Tag Archives: people street

Weather gods again target Pike People Street, this time with threat of Seattle snow

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A snow morning on E Pike circa February 2011 (Image: CHS)

A snow morning on E Pike circa February 2011 (Image: CHS)

It’s time to admit it. The final pilot of the Pike People Street program is cursed. Though if the last weather-related cancelation is any indication, you won’t actually have 2 to 5 inches of Seattle snow to worry about Thursday afternoon.

Forecast models for Thursday are going a little nuts but there is the possibility for three to five inches of snow up and down the I-5 corridor — including Seattle. The storm could also bring high winds and freezing rain. UPDATE 8:50 PM: The situation has now been escalated to a National Weather Service “Winter Storm Watch” —

A WEATHER SYSTEM WILL MOVE FROM SOUTH TO NORTH OVER WESTERN WASHINGTON ON THURSDAY AND THURSDAY NIGHT. COLD AIR WILL BE IN PLACE AT THE SURFACE WHEN PRECIPITATION BEGINS. THE PRECIPITATION IS LIKELY TO BEGIN AS SNOW…THEN CHANGE TO RAIN. AROUND 12 HOURS OF SNOWFALL IS POSSIBLE AT MOST LOCATIONS IN THE INTERIOR LOWLANDS. FOUR INCHES OR MORE OF SNOW IS POSSIBLE. THE HOOD CANAL AREA…WHERE STRONG EAST WINDS WILL ADD AN UPSLOPE COMPONENT TO THE SNOW…COULD GET SEVEN INCHES OR MORE. THE NSET OF SNOW…AND THE CHANGE TO RAIN…WILL BE EARLIER IN THE SOUTH AND LATER IN THE NORTH. BY FRIDAY MORNING IT IS ANTICIPATED THAT SNOW WILL HAVE CHANGED TO RAIN EVERYWHERE.

While SDOT’s coordinator for the pedestrian pilot program Seth Geiser is hoping for a “little winter wonderland” to accompany Thursday’s Capitol Hill Art Walk-coordinated street closure in the heart of Pike/Pine, the Spokane native is ready for a cancellation if his department needs to swing into action for a serious storm. Continue reading →

Late night closure goes off without a hitch as new round of Pike People Street testing begins

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On one block of E Pike Friday night, cars were replaced with people eating slices from Big Mario’s Pizza, riding bikes, and having after-show smokes. It was the start of the second round of the Pike People Street, which saw car traffic blocked off on E Pike between 10th and 11th from 11 PM to 3 AM.

Seattle Department of Transportation public space specialist Seth Geiser, who was out in the street Friday night, said the “late night” test run was a success from the city’s perspective — people spilled out into the street to relieve sidewalk pressure and there were no cars towed from the closed parking areas.

The response from people on the street who spoke with CHS was also overwhelmingly positive. “It seems super safe and super fun. I wish more people joined to make it more of a party,” one woman told CHS. Another said she wished the city spread the word more widely to bring more people out into the street. A man visiting Seattle from Tennessee said it reminded him of going out in Memphis. Continue reading →