SDOT Delays Response, Denies Permit Just One Week Before Event Due to Biz Opposition

[Reposting without link to sign petition because that post got deleted by auto mod–see comment below]

An update from the Car-free ave pilot organizers regarding the denied permit, due to business opposition.
Action network to tell the city/mayor have SDOT to grant the permit for the remaining two summer Saturdays planned for early September.

[Text from second image below:]

An Update on The Ave for All Pilot

We have some disappointing news to share, and we want you to hear it directly from us. The City of Seattle’s Special Events Committee has denied our permit application for The Ave for All street closure events planned for May 30 and June 6. The events are cancelled for those dates. The Committee acknowledged that our outreach plan met all notification requirements and raised no concerns about our operational planning. The denial was based on vocal opposition from a small number of businesses outside of the closure route, submitted late in the review process. We want to be transparent: we have serious concerns about how that opposition was represented to the Committee. We will share updates as we learn more.

What has not changed is why we are doing this.

The U District is one of Seattle’s most dynamic neighborhood centers and one of its most underserved, with a documented deficit of more than five acres of public open space that a car-free street can begin to address. It is home to thousands of residents, students, workers, and small businesses navigating an era of rapid change. A more walkable, more welcoming University Way is not a radical idea. It is what folks have been asking for, consistently and repeatedly. At the U District Street Fair alone, more than 3,300 people voted for this vision across 2022, 2024, and 2026. That kind of sustained community support does not disappear because of a single permit decision.

The Special Events Committee has invited us to submit an amended application for later this fall, and we intend to do exactly that. We are committed to bringing The Ave for All pilot to University Way, done right, with the community it was built for.

Here is how you can help right now:

• Sign our petition of support
• Write a letter to the Mayor (ActionNetwork)
• Follow us for updates on the rescheduled pilot at TheAveForAll.org

This is a setback. It is not the end. Thank you for being part of this.

-The Ave for All Organizers

(Posting for a friend, I am not an organizer with The Ave for All)

Sorry again for repost–auto-mod deleted the original post for links.