Monorail's long winter's nap unlikely to derail holiday sales

Merchants at Westlake Center aren't all that worried about losing monorail service, despite the fact that the disruption comes at the start of their busiest shopping season.

"As a business owner, you become a worrywart," said Roger Fredericksen, owner of Millstream, a Pacific Northwest-themed gift shop. "But of all the things to worry about, it's not that pressing to me."

The monorail was shut down after two trains sideswiped each other Saturday night, ripping a door off one and sending glass shattering into the street below. The monorail is expected to be closed at least until next year.

Fredericksen said one factor in the merchants' favor is the timing of the disruption. Like other merchants, he believes the monorail primarily serves tourists, who come to Seattle mostly in the summer, not in the rainy fall and winter.

If the service stoppage occurred in the summertime, he said, the effect on business could be greater.

Chereyl Spink, manager of Fireworks Gallery, agreed. "We have a more local shopper at Christmastime," she said. "Downtown is such a draw, people will get here regardless."

At its busiest, during Seattle Center festivals such as Bumbershoot, which occurs Labor Day weekend, the monorail may carry 23,000 riders daily. In the wintertime, 5,000 to 8,000 a day is more typical. The rail runs from Seattle Center to Westlake Center, dropping passengers on the mall's third floor.

At Seattle Center on Sunday, the monorail shutdown appeared to have little effect, as runners poured in after finishing the Seattle Marathon.

The monorail station was blocked by a chain with a note that it was closed for "mechanical difficulties."

This is the second year in a row that monorail service was disrupted during the holiday season. On May 31, 2004, a fire aboard a train caused a shutdown that lasted until the week before Christmas.

During that shutdown, which spanned the tourist season, some merchants said they lost substantial business. However, some wondered whether the poor economy may have been more to blame.

This year, Westlake Center shopkeepers are expressing optimism.

"I think the spirit of shopping is strong," Fredericksen said. "I'm not freaked out."

And for the moment, the two smashed-together trains are actually attracting gawkers, several merchants said. Some just looked from the street, where they could see crunched metal underneath the trains. But many people also went up to the third floor of the Westlake Center, where they could get a close-up look at the trains through floor-to-ceiling windows.

"It's kind of an attraction right now," said Behrooz Behmanesh, co-manager of Sbarro, looking out at the trains which appear to be less than 50 feet from his cash register. By 11 a.m. yesterday, he said several people had already passed through the food court to take photos of the trains. Hopefully, he said, they'll stop for pizza on the way.

Seattle Times staff reporters Susan Gilmore and Mike Lindblom contributed to this report.

Maureen O'Hagan: 206-464-2562 or mohagan@seattletimes.com