(upbeat music) - Welcome to "The Newsfeed."

I'm Paris Jackson.

Changes are afoot at one century-old Seattle landmark.

With more people on foot, at least that's the hope.

Since April, unauthorized cars are now restricted on streets near Pike Place Market with some exceptions.

We went to the market to get a sense of what people think about the car ban.

(pedestrians chattering) As the summer rolls in through Seattle, Pike Place Market is bustling as usual.

But with one less staple.

- It's more devoid of the people who are driving in and long lines of cars.

(traffic humming) - [Paris] Temporary road close signs flank the market between Pike and Pine Streets.

Ushering a new era after a decades-long debate over banning cars.

(people cheering and laughing) - And I'm really surprised that there's no traffic here in this street.

Because it's really cool to take pictures without the jam of the traffic.

(luggage wheels rustling) - [Paris] That enthusiasm is what the market says it's aiming to garner more of from out-of-towners and locals, too.

Now visitors to the market can begin their trek at the new waterfront park, which is entering their first summer after a lengthy revitalization since a 2019 Alaskan Way Viaduct demolition.

Pike Place Market Preservation and Development Authority says last year the market saw 20.3 million visitors.

And for the first quarter of 2025, visitor traffic was up 6.5%.

(gentle street music) - [Pedestrian] Keep going straight that way?

- On your right hand side.

- [Pedestrian] Thank you.

- Thank you.

- 20 feet.

- [Paris] Meantime, Jay Molitor works at Frank's Quality Produce.

While he favors the pilot car ban, he does understand fellow vendors frustration with it.

- I'm interested to see what it looks like three months in, two months in.

I personally like not having to argue with people in parking.

Like when my deliveries arrive, I don't have to cordon off any space for that to happen.

I've heard like my coworkers argue that without the traffic in the street, pedestrians are not kind of congested onto the sidewalk.

And when they're all walking on the street, they're not walking past our displays.

And you know, I've heard that argument for other vendors, as well.

- [Paris] Bob Messina, a long time supporter of the iconic attraction, frequents market meetings.

- You always see today as one way.

We may see another type of closure coming up and I don't know what that's gonna be.

They call it test and learn.

They wanna learn from all these little phases.

This is not a permanent thing right now.

And they're gonna be gathering data and telling the market community and the wider community what we've learned.

This is a prelude to having the market in 2026 car-free for the World Cup, at least.

We have to see how that all ends up.

- The car restrictions are slated to last through the summer.

And permanent changes will be considered after that.

(gentle music) Congratulations are in order here at Cascade PBS.

Our organization has received 13 2024 Northwest Regional Emmy Award Nominations from NATAS.

One of the coveted nominations included Overall Excellence for Cascade PBS.

The winners will be announced at the Northwest Chapter NATAS Emmy Awards Gala Event on June 7th.

(gentle music) I'm Paris Jackson, thank you for watching "The Newsfeed."

Your destination for non-profit Northwest news, go to cascadepbs.org for more great local coverage.

(upbeat music)