By MARC STILES
Traffic is expected to be miserable for about two weeks starting Friday when the Alaskan Way Viaduct closes, so you may as well figure out how to enjoy it.
That’s the idea behind a new Downtown Seattle Association campaign called “Why Rush? Hour,” which encourages people who work downtown to stick around and have fun until traffic thins out. The campaign is built around short videos of restaurateurs Thierry Rautureau and Tom Douglas who, among other things, play pingpong and arm wrestling in Westlake Park.
More than 90,000 vehicles a day travel on the viaduct, which the Washington State Department of Transportation is closing just after midnight Friday for around two weeks as a precautionary measure while “Bertha,” the machine that is boring a new Highway 99 tunnel to replace the viaduct, passes beneath. Traffic likely will be rough all over, especially on Interstate 5, where traffic data company Inrix said commutes could take up to 50 percent more time.
Public agencies will beef up transit options, station traffic cops at key intersections, and adjust traffic signals to keep cars and buses moving, but only a handful of businesses have announced measures to make life more bearable.
Uber and Lyft will offer discounts and and new routes during the viaduct closure, and Urban Renaissance Group, the manager of the Northwest’s tallest office tower, Columbia Center, and eight other downtown properties, will extend building hours. This will help tenants stagger staff schedules, providing some relief to commuters, said Urban Renaissance Group CEO Pat Callahan.
Alicia Teel, spokeswoman for the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, said member businesses have not shared specific plans for working around the viaduct closure. The chamber is advising members to plan and be flexible and patient.
This plays into the “Why Rush? Hour” campaign. “If you’re going to be adjusting your commute time anyway, then why not take advantage and do something downtown instead of sitting in your car,” said Downtown Seattle Association spokesman James Sido.
DSA worked with the Garrigan Lyman Group on the campaign. The Rautureau and Douglas videos are posted on social media and the campaign’s website. DSA members are using the #whyrushhour hashtag and tagging the Downtown Seattle Association to post promotions on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Douglas, for instance, will have a “tunnel vision” menu and $2 “Bertha beers.”
The total cost of the campaign, which will include radio spots, is approximately $90,000, according to Sido, who said most of the cost was for creative services, which Garrigan Lyman donated.
