Dancing at a past Capitol Hill Block Party. Photo credit: Jen Au for Capitol Hill Block Party Please note – You can click any of the drop-down links to go directly to a specific topic:
- Capitol Hill Block Party
- West Seattle Grand Parade and Alki Art Fair
- Home games for Seattle sports
- Construction snapshot
- Transit and trip planning resources
It’s almost the weekend, Seattle! Whether you’re headed to a beach, a neighborhood block party, or downtown for a sports event, we’re here to help you move around the city as smoothly and efficiently as possible.
A friendly heads up that this weekend is a heavier one for WSDOT’s Revive I-5 work, and that we at SDOT also have some construction ongoing. We encourage travelers to consider riding transit such as Link light rail, the bus, or the West Seattle Water Taxi, or using a bike or scooter share, to reach your destinations. Having fewer cars on the road can help lessen traffic and make travel easier for everyone.
To help plan your travel this weekend, we’ve put together this blog post of travel tips and resources. Read on for more!
Community Celebrations and Events
Capitol Hill Block Party
The Capitol Hill Block Party brings local food and drink vendors, artists, community organizers, and activists together for a three-day music festival complete with six (!) stages. Visitors can expect to sample the best of the neighborhood and our region’s vibrant arts community.
The dates and times of the block party are:
- Friday, July 22, 3:00 p.m. – 12:00 a.m.
- Saturday, July 23, 1:00 p.m. – 12:00 a.m.
- Sunday, July 24, 1:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m.
A map of the Capitol Hill Block Party streets and festival layout. Graphic credit: Capitol Hill Block Party
General admission tickets are available here.
Sections of 10th Ave, 11th Ave, and Pike St will be closed due to the festival. Travelers have several transit options to get to Capitol Hill. The Link light rail drops passengers right near the heart of the neighborhood (Capitol Hill station). Capitol Hill is also served by King County Metro routes 8, 9, 10, 11, 49, 60, and the Seattle Streetcar (First Hill line).
West Seattle Grand Parade and Alki Art Fair
Held every year since 1935—with a two-year hiatus due to Covid-19—the West Seattle Grand Parade takes place under the Seafair banner and celebrates Seattle’s diverse communities. The parade begins at the intersection of California Ave SW and SW Lander Street at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, July 23. It then heads southbound down California Ave to end at SW Edmunds St.
The Seattle Schools All-City Marching Band performed at the 2019 West Seattle Grand Parade. Photo credit: West Seattle Blog
Meanwhile, the Alki Art Fair is running all weekend at Alki Beach Park. All kinds of makers, from painters and printmakers to ceramicists and fiber artists, will be showing and selling their work alongside live music and food and drink from local vendors. The dates and times of the fair are:
- Friday, July 22, 2 – 8 p.m.
- Saturday, July 23, 10 a.m. – 8:30 p.m.
- Sunday, July 24, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Transit options to West Seattle include King County Metro bus routes 50, 120, and the RapidRide C Line. King County Water Taxi also serves the neighborhood. If you’re traveling within West Seattle, walking, biking, and rolling are also great options to consider.
You can find more trip planning resources through Flip Your Trip, our program supporting travel during the bridge closure, or on our West Seattle travel guide.
Home games for Seattle sports
With several Seattle sports teams at home this weekend, it’s a great chance to get out and cheer for your favorites.
The Mariners will face the Houston Astros in a series of games at T-Mobile Park. First pitches are scheduled for Friday, July 22 at 7:10 p.m., Saturday, July 23 at 1:10 p.m., and Sunday, July 24 at 1:10 p.m. Meanwhile, on Saturday, July 23 at 7 p.m., the Sounders will play the Colorado Rapids at Lumen Field. Finally, on Sunday, July 24, the Storm will face the Atlanta Dream at Climate Pledge Arena.
With big Revive I-5 closures scheduled (details below), using transit to reach a game may be your best bet. All three stadiums—T-Mobile Park, Lumen Field, and Climate Pledge Arena—are served by nearby Link light rail stations and several bus routes.
Construction snapshot
SDOT construction work
1st Ave & Bay St
On Saturday, July 23 from 9 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. (with traffic control setting up around 8 a.m.), our crews will build a concrete island at 1st Ave and Bay St (just south of Denny Way). This work will temporarily close off the one southbound lane on 1st Ave. Pedestrian and bicyclist access will be maintained.
West Seattle and South Park
On Saturday, July 23 and Sunday, July 24, we’ll be repairing sidewalks and building curb ramps on 37th Ave SW and Fauntleroy Way SW. We’ll being working as early as 8 a.m. and conclude by 4 p.m. During this work, we’ll need to close a northbound travel lane. People driving should anticipate delays while traveling in the area.
Also on Saturday and Sunday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., we’ll be paving 35th Ave SW between SW Morgan St and SW Holly St. We’ll be paving the eastern side of the street and traffic impacts include closing one lane in each direction. Parking will also be restricted while we complete this work. Please navigate the area with caution.
For the latest SDOT travel information, you can follow our SDOT Traffic Twitter account @sdottraffic, or visit our Seattle Travelers web page for real time traffic camera information.
WSDOT construction work
Revive I-5
Beginning around 7:30 p.m. on Friday, July 22, contractor crews working for WSDOT will begin shifting all southbound traffic to the right side and through the collector/distributor lanes. Southbound express lanes will be closed. All lanes will reopen by 5 a.m. Monday.
Map of Revive I-5 work this weekend. The ramps from I-90 to southbound I-5 will remain open until 6 a.m. Saturday, July 23. After that, those ramps will be closed, except for two hours after stadium events. Graphic credit: WSDOT
Revive I-5 work is scheduled to continue every weekend this summer through around the end of September. You can read WSDOT’s press release or visit the Revive I-5 website for the latest information, and you can keep up with WSDOT on Twitter at @wsdot_traffic.
Other I-5 work
On Friday, July 22 at 11 p.m., crews will close all lanes of southbound I-5 to work underneath the Seattle Convention Center. At 6 a.m. Saturday, July 23, two southbound lanes will reopen with traffic using the collector/distributor for the remainder of the weekend.
Beginning late the night of Saturday, July 23, WSDOT crews will close two lanes of northbound I-5 from the SR 520 off-ramp to Northeast 45th Street in the University District. The northbound off-ramp to 45th-50th will remain open. All lanes will reopen by 7 a.m. Sunday.
Transit and trip planning resources
Good news for train riders: repair work at the Columbia City station has wrapped up early, meaning that Link light rail service resumed as normal (with trains arriving about every 8 minutes at peak times) on Thursday, July 21!
Interested in using transit to get around this weekend? The Link light rail and King County Metro both have helpful resources to help you map your route. Using Metro’s trip planning tool or Sound Transit’s trip planning tool, you can enter your start and end addresses and pick the transit route that works best for you. Google Maps also offers transit planning and biking, walking, and other trip planning options.
A Link light rail train. Photo credit: SDOT
We encourage those who are planning on driving to consider carpooling, and leave extra time to reach your destination.
Mobility and sustainability are two of our core values. Graphics: SDOT.
Thank you
Thank you for planning ahead and helping to make weekend travel go more smoothly for everyone. Have a great weekend!
Help us imagine the future of transportation in Seattle — visit our Seattle Transportation Plan Online Engagement Hub today! Graphic credit: SDOT