Retrofit shared this image from 11th and Pike

If you appreciate the work underway this December to make it safer to cross the street in Pike/Pine you also might want to make sure to do a little holiday shopping in the area.

Local merchants including longtime retailer Retrofit Home got an unpleasant start to the holiday shopping season this week as Seattle Department of Transportation crews arrived to start sawing concrete and pouring new safety features around the intersection of 11th and Pike. The work zone includes closing off several street parking spots — some of the few remaining in Pike/Pine’s wild mix of paid street parking, food delivery pickup zones, and loading areas for the neighborhood’s live music and performance venues.

Retrofit says they were told the work will take place through December.

The construction is part of the project that added a new pedestrian island and curb bulbs to the busy crossings at 10th and Pike earlier this year. CHS reported here in September as the 10th and Pike component was tweaked to address challenges for Seattle Fire and Seattle Police vehicles trying to pass through the busy intersection.

These installations of Pike/Pine street safety features are part of a larger SDOT initiative utilizing federal funding as part of 80 planned safety upgrades across Seattle. Planning a schedule of contractors and funding windows has left Pike/Pine businesses around the new construction zone holding the bag as the holidays arrive. The folks at Retrofit home told CHS they were first notified about the construction last week. We’re checking with SDOT to learn more about scheduling and anything they can do to help make sure shoppers and holiday revelers can still enjoy the area.

In the meantime, it’s the most wonderful time of the year to walk and shop around Capitol Hill. CHS has put together a 2025 Shop the Hill list with clusters of local shops organized by area from E Olive Way to 19th Ave E. Make sure you include a stop at 11th and Pike as you play Santa.

Shop local, shop the Hill: 60+ places to walk and shop on Capitol Hill

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