CHS heard some recent rumbling that Liberty Bar on 15th Ave E had been forced to remove its trademark red umbrella. Indeed, the umbrella that you can see in the picture attached to this post is no longer present. We talked to Liberty who told us some more about the situation and then contacted the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) and received the following explanation from Marybeth Turner, SDOT’s media liaison:
Liberty Coffee, Seattle
Originally uploaded
by LadyDucayne
SDOT received several complaints about this umbrella being too low and that pedestrians were colliding with it on a relatively narrow but busy sidewalk. While Liberty does have a valid permit for tables and chairs on the sidewalk, the permit does not include umbrellas. On February 2 an SDOT employee went to Liberty to follow up on the complaints. In addition to the low hanging umbrella that created safety issues, the SDOT employee noticed that the business had placed extra benches near the curb not included in their permit, leaving insufficient space for safe pedestrian travel. She spoke to the manager about the complaint and provided a written warning that did not involve a fine.
Within two weeks SDOT received another complaint. On February 28 the SDOT employee returned to the café and verified that both the umbrella and the extra benches were still in the same locations. At that time SDOT issued a $250 citation. While the city encourages activity on city sidewalks that increases the vibrancy of the area, it must be done in a way that allows pedestrians to safely use the nearby sidewalk space.
FTLOG!!! Don’t people have anything better to do??
Which people are you referring to? The people who complained or the people who violated their permit?
I hope the city continues to crack down on businesses that use the public right of way as their own property. Permitted use is fine, but give ’em an inch and they take a mile.
While I am at it, cheers to the City for reclaiming park land from homeowners claiming THAT as their own, too.
The extra benches were pretty lame. Ugly and sloppy construction, jutting out a few inches from the planter boxes, easy to bump into.
I like Liberty and go there sometimes, but I think they blew it on this one. Not a big deal, stupid mistakes happen. They should just fix it quickly and move on.
Right. I’m all for great outdoor seating, but not at the expense of the pedestrians just trying to get by.
or the people who posted this! :)
dude – lay off my post!
People are out and about a lot in summer – they have to be able to use the sidewalks.
Thanks city, too much is too much in this case.
We all pay for the sidewalks and whatever upkeep can be done, along with businesses who apply for their use — with rules attached.
Totally agree with Greg: Liberty should simply adjust to the rules they agreed to uphold and be better neighbors.
“Ma’am, I’m going to have to issue you a citation for blocking the sidewalk with your umbrella.”
“Who are you, the fuckin’ sidewalk police?”
“Yes.”
Has anyone walked by Julia’s on Broadway? Those umbrellas are something to behold. Two people CANNOT walk on the sidewalk in front of Julia’s because of their outside seating and jutting umbrellas that overlap into pedestrian walkways and nearly poke me in the eye every time I walk by. So I’m having a hard time fathoming how a single umbrella can draw such complaints. Also, speaking of pedestrian walkways and access, I’m still not sure how Cafe Presse was allowed to build their monstrosity of a deck out front and have it be legal. I watched a guy in a wheelchair try to navigate around it last week and he literally couldn’t. It’s totally not handicap or pedestrian friendly. It’s just an eyesore along with the horribly designed bike rack out front. Like I said, a single umbrella warrants a 250.00 fine? Someone needs to alert the police to the issues at Julia’s and Presse then. Because there are bigger fish to fry.
I’ve walked by Liberty a ton of times and never noticed any obstruction. I could be biased by the fact that I like the establishment, I suppose.
I agree. There are many bigger fish to fry. I like Liberty’s benches (although yes, sloppy construction)…although umbrellas lower than 7 or 8 feet should not be allowed. I almost got my eye poked out at several spots in Seattle.
Try and navigate the mob outside the volunteer park cafe on the weekend. Horrible. Like cows lose on the sidewalk, spilling out into the street (including Galer). mmmmmoooooooooooooooooo!
I like Liberty and go there, but I have to agree about the umbrella. I’m only 5’7 and I remember almost getting poked a few times. It’s worse when there is a group of people coming at your from the other side and you move over a little to accommodate.
Simple logic would say that if they would have just stuck a brick under the umbrella and moved it up a few inches then there probably wouldn’t have been the complaint in the first place!
And ditto for the Julia’s umbrellas too.
Thanks, I was going to mention Julia’s specifically because I’ve often been close to being skewered by their umbrellas. So does everyone need an umbrella permit, or is it a case that the Liberty is the only place receiving complaints?
This represents everything wrong with Seattle. Seriously, get the fuck over it. It’s not like its causing pedestrian pile ups. Who can’t maneuver through there? I walk past daily and nightly with no issues. With friends mind you. None of us had never even paid any attention to it actually. You really have to be looking for something to complain about if you are complaining about situations like this.
You really have to be looking to complain about other people complaining.
Hard to believe someone could be so petty minded. I’d actually prefer to think it was one of the competing bars.
Not as petty-minded as commenting about it being petty-minded.
Even worse is me commenting about it being petty-minded to comment about it. Only a small matter of degrees though.
Sidewalk cafes are are a great asset. A city cannot have too many of them. 15th Avenue has some nice examples, Cafe Ladro, Olympia Pizza, Victrola among them. Liberty has done little more than set up a smoking area some 10-12 feet from their front door.