By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Tonight’s Alki Community Council meeting tonight is scheduled to include an informational item about the Keep Alki Safe campaign opposing SDOT‘s planned changes to SW Admiral Way west of California SW.
With no date yet for SDOT’s next move, two months after the last meeting about the proposal, those with potential stakes in the proposal for lane-configuration changes on Admiral west of California are not just watching and waiting. At least two groups have met with City Councilmember Tom Rasmussen. One of them invited us to sit in.
The Keep Alki Safe group is primarily from the blocks where SDOT proposes consolidating parking on one side while removing about 200 spaces, to “encourage slower speeds and reduce collisions, as well as add a buffered bike along most of the corridor.” The meeting to which we were invited was held in a living room last week, in the 5700 block, where some of the yards held the signs they had designed and printed to let passersby know what is going on.
As much as opposing the details of the city plan, their primary concern seemed to be that SDOT wasn’t working with or even communicating with them. The agency “is blowing us off,” one neighbor declared. They asked Rasmussen to help them get a chance to voice their concerns; he promised to do what he can.
But first – he listened.
The neighbors gathered in a sunny living room in the 5700 block of SW Admiral Way, one of the stretches where SDOT’s original proposal – the only one put out publicly so far – calls for removal of parking on one side of the street.
The meeting’s host, Chris, acknowledged it had galvanized him into getting off the sidelines and into community action. Before the proposal first surfaced in a presentation to the Admiral Neighborhood Association in April (WSB coverage here), Chris said he’d just heard rumors. Then suddenly – a plan, without the city having talked to the neighbors first.
While he said it’s been a “good experience” to meet weekly with neighbors, united in one cause, on the other hand, it might even have been better, the sentiment seemed, if they hadn’t had to do that rallying at all. “This was sort of sprung on us, they didn’t seek community input and come up with a plan, they said, ‘here’s a plan’.”
Going around the room, they told their stories. He bought the house two years ago, “single-car garage, great view, great neighborhood,” was advised not to park on that side of the street – did it anyway – and in August last year, someone “went off the road, totaled (his) car in the middle of the night, and drove off.”
Neighbor Jackie said she’s had “three cars wrecked on this side of the street, always impaired drivers, in the middle of the night, who disappear.” She pointed out the Alki parking overlay, which requires at least 1 1/2 parking spaces per residence. When people come to visit Alki, they park all the way up to where SW Lander intersects. She sees it as “a social-justice issue – you’re removing access to the beach from so many people who come from (elsewhere).” She said she was doing public-disclosure requests: “I don’t think this street is as dangerous as they’ve made it out to be.”
The proposed plan cites 48 crashes along the stretch in the past four years, and neighbors cited many of the crashes predominantly taking a toll on their parked cars:
It also happened to Brent, a 26-year resident who recalled the May project meeting (WSB coverage here) at which SDOT staffers stunned the neighbors by saying they had done parking studies in winter to reach the conclusion that the proposed-for-removal on-street parking spaces wouldn’t be missed. “They didn’t sound like they knew where they were working.”
From the 5300 block, Steve said he has some alley parking, but not all his neighbors are “so lucky,” including Brenda, mother of three small children, who expressed fear that changes will require her to cross busy Admiral Way multiple times a day, while trying to protect them.
Alan said he has three grandchildren aged 6 and below, and couldn’t imagine them coming to visit, parking across the street “with all the stuff (the family has to) schlep around.”
Dan mentioned the recent Seafair Pirates Landing event on Alki (June 27th) and how bumper-to-bumper the parking was.
Events and the beach aren’t the only draw – Schmitz Preserve Park is along the project stretch, and has no parking, Chris noted.
Not everyone was focused on the parking. Joe – Jackie’s brother – said that removing the center lane would be “a disaster waiting to happen.” Overall, he felt “the folks at SDOT don’t have a clue about Admiral Way.”
A man who identified himself as pro-bicycle said he didn’t think the area would be ideal for bicycle riding even if this stretch of Admiral does get dedicated lanes. A woman describing herself as a bike commuter talked about the road’s treacherous potholes.
Chris picked it back up from there. “We don’t want to be portrayed as the NIMBY ‘don’t do that’ types,” he told Rasmussen. Unique factors, they felt, made this a bad idea, such as the sweeping curve on the hill.
After listening to the concerns, the councilmember spoke. “The neighborhood needs to know that this is (an idea) that can be win-win for both. Safety for bicycling, also addressing the needs of the neighborhood. … What’s really important is for SDOT to work with you for a design that will work with your concerns.”
At that point, he mentioned having met with “a group of your neighbors” the previous night. That was, we later confirmed, West Seattle Bike Connections, whose membership is “very supportive” of the idea to increase safety on the street, Rasmussen reaffirmed. “It’s important to come up with a design that will make the street safer.”
One neighbor voiced regret that there was a perception of antagonism between supporters and opponents of the current SDOT plan. “Did you see any common ground between us?” the councilmember was asked. His reply: “The common ground is safety.”
Subsequently asked if there’s a chance that the project could be totally scrapped, Rasmussen said, in not-so-many words, “no.”
But, the neighbors said, SDOT “has to understand the street they’re talking about,” and its variable usage – holidays, sunny weekends.
“So what can we do?” one person finally asked.
Keep working with SDOT, was Rasmussen’s reply. His promise in turn, was to ask them to “understand the neighborhoods.”
The neighbors, in turn, said they hope to “see an alternative concept,” and to see the data that SDOT comes up with regarding parking, before the city returns with another version of its plan. Rasmussen said he would ask SDOT to share information, and that he would then “consult with you in a really constructive way so hopefully they can come up with a plan that would address some of your concerns.”
At the end, it wasn’t a big ask, not a “make this go away” ask, but rather: “Anything you can do to help get our voice to the people who need to hear it” would be appreciated. “I do think it’s important for SDOT to work with you on this issue – you do have extraordinary conditions,” Rasmussen said in closing.
Hands were shaken; the city councilmember headed out, and so did we.
When we caught up with him at the 47th/Admiral signal celebration this past Tuesday night – six nights after the 57th/Admiral conversation at the heart of this story – Rasmussen said he has asked for a briefing on where this project stands at the next meeting of the council’s Transportation Committee, which he chairs. (That will be July 28th.)
Meantime, Keep Alki Safe continues collecting online petition signatures here, and as mentioned at the start of this story, it’s scheduled for discussion at tonight’s Alki Community Council meeting, 7 pm at Alki UCC Church (6115 SW Hinds).
And comments on the project – pro, con, otherwise – can be sent to its SDOT manager, Emily Ehlers, Emily.Ehlers@seattle.gov. (We’re checking with her about whether the promised midsummer traffic study has been done yet.
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