“Car-free” day on Alki? SDOT says it’s not a done deal

| Environment | Transportation | West Seattle news

As mentioned in our Parks Board meeting report, Parks staffers didn’t say anything more last night about the line in their briefing paper saying there could be a “car-free” day on Alki in late summer — they mentioned it in passing as a city Transportation Department proposal. So we asked SDOT communications boss Rick Sheridan this morning about the status and what’s next. Here’s the reply that just came in:

“Car Free Days,” where some city streets would be open to bikes and pedestrians, is an idea that Mayor Nickels proposed as part of the campaign to “Give Your Car the Summer Off.” The effort seeks to combat global warming by encouraging more walking, biking, car pooling and taking transit. The closures would be similar to Bicycle Saturdays and Sundays along Lake Washington Boulevard.

Parks and Recreation jumped the gun as no definitive decisions have been made. The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) is still fine-tuning the concept and needs other departments (fire, police, etc.) to approve it. Outstanding issues remain about mitigating the impacts on nearby streets and finding city resources to support it. The three corridors mentioned are, at this point, only possible locations. As we move further along in the process, we are interested in hearing the public’s perspective on the idea itself and suitable locations. SDOT should have more information to share in the next few weeks.

Rick Sheridan
SDOT

Krystal June 13, 2008 (11:54 am)

Check out info on the Golden Gate Park “car-free” Sundays that occur in San Francisco. This has been a pretty hot issue, even for a city that relies far less on cars than the Seattle area. It may give you some insight on how long this can take to implement a plan like this, I feel some people view driving as a right instead of a privilege, and that can block some of the progress on “car-free” plans.

chas redmond June 13, 2008 (3:00 pm)

I’d be in favor of a car-free day on Alki if Alki weren’t the only way in and out of that part of town. I can sympathize with the locals who are opposed – what if you did all your shopping on weekends (kept the car in the garage and took the bus the rest of the time). Alki already has basically the widest car-free trail and adjacent boardwalk of anyplace in the city. As cool as it might sound, I personally believe – and I’m a ped/cyclist more than anything else and a transit guy before POV – that an Alki car-free day is a political statement and serves no real purpose – as mentioned – there’s about a 40-foot existing right-of-way which is exclusively reserved for peds/bikes now – what would closing Alki do other than to incur the ire of everyone who lives there and already has to put of with tons of outsiders.
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An unusual position for me to take, maybe, but not if logic is applied. Closing California would have much more of an impact and there are any number of alternate routes one could take. Wait-a-minute – California is already closed for three days a year (West Seattle Festival) – making that a once-a-month event would not be that difficult. Why not focus our energies on areas where it actually makes sense? The Alki one doesn’t.

Bill Reiswig June 13, 2008 (5:38 pm)

Chas has some good thinking here. It seems like California, if it were only closed for a few blocks, might be easier to navigate around.
Once a month is a great goal…. other than the street fair, It would be fantastic to have a few evening nights in August and September where sidewalk (street) dining occured up and down the block and people actually turned out to walk the boulevard and buy husky ice-cream.

On the other hand, to say that closing Alki only serves a political point might be a bit extreme. Methinks the point would also be educatinal…what is it like to be without cars and such transit? How do they affect how we interact as a community.

It strikes me that the Mayor’s “Give your car the summer off” is well intentioned to help us get our of our cars and have a effect on climate change; its also a drill to see how we can live without cars, so when gas is $10 three years from now it will be an easier transition.

Just some thoughts… :)

booger June 13, 2008 (7:00 pm)

The idea of a Car Free Days on Alki is a wonderful idea, and do it on the 4th of July!!

amrakx June 13, 2008 (9:01 pm)

Great idea! I live in Alki and would welcome a day without cars, even at my inconvenience! I agree about including the 4th of July, hope the idea flies!

Jennifer L. June 14, 2008 (2:33 pm)

What a wonderful way to enjoy Alki during the summer! The tremendous benefit it would create would far outweigh the inconvenience it would cost the locals.

I appreciate Chas’ comments about using California instead, but the true benefit is to utilize a scenic stretch of roadway that is currently used for “cruising” on sunny weekends. The sidewalks are packed on sunny days, and more would like to bike/walk if there was more room. Let’s try it for a day and see how it works.

Michael Snyder June 16, 2008 (11:47 am)

I want to pass along a huge thank you to West Seattle Blog for tracking this down and sharing the information!

For the 4th of July, Gas Works park is so packed with people that N Northlake Way ends up being pedestrian only anyway. It would be a great candidate to close to cars in the afternoon and evening of the 4th from I-5 to Canal Park, and maybe even a section of Wallingford Ave.

Another street that would be great to consider is Interlaken to get up and down Capitol Hill.

Commodore August 25, 2008 (10:03 am)

Go ahead, citizens, let the Government give you one more restriction on your life. This is a free country. (or it used to be) If you want to do something and whole heartedly believe it is the right thing to do, GREAT! DO IT! You do not, however, have the right to tell others how to live. If they are not harming you directly, you should not have that luxury.

Some will argue that cars do harm us all directly. For those who would agree with that, you’ll have your OPINION and I’ll have mine. Too many scientists have gone back on the idea that we humans are driving up the world wide temperature for me to believe in that. Watching Al Gore movies, are we? Check out the carbon footprint left by this Global Warming crusader! His home alone is more than the average residential Seattle City block. Strike anyone as odd?

Now, to clean up the streets, some of the cars in the “car free” zone were towed. I would argue that the diesel used by the tow trucks to move the cars in the “car free” zone undid any removal of the carbon footprint left by moving gas powered cars or the aesthetic beauty of the neighborhood while the cars were being towed. Unless, of course, the trucks were completely silenced and had a cloaking device that you might have seen on Star Trek.

Is this really a good idea? I see us as the frogs in the pot and the water is heating up. While car free day might not seem like a big deal. It is Government imposing its rule on citizens. At what point do we jump out of the pot and let our leadership know that this is not what government is for? If you choose to make an impact on your own, do so. Do not attempt to enforce your belief system on another human being. The ACLU might take issue with the Legality of that.

Do what you will, but be respectful of your neighbors right to persue happiness. Even if it means going to the grocery store on a weekend in a car.

Commodore August 25, 2008 (10:19 am)

By the way, fellow citizens. We made National News on this topic. Something to be proud of? I would think that there are enough other things for our Leadership to focus on rather than this. It is a KING 5 story that took off.

Drudge Report

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