(Four WS-relevant views; more cams on the WSB Traffic page)
7:34 AM: Good morning. More rain due later today.
BACK TO SCHOOL: As of today, all the local parochial schools are back in session – today is the first day for Hope Lutheran and Holy Family (whose area of Roxbury has school-zone cameras – see the enforcement schedule here).
METRO CANCELLATIONS: In our followup published last night, a King County Department of Transportation spokesperson explained that cancellations aren’t new but their efforts to notify riders via texts/tweets are, while also responding to our questions about hiring efforts, since personnel shortages are behind the cancellations. So far this morning, one announced cancellation in West Seattle, the Route 37 run at 6:46 am.
ADDED 7:55 AM – SPEAKING OF TRANSIT: Just tweeted by Amanda Kay Helmick (who co-chairs the WS Transportation Coalition and Westwood-Roxhill-Arbor Heights Community Council):
The People's response to @kcmetrobus removing the bench at Roxbury and 26th Ave SW. @westseattleblog @WSTCoalition pic.twitter.com/RmRAXDzITt
— Amanda Kay Helmick (@ak_helmick) September 2, 2015
10:12 AM: We’re following up on that bus bench, by the way. Meantime, in addition to the 49th/Graham crash we’re covering, there’s a stalled vehicle reported to be partly blocking the Admiral offramp on the westbound West Seattle Bridge – tow truck has been requested.
ADDED 2:17 PM: In subsequent tweets, Helmick had said she was told the bench was removed because homeless people were sleeping on it. Metro spokesperson Jeff Switzer cites loitering and drug dealing:
The bench in this shelter was removed April 20 at the request of Metro Transit Police due to chronic loitering and
drug dealing* in the bus shelter. Removing the bench can often discourage this type of activity in a bus shelter. We don’t like to remove any benches needed by our customers, but it is an option we use when needed to try to reduce security issues in a bus shelter that otherwise drive customers away.We’re monitoring and are open to further discussions with the community about solutions that work for this location. We’ve had two walking tours in this area with community leaders, Seattle Police and Metro Transit Police. We are always open to working with social service groups and law enforcement to address homeless and security issues beyond Metro’s control.
Metro staff were notified and plan to remove the giant rocks found in the shelter so riders don’t accidentally trip and become injured.
We covered both of those walking tours – most recently, at the end of March, about 3 weeks before the bench-removal date mentioned by Switzer; the previous one was 15 months earlier, at the end of 2013. Our coverage noted that liquor was mentioned as a problem at that bus stop – with four places to get it nearby.
2:32 PM: *Referring to the asterisk and struck-out text above – at the exact moment we were publishing that update, Switzer sent a note saying that Metro Transit Police corrected themselves in a followup note to him, saying it was alcohol, not drug dealing, that was the problem at this stop.
3:02 PM: Back to bus cancellations – just tweeted:
Transit Alert – Route 56 to Alki due to leave 3rd Av and Bell St at 3:04 PM has been canceled.
— King County Metro (@kcmetrobus) September 2, 2015
4:58 PM: Avoid Barton between Roxhill Park and the east end of Westwood Village – a potential-hazmat response has blocked off the street. Also, while this is bound to be causing some bus problems, there were more *unrelated-to-this* cancellations noted by Metro – we’re posting them here for the record:
Transit Alert – Route 56 to Alki due to leave 3rd Av and Bell St at 4:28 PM has been canceled.
— King County Metro (@kcmetrobus) September 2, 2015
Transit Alert Update – Route 55 to the Admiral District due to leave 5 Av & Wall St at 4:59 PM & 5:22 PM have been canceled this evening.
— King County Metro (@kcmetrobus) September 2, 2015
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