A survey of local business owners and vendors upends the common belief that frontline workers don’t support restricting vehicle access to the iconic Seattle market.
A survey of 61 vendors in Seattle’s historic Pike Place Market reveals that the majority support pedestrianizing Pike Place, allowing primarily delivery vehicles to enter the plaza, reports Ryan Packer in The Urbanist.
The businesses surveyed “were located on every area of the Market, from the high stalls along the high traffic main arcade, to the less well-traveled areas on the lower floors.”
According to Packer, “Over half of the responses collected were fully behind the idea of closing the main Pike Place corridor to through traffic, while still allowing vehicle deliveries. The rest expressed reservations with how the closure could be implemented but remained open to the idea of a change.” The results signal an alignment between vendors, market operators, and advocacy groups.
Packer adds that “The city’s new waterfront, which will turn the neglected back side of the Market into a second front door, could end up providing a revitalization for the Down Under all on its own, with the new Overlook Walk providing a direct route from the new public spaces at the water’s edge to the elevators and stairwells that lead to the Market.”
FULL STORY: Most Vendors Don’t Oppose Pedestrianizing Pike Place Market, Survey Shows
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Journal of the American Planning Association