Being a musician in Seattle isn’t easy. I’m not talking about how hard it is to stand out from the crowd, earn a living with your music or get a record deal. No, I’m talking about finding a place to unload the gear! Seattle launched a pilot program to ease the musicians' blues: The Priority Musicians Parking Program.
Whenever you're at a concert, take a look at all the instruments on stage. Many musicians have complained about receiving parking tickets because they were parked too long at a loading and unloading zone. They say it’s impossible to carry all their gear inside in such a short period of time. Often they have to park a couple of blocks down. These complaints reached the Seattle Department of Transportation, who decided to make the working conditions of the musicians a bit better.
Five venues participate in the pilot program. This means that near these venues, loading and unloading zones are modified with an added sign saying “Priority Musicians Loading & Unloading” to create priority parking for musicians.
(City of Seattle image)
The city does not intend to enforce these regulations – the sign are merely symbolic and are a way of letting people know that this parking zone is in front of a venue, and that musicians use it to unload their gear – to create some understanding and encourage the local music scene.
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