Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell’s proposal last week to make the 117-year-old market “one of the greatest pedestrian experiences in the country” where people “do not have to worry about vehicle traffic” is something Kim believes is good for the historical maze of fishmongers, produce vendors and crafters.
“People only,” Kim said. “The people’s market.”
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Henry Kim doesn’t always like change.
In the 25 years he’s owned Rotary Grocery in Pike Place Market with his wife, Jane, a can of Coke has gone from 50 cents to nearly $2, and the minimum wage went from $6.50 an hour to $20.76.
Those changes — which he said make things difficult for the marketplace’s army of small-business owners — he could do without.
But Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell’s proposal last week to make the 117-year-old market “one of the greatest pedestrian experiences in the country” where people “do not have to worry about vehicle traffic” is something Kim believes is good for the historical maze of fishmongers, produce vendors and crafters.
“People only,” Kim said. “The people’s market.”
Jane, nearby, shook her head, and Kim amended his opinion: no cars only on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, and only in the summer.
The debate over closing Pike Place to cars is nothing new, and has been described as “the third rail” for officials. But after the loneliness felt during the pandemic and the reconsideration and subsequent return to gathering spaces — and more importantly the repeated attacks on crowds by drivers worldwide — Harrell has put his weight behind exploring the proposal.
The mayor delivered the idea at his annual State of the City address. He made no specific promises, and gave no timeline, but said the issue was one of accessibility to the Market and public safety, pointing to the New Orleans rampage this year where a motorist drove his pickup through a New Year’s crowd, killing 15 people on popular Bourbon Street.
Callie Craighead, Harrell’s spokesperson, said the mayor directed city departments to “explore solutions” before the FIFA World Cup comes to Seattle next year.
Harrell has met with Market leaders, and will be part of an April meeting convened by the Pike Place Market Preservation & Development Authority that will include 60 people representing the Market’s 200 commercial tenants, 500 craftspeople and 450 residents, as well as the City Council, the city’s Transportation Department and Seattle Neighborhood Greenways.
