Gee Scott: ‘It’s absolutely nuts’ to allow cars to drive through Pike Place Market

KIRO Newsradio host Gee Scott says it’s time to stop allowing cars drive through Pike Place Market. For him, it’s just a matter of safety.

“To me, it’s nuts, absolutely nuts,” Gee said Tuesday on Seattle’s Morning News with Charlie Harger. “Stop it. When you know better, you do better.”

Community activists have argued that it would be safer to exclude cars from driving through the market since there is such high foot traffic. Opponents of the idea note it would hurt vendors who rely on deliveries and it could keep some would-be customers from visiting.

“I want to give a shoutout to the vendors that are down there that are working and you’re worried about your deliveries. It is always walkable,” Gee said. “So this needs to happen. Now, you can look it up in the news and see what’s going on across the country, what happened in New Orleans. When you have an opportunity for people to do that, unfortunately, we have to learn from those tragic circumstances and be better from it, and make sure that that doesn’t happen here in Seattle.”

Cars weren’t always allowed through Pike Place Market

According to Pike Place Market History, cars have not always been allowed to drive through the market.

Initially, when it opened in 1907, the market was designed for pedestrians and horse-drawn wagons. Over time, regulations regarding vehicle access have evolved.

Listen to the full discussion on Seattle’s Morning News.

Listen to “Seattle’s Morning News with Charlie Harger” on KIRO News 97.3 FM from 5am-9am. 

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