Celebration in Downtown Port Angeles

We've all spent months fuming and complaining about the downtown sidewalk construction and the traffic jams. And now TGIF. Thank Goodness It's Finished.

That's the name of the celebration in downtown Port Angeles this Saturday, May 3rd. If you've been avoiding downtown because of all the hassles, now it's time to come back.

Saturday's events will be at First and Laurel, starting at 2 p.m. Carnival games, hot dogs being grilled, ribbon cutting ceremony, free cake, drawing for a grand prize (harbor cruise aboard the Victoria Express).

At 6:30 p.m.: the beer garden opens and there'll be a street dance (music by DJ Dizzie Richie).

Click here for complete details.

Downtown Port Angeles A Mess

Well, it worked. Let’s see, we’ll tear down both of the Eighth Street bridges at the same time. This will funnel all cross-town traffic through downtown Port Angeles. Then, at the same time, we’ll schedule the construction work on our downtown $14 million bus depot.

And that’s not all: Let’s also schedule downtown sidewalk construction at the same time, so that the main 2-lane streets can be narrowed to one lane. Everyone who's trying to get from Point A to Point B will have to go downtown, and when they get there they’ll have to sit in a traffic jam. A Perfect Storm.

One merchant on Front Street said he asked several weeks ago how long that lane on Front Street would be closed, and they told him “two more weeks.” A few days ago they told him again “two more weeks.” Next summer they’ll probably be saying “two more weeks.”

And now apparently several state regulations prohibit the city government from providing any economic assistance to downtown merchants whose businesses are suffering as a result. Too bad there weren’t any state agencies to intervene when Port Angeles was scheduling all of these projects for the exact same time.

Christmas in Downtown Port Angeles

Downtown Port Angeles is all done up for the Holiday Season. The trees are all strung up with those winter lights, the wreaths are up and most downtown merchants have their stores decorated.

And don’t forget the Christmas Tree Lighting will be this Saturday.

When you're in town, check out the Landing Mall. Their open air market is up and running, and more vendors will be setting up their booths. (It’s on the first floor of the Landing.)

As one local advertisement keeps saying: Who needs the shopping mall when you have Downtown Port Angeles? Come on down.

Sicko comes to Port Angeles

Sicko is now playing at the Lincoln Theater in downtown Port Angeles. This is the must-see of the summer. I have no idea how long it will be here; it started this past Friday.

It seems like every time we get a generic boy-meets-girl movie or The Hills Have Eyes XXXVIII it stays here for weeks and weeks. It's hard to tell how long a quality film like Sicko will be here, so check it out while you can.

Save Those Gas $$$$$

If you're nineteen or under, you don’t need to keep pouring money into your gas tank. Clallam Transit is offering a summer-long Youth Pass (ages 6 through 19) for $10. No, that’s not a typo. A $10 pass will get you all over Clallam County between now and the Saturday before Labor Day.

Sure you'd rather drive than ride the bus, but with gas prices going through the roof, think of the money you can save.

Clallam Transit is also offering discount monthly bus passes to all Downtown Association members and their employees. The price of these passes has been reduced by more than 75%, and the passes are good for everywhere within Clallam County. To get one of these bus passes, go to the Family Shoe Store on West Front Street, P.A. This is where you get the coupons from Clallam Transit that you'll need. With these coupons you can get your bus pass at either Washington Mutual (Front and Laurel) or at the Transit System office.

Downtown Port Angeles business owners and employees are encouraged to use the parking lot at Zak's (West Front Street, downtown P.A.). You'll need a permit, but this will free up more street parking for downtown shoppers. The DNR parking lot — West of Oak Street, between the transit mall and the estuary — is also up and running and ready to be used (permit only).

P.S. — Bravo to all Port Angeles merchants who are accepting Canadian currency and have a sign in their windows indicating this. Merchants who are doing this have reported an increase in sales.