(WSB photo, March 4)
Now that Interim Fire Station 29 is up and running on the 44th/Ferry/Hill triangle – barely a block north of where permanent FS 29 is getting quake-safety upgrades – the Admiral Neighborhood Association took a look at its future during this month’s meeting:

The site’s fate couldn’t be resolved in one night, ANA president David Whiting cautioned, but he voiced hopes that ANA will be the organization convening the neighborhood to talk about the site’s future post-fire station. The city departments with which he had been talking weren’t able to send reps to the ANA meeting (held this past Tuesday) but they had told him that post-fire-station plans so far include tree replanting, soil amendment with organic materials, and reseeding.

Some of the site’s neighbors were at the meeting, including John, who had led the efforts to ensure the city was aware of concerns, including inviting Councilmember Tom Rasmussen to a weekend-morning on-site meeting shortly after the plan came to light. Though they’ve all heard the city say it wants to restore the site, he warned that it will be vital for the neighbors to make sure the city is accountable and lives up to its word.

Another neighbor, Ted, brought up the cautionary tale of the rancor that erupted when improvements were considered for the triangle during the California Place Park proposal vetting years ago. The simplest of improvements would be unlikely to stir up something like that, it was suggested – maybe a drinking fountain and a bench or two

Neighbor Sonya said she hoped it would revert to open space where kids can play. She and others also expressed hope there’ll be a source of water to take care of grass and trees once the station’s gone. Also discussed: Possible curb installation, and help from SDOT working with potholes and other rough surfacing on the roads around the triangle.

The interim fire station could be in place for up to a year, per the city, so this topic will come back some months down the road.

CITY COUNCIL CANDIDATE: While ANA had expected two of the 11 District 1 candidates to stop by to speak to the group, Shannon Braddock showed up but Brianna Thomas, also billed in advance, did not. (Phillip Tavel also was there, but wasn’t on the agenda to speak or take questions.)

Braddock touted her Admiral neighborhood ties, including two children attending Lafayette Elementary in The Admiral District. Working with the King County Council, she said the district-election system may be new to Seattle but not to her, since that’s how county councilmembers are elected, so citizens go to the person who represents their area, and she would be excited to be part of getting that off the ground in the city.

Questions she was asked included transportation issues – does she ride Metro? one person wondered. Yes, she said, three times a week. Would the newly added bus service – funded by new Seattle tax dollars – add to congestion? On the contrary, she said, more bus service means more transit riders and fewer cars on the street, so less congestion. The never-built monorail came up briefly, as Braddock noted, while discussing density and housing, that we’re living with a plan that included a transit mode that never came to pass.

Asked about the Terminal 5 lease controversy, she said she didn’t think there was much the city could do, but she thought Mayor Murray was doing the right thing by keeping pressure on the port.

(Note: If you see this overnight Friday into Saturday, remember the VIEWS-presented candidate forum starts at 10 am – after optional by-donation 9 am breakfast – at the Senior Center of West Seattle.)