Rain? What rain? See what Delridge, Pigeon Point volunteers did

Story and photos by Keri DeTore
Reporting for West Seattle Blog

Next rainy morning you commute – by car OR bike – those huge puddles may be a little less prevalent, thanks to the efforts of some of your West Seattle neighbors this morning: Before the wind and rain took a break, intrepid community members turned out in force in northeast West Seattle this morning to rake leaves from sidewalks and gutters, clear drains, and collect trash.

Rose Feliciano, who lives near the Pigeon Point portion of the bike trail, has been trying to keep it clear of leaves since her bicycling friends mentioned “the path is getting smaller!” Additionally, through the city’s Adopt-a-Drain program, Rose has been working to maintain a clear drain at Delridge and 23rd –the site of the West Seattle Bridge onramp. Unfortunately, she didn’t get out there quite soon enough yesterday morning to beat the BMW that drove through the deep puddle, stalling their engine. She notes: “It doesn’t take much for those drains to get clogged.”

After posting a request for help on the Pigeon Point Neighborhood Council e-mail group asking for leaf-raking assistance on the bike path today, she was joined by three more volunteers including Andy and Andre (photo above). Rose will be continuing her efforts until the trees have finished dropping their leaves. And her group wasn’t the only one out in northeast West Seattle this morning:

The North Delridge Neighborhood Council not only meets monthly but also gathers four times a year for Adopt-a-Street street cleaning. In their efforts today, they’ve also joined the Adopt-a-Drain program and before the group set off with their bright yellow bags, leader of the Adopt-a-Street program Nancy Folsom asked volunteers to “Check for drains as you go.”

They are also focusing on clearing street gutters for bicyclists. As part of the Adopt-a-Drain and Adopt-a-Street programs, the city provides plastic bags to the volunteers, then sends out a truck to pick up the full bags. (For more info on Adopt-a-Drain, go here; for more on Adopt-a-Street, go here.)

13 Replies to "Rain? What rain? See what Delridge, Pigeon Point volunteers did"

  • Al November 7, 2009 (3:33 pm)

    As a cyclist who uses this route pretty much every weekday, THANK YOU!

    BTW: I’m working on getting SDOT or someone to clean up the bike path along Alaskan…hopefully this week that area will be better too.

  • Kelly K November 7, 2009 (3:37 pm)

    Thank You Rose!! I am always terrified to bike that section of trail/sidewalk when it’s covered with wet leaves. You are one of the reasons I love living in West Seattle–great neighbors.

  • RogerThat November 7, 2009 (5:07 pm)

    I saw this cleanup happening while I was working at Skylark Cafe today. I was so sure I was going to see a pile-up on the ramp where cars tend to rev up to 50 mph or more to get on the bridge and then see the huge pool of water, slow down quickly to avoid hydroplaning, and all the cars behind screech to a halt. Thanks for helping these guys make it to the bridge safely!

  • Dawson November 7, 2009 (6:11 pm)

    As bike commuter. Thanks to all of you for raking the leaves on the path here. I was going to take a few hours and do it myself, but you beat me to it.

  • Rainrider November 7, 2009 (6:46 pm)

    Rose–what a giving person you are! Just so you all know, Rose is an amazing Ironman triathlete, and she not only races, she also supports her teammates and fellow riders by giving of her time in many ones, on example is to SAG for them during 100+ mile bike rides as they prepare for Ironman Cozumel-for the Captain Jacks Tri Club http://www.everydayathlete.us/CJTC.htm…rain or shine. Reading this about her looking out for the riders in this way on the trail is no surprise-I just feel I can learn a lot from her. Thanks for your example of serving Rose!

  • Eric November 7, 2009 (6:55 pm)

    Hey, that’s my sister!!! She’s famous now!

  • Lisa K November 7, 2009 (8:34 pm)

    Thank you!!

  • Angelie R. November 8, 2009 (7:49 am)

    What a great way to meet people in your neighborhood, give back to the community and get a great workout. The best part it didn’t take all day to do and you feel a sense of accomplishment. I recommend this activity to all of my Delridge neighbors.

  • Mike D. November 8, 2009 (9:27 am)

    Thank you Nancy Folsom for being the ongoing driving force behind organizing the quarterly Adopt-A-Street clean-ups of Delridge Way! The provided coffee and snacks were an added plus.

    I think the rain actually made this the most exhilarating Adopt-A-Street yet! Nancy, Jake, Viola, David, Angelie, Viola, Mimi and Holli are all true Seattleite’s for not letting a little wind and water keep them indoors-:)

  • Nancy F, November 8, 2009 (1:26 pm)

    Adding to the love fest here. I gotta thank everyone who was out doing clean up yesterday. It was not the most pleasant weather, and it took an extra effort for everyone to leave warm cozy houses to clean up the neighborhood.

    Edited to add: after doing the NDNC clean up for 3 years now, we’re noticing the difference it makes to do clean up regularly. Hopefully we can get enough people helping that we can do it more often. 30+ thousand vehicles a day pass through. It’s a lot of people to impress either positively or negatively.

  • Chris November 8, 2009 (1:50 pm)

    Thank you for clearing the path! Every cyclist that comes through there deeply appreciates keeping us safe.

  • Aaron November 8, 2009 (9:40 pm)

    Just another bike commuter saying, Thank You!!

  • John November 9, 2009 (1:04 pm)

    THANK YOU…..My bike and I are on that sidewalk almost every day and definately noticed the work you’ve done. I wish the rooster was still around to enjoy his clean sidewalk………

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