Seattle Convention Center paints itself into a transportation mess on 9th Ave

Seattle has a long history of closing streets for fun summer events, like block parties and art walks, but what happens when one of those events ends up forcing an unexpected and lengthy closure of a vital street in the city?

That’s what we’re dealing with on 9th Ave. between Pike St. and Pine St.

I’m not sure how many of you were familiar with Market at the Marquee. The Seattle Convention Center convinced the city to shut down 9th Avenue next to the Paramount Theater for a weekly market, featuring food, music, and art.

The event was only held on Thursdays during August, but the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) shut down 9th Avenue for the entire month, starting with the first closures in late July.

The road was supposed to reopen on Sept. 4.

One block closure cuts off direct access to I-5 Express Lanes

Why is this one block so important? It provides one of the few direct access points to the I-5 Express Lanes in the city, which is vital for commuters to use to avoid Revive I-5.

KIRO listener Linda hit me up this week asking why the street was still closed, which it is, two weeks after it should have been.

“How can a business, the Paramount and Seattle Convention Center, close a major entrance to an I-5 on-ramp for months?” Linda wrote. “This has added about 10 minutes to my getting on I-5 northbound, as I have to go several blocks down through three to four more stoplights, which is frustrating.”

I went right to SDOT for an explanation, and here is where the blood will start to boil.

As part of the art for this event, the organizer, the Seattle Convention Center, painted about 40 large circles on the pavement. Pretty shades of orange, red, blue, green, and yellow. It also painted five massive white stripes on the street.

The problem: Seattle Convention Center can’t get the paint off the road

According to SDOT, the Seattle Convention Center has “run into challenges removing the paint,” and it is looking into other solutions.

The organizers can’t get rid of the paint they put on the road, and now the daily drivers have to waste 10 or more minutes every day to get around this mistake.

The road cannot reopen until the paint is gone, and the regular lane markings are re-established.

I went down there yesterday, and you can tell this paint isn’t coming up anytime soon. Some of the circles appear to have been power-sprayed, with varying success. Where the paint has been removed, there appears to be some superficial damage to the road. It’s a mess.

I asked SDOT if the Seattle Convention Center is facing fines or other disciplinary actions for damaging a vital street like 9th Avenue or for failing to live up to its permit to reopen the street.

Failing to reopen a road is a code violation

Failing to open a road after a city permit is a code violation that comes with potential fines, penalties, or citations.

“Permit enforcement typically begins with warnings and conversations, with the potential option for fines depending on the circumstances,” SDOT told me. “At this point in time, the permit holder is engaging with us and appears to be making an earnest effort to reopen the street as quickly as they can.”

I also reached out to the Seattle Convention Center for comment about missing the deadline to reopen the road. All it will say is that it is working to remove the paint and that it is in regular communication with the affected neighbors and businesses, but nothing about the affected and inconvenienced drivers trying to get to I-5.

There is no timeline to reopen the street.

In the meantime, Seattle drivers are left adding more time to their commutes while the city figures out how to clean up its arty mess.

Chris Sullivan is a traffic reporter for KIRO Newsradio. Read more of his stories here. Follow KIRO Newsradio traffic on X.

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