Car-free Sunday at Alki Beach gets mixed reviews

Sometimes rowdy, most times loud, always crowded Alki Beach went family-friendly Sunday as Seattle put a wrap on its experimental car-free Sundays.

On a weather-perfect afternoon, families on bicycles and kids on skateboards replaced the usual crush of cruising cars and motorcycles up and down the Alki strip.

As part of Mayor Greg Nickels' "Give Your Car the Summer Off" campaign, the city closed the street to outside traffic, leaving a single lane for emergency vehicles, public transit and local access.

The results got mixed reviews from Alki businesses, residents and visitors.

"On a day like today, Alki would usually have this super beach-like atmosphere," said Genevieve Buegel, who drove from Bellevue with her boyfriend and searched 20 minutes for parking, unaware of the street closure.

"Not today."

Some families loved the toned-down atmosphere.

"It was an unexpected surprise," said Travis Pruitt, who also didn't know about the street closure when he drove with his family from Redmond yesterday.

When he was single, Pruitt said, he was an Alki regular and remembers how loud and crowded it could get. "I expected to be struck in traffic. Actually I think this is kinda cool."

While some restaurant owners said they didn't notice a difference in business, others said the street closure hurt — a lot.

"Alki is a destination. And on a beautiful sunny afternoon, we've made it very difficult for people to get here," said Cameron Duncan, manager at Duke's Chowder House.

Duncan said lunch traffic was so slow that he sent some workers home and didn't call others in.

Nickels introduced car-free Sundays as a way to encourage people to leave their cars behind for a day.

The first one, on Capitol Hill, was rained out, and the city ended up reimbursing several motorists whose cars had been towed. The second, in Rainier Valley, drew 300 to 500 people.

"It's all an experiment," said Karin Zaugg Black, spokeswoman for the mayor. "The idea is to celebrate and enjoy life without your car."

She said the city now will take feedback from people and businesses about the events, "conduct an analysis of how it all worked and see if it is something we want to continue."

Duncan said the city should have done that kind of outreach and assessment before it forced the closure on the neighborhood.

"People come from all over the region to experience the beach here," he said.

"If you eliminate the places where they park, then they don't know where to park."

The closure and tight parking also affected employees in the businesses along Alki, he said.

While a few neighborhood streets were reserved for locals, Alki residents had to share the remaining spots with visitors who followed the detour that took them through West Seattle neighborhoods and down toward the beach.

The occasional local-access car that rolled through the barricades down Alki Avenue Southwest seemed out of place among the bikes and roller skates.

From their balcony overlooking Alki, Ian Rehm and his friends yelled at each passing motorist: "Hey, get out of your car and walk!"

"I think it's nice down there," said Rehm, 22. "Instead of a bunch of cars, there is a bunch of bikes. It would be kinda cool to have this every Sunday."

But then he rethought that idea: "Well, maybe not every Sunday."

Lornet Turnbull: 206-464-2420 or lturnbull@seattletimes.com