Seattle is bracing for major traffic bottlenecks this weekend, including lane closures on the Interstate 90 bridge and a shutdown of the Alaskan Way Viaduct, in addition to a closure of Sound Transit’s light rail service to downtown Seattle.
But no worries, said the Washington State Department of Transportation, there are “no major events this weekend,” so it’s all good.
No major events, that is, except for the sold-out Emerald City Comicon, which is expected to draw more than 80,000 people to the Washington State Convention Center from Friday through Sunday for panels, celebrities and, yes, lots of cosplay.
As reported by MyNorthwest.com, Comicon attendees are feeling slighted by the closures, and especially the suggestion that theirs is not a “major event.”
https://twitter.com/AirBubbles/status/580198383475765249
WSDOT clarified that it major sporting events bring tens of thousands of people at once, whereas conventions that take place over multiple days spread the traffic out.
https://twitter.com/wsdot/status/580388802994180097
Even so, as reported by MyNorthwest, the transportation department has removed the offending “no major events” quote from its news release about the closures.
For what it’s worth, the size of the Comicon crowd shouldn’t have been a surprise to WSDOT. Check out this tweet from two years ago.
https://twitter.com/wsdot_traffic/status/373484148758806528
So who’s “socially awkward” now?