What you need to know for Memorial Day 2019 in West Seattle

| Holidays | West Seattle news

(WSB photo, Forest Lawn, Monday)

Good morning! We start Memorial Day with information you might find useful:

TRAFFIC/TRANSIT: No traffic report today because of the holiday, but you can see local cameras here. … Metro buses are on the Sunday schedule … The West Seattle Water Taxi is on an “extended Sunday schedule” … Sound Transit Route 560 is on the Sunday schedule (as is light rail) … The Washington State Ferries Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth run is on the regular weekday schedule.

OTHER MEMORIAL DAY NOTES: Here’s the Seattle Parks open/closed list … Schools are closed … Seattle Public Library branches are closed … Today is a U.S. Postal Service holiday … If you’re going to a Seattle neighborhood with on-street pay stations/metered parking, you won’t have to pay, because it’s a city “free parking” day.

What’s happening today:

HELP PUT UP/TAKE DOWN JUNCTION FLAGS: If you can help American Legion Post 160 put up and/or take down The Junction’s flags, meet at the northeast corner of California SW and SW Alaska just before 9 am for the morning help and 5 pm for the evening removal.

SPRAYPARK OPEN: It’s day three of the 7-day-a-week season for Highland Park Spraypark, 11 am-8 pm. (1100 SW Cloverdale)

COLMAN POOL, LAST DAY OF THIRD PRE-SEASON WEEKEND: Three swim sessions, noon-7 pm, at the city-run outdoor saltwater pool at Lincoln Park. See the schedule here. (8011 Fauntleroy Way SW)

MEMORIAL DAY SERVICE: The traditional service with veterans’ organizations including American Legion Post 160 and community partners is at 2 pm this afternoon at Forest Lawn Cemetery (WSB sponsor), all welcome. (6701 30th SW)

… FOLLOWED BY A BARBECUE: Again this year, after the Forest Lawn event, Post 160 invites you to a community barbecue – hamburgers and hot dogs! – at its headquarters in The Triangle, starting around 3:15 pm. All welcome. (3618 SW Alaska)

TRIVIA: End your holiday with The Skylark‘s free weekly all-ages trivia. Prizes! 7:30 pm. (3803 Delridge Way SW)

MORE … on our year-round calendar.

zephyr May 27, 2019 (8:26 am)

Do you know if garbage pick up will be affected by the holiday this week? Thanks.

WSB May 27, 2019 (9:57 am)

Normal schedule

Joe Walior May 27, 2019 (8:54 am)

What happened to the white crosses that were hammered into the ground above each veterans headstone? This has been a tradition at Forest Lawn for decades. The flags are nice but when combined with the sea of white crosses it really conveys a meaningful message. So sad not to see the crosses this year.

Kara May 27, 2019 (4:39 pm)

Please contact the cemetery for the reason or to let them know you miss them.
KM May 27, 2019 (6:15 pm)

Perhaps the crosses didn’t accurately represent soldiers the way the flag does? In other words, I might make more sense to place a flag for a solider than a religious symbol—I’m sure there are non-Christians who are buried there. No clue though, just popped into my head when you posted the question.
- WSB May 27, 2019 (7:52 pm)
  
  It was explained to my co-publisher by one of the Scout troop reps who was out helping with flags this morning that there’s a new statewide policy that Scout troops don’t put up crosses with flags because over the years, they’d heard from families who said, we appreciate the flags but (loved one) wasn’t really religious so the cross isn’t appropriate/necessary/etc. I can’t find an online citation so far but I do note that coast to coast, various other cities’ coverage of Scouts placing flags at cemeteries shows just flags, not flags and crosses.

zephyr May 27, 2019 (11:03 am)

Thank you, WSB for the response on the garbage schedule.

WSB May 27, 2019 (11:30 am)

I should include that in the holiday roundups. Usually the only holidays for which WM shifts pickups are the big winter ones.

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