Get the message out: How one interpreter navigated Seattle when bad weather struck

Andy Gault had a rough commute this week.

The freelance interpreter got a call that a sign-language interpreter was needed for Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan’s press conference Tuesday morning. The mayor's office needed to brief the public on the city's response to an expected blast of cold, snowy weather.

But Gault ran — literally — into layers of Seattle's transportation disruptions. Such disruptions included the icy weather and transit construction projects.

Gault said he tried to take a Lyft from his building in South Lake Union, but the app told him there’d be a long wait. So he decided to run to the light rail station at Westlake.

“I ran to Westlake, and then I got a message saying they want you there at 10 a.m., not 10:30 a.m.,” Gault said.

The light rail line through Seattle is currently on a modified schedule as crews work on a new connection to the East Link line. The project is slated to take 10 weeks and has trains running every 12 minutes instead of the usual six minutes.

Amid this disruption at the Westlake station, Gault learned it would be an unusually long, 15-minute wait for the next southbound train.

Without rideshare or light rail in a pinch, Gault resorted to the next available option — his feet. He ran the rest of the way to the press conference at 5th and Yesler.

“Technically, I ran from South Lake Union,” Gault said.

He finished his nearly two-mile run in time, if a bit sweaty and out of breath.

“It was a challenge to get here,” Gault said.

After patting himself down with some paper towels, then waiting with the assembled press for the mayor’s belated arrival, he got to work, visually communicating the city’s key snowstorm messages:

• Keep your sidewalks clear and your devices charged.
• Extra cold-weather shelters are available for the homeless.
• Commuters should stay home if they can.
• If you must travel, allow a lot more time and, not unlike Andy Gault, be prepared for surprises.