Pike Place MarketFront Construction on Schedule & More News

Construction on Pike Place Market’s new MarketFront is proceeding as planned (eyes on you, Bertha) even as Seattle has experienced an abnormally rainy winter. This project is the first significant expansion of the market in over 40 years and has required extensive excavation.

“The project reached a major milestone in December, with the final installation of 120 drill piers, which were sunk 45-90 feet deep into the site on the west side of Western Avenue,” said Emily Crawford of PikePlaceMarket.org in a press release. In January, the beginnings of a new 300 space parking garage were laid as well, and further progress is expected to come quickly. Sellen Construction is currently building MarketFront’s foundation with a series of beams meant to absorb the weight placed on BNSF’s train tunnel directly underneath the site.

Thus far, The Pike Place Market Foundation has raised $4.2 million of the necessary $9 million to finish MarketFront through its Pike Up! fundraising drive. “It’s the first time in 30 years the public has the opportunity to write their name into Market history, much like the tiles on the Market floor,” said Lillian Sherman, Executive Director of the Pike Place Market Foundation. If you’d like to contribute or to cement your name into the annals of Seattle’s history, you can find out more here.

Sea Breeze Farm opens Monday, February 8 near Pike Place Market. Frequenters of the farmers markets in Ballard and the University District will be delighted to know that the Vashon Island-based farm will be showing its wares seven days a week as a permanent fixture of the market. George Andrew Page III, owner of Sea Breeze, also has plans for a small, 10-seat dining area in the location, Eater Seattle reports. It should be noted that the dining portion is still pending approval. If you don’t plan on visiting the new stall near Pike Place, no worries, the farm will still be present Saturdays in the U-District and Sundays in Ballard.

Beezow Doo-doo Zopittybop-bop-bop was arrested for assaulting officer. Seriously, that’s his legal name. The man, whose given name was Jeffrey Drew Wilschke, was reported to be ripping flyers down at Evergreen State College, according to The Olympian. An Evergreen State College police officer tracked Zopittybop down, a struggle ensued and Zopittybop attempted to stab the officer with a pen. The man has since been arrested on multiple charges and is being held on $50,000 bail. You just can’t make this stuff up.

Mayor Ed Murry and City Attorney Pete Homes announced their approval of House Bill 2368. This bill is a proposal to create a two-year pilot program that allows a handful of licensed recreational marijuana shops to deliver to legal customers (21+) in the state. Illegal delivery services have blossomed since marijuana was legalized in 2012, as noted by KING 5, and this is likely an effort to halt that growth. Delivery pizza and beer night just became a whole lot more interesting.

Metro buses test alarms to improve pedestrian safety. Washington State transit authorities have installed dashboard pedestrian alarms on 38 buses in an effort to prevent further safety incidents, a report from The Seattle Times says. The alarms will flash when there are pedestrians within a bus’ blind spot.

Google to bring driverless cars to the Eastside. In a statement released on Wednesday, the Mountain View, Calif., company said a lone Lexus SUV will be cruising the streets of Kirkland, mapping as it goes. Kirkland is now the third test site for the self-driving vehicles after Mountain View and Austin, Texas.