Seattle Leaders: Enjoy The Warm Weekend, But Do It Safely

SEATTLE, WA — It's going to be a warm, sunny Mother's Day weekend in Seattle. It should be perfect weather for a walk in one of the city's newly reopened parks, but local leaders say: if you're going to a park, please be mindful of current safety requirements and restrictions.

"Do get out if you need to, but don't plan on spending a day in the park," said Mayor Jenny Durkan at a conference Thursday.

Tuesday Seattle's parks reopened to the public as part of Gov. Jay Inslee's plan to phase out coronavirus restrictions, but Seattle city leaders say right now, those parks are just for visitors on the go. That means visitors are expected to walk or jog through the parks: no barbecues, picnics or large gatherings, and park-goers still need to keep a safe social distance of six feet between themselves and others.

"We don't want folks to come to parks to expect to have picnics or gatherings," said Parks Director Jesus Aguirre. Aguirre is urging visitors to leave any park that seems too crowded, or consider going to parks during their off-hours, like in the early morning.

Aguirre also says larger parks will have curfews in place starting Friday to stop any late-night barbecues or other gatherings. The curfews will begin at 8 p.m. and affect popular parks like Cal Anderson, Gas Works Park and Alki Beach.

Ambassadors will be at crowded parks to remind visitors of the safety restrictions, but city leaders say they're hopeful residents can handle the changes on their own. "We want enforcement to be the last resort" said Durkan. "We're really counting on people to do the right thing."

But if people can't do the right thing, there is one last measure the city will pull out if necessary: shutting down select parks outright. "Crowded parks will become closed parks" said Durkan.

Stay Healthy Streets become permanent

Also discussed during the city's conference Thursday was a new plan to make Stay Healthy Streets permanent fixtures. Stay Healthy Streets are neighborhood streets that have been closed to through traffic. The streets can still be driven on by residents and delivery vehicles, but ban all other drivers to free up the roads for use by pedestrians and cyclists.

The city initially launched the program as a way to encourage residents to get out of their homes while parks were closed by the coronavirus outbreak, but say that it has proven so successful that the changes will now be made permanent.

When the program first launched in mid-April, it started with just 2.5 miles of neighborhood greenways. It has since been expanded to cover 20 miles of Seattle's neighborhood streets, with three more miles planned for neighborhoods in Alki and the Rainier Valley.

Accelerating bike lane improvements

Finally, the mayor's conference Thursday also touched on a plan to accelerate bike lane construction and improvements across Seattle. Details on exactly which projects are being greenlit and how are still scarce, but city leaders say improved bike transportation options will be a necessity as the city continues to reopen.