special Note: Metro anticipates heavy motor coach usage throughout the city from the beginning to the end of convention, July 4-8. Some 90 charter buses will traverse downtown each day and may impact Metro Transit service.