TONIGHT: West Seattle Junction parking-lot safety walk

This week’s removal of two bus shelters in The Junction traces back to an October tour that kicked off a “problem-solving” process. Another walking tour is tonight, and West Seattle Junction Association executive director Lora Swift says all are welcome. The focus this time is on the Junction’s parking lots on 44th SW and 42nd SW, in particular, issues such as lighting, but if you have other Junction safety concerns/questions/comments, bring those too. The group will meet at 5 pm in the lot behind KeyBank at California/Alaska.

anonyme December 22, 2016 (1:11 pm)

Based on the results of the last “problem solving” tour, we should next expect that all the lighting be removed from the parking lots. If you can’t see the crime happening, it doesn’t exist – right? Or maybe just remove all the parking…or stop all bus service to the Junction.

Or….ENFORCE.THE.DAMN.LAW.

I posted this a short time ago based on observations just this morning:

Update! Shocking news!! The crew has moved across the street to the
#22 shelter behind the bank. It took less than 48 hrs. Who would
have freaking guessed? (Answer: everyone but Metro.)

It gets better. I insisted on sitting down in the shelter, meaning
the drunk woman had to move her beer cans. She then proceeded to tell
me her life story, including how she could not return to her native
Canada due to a felony warrant. Hard to tell if the warrant was here or
in Canada, but she said she’d be arrested at the border for “having to
defend my life”. In other words, assault or worse. She went on to say
that her tribal chief would not allow her back for 8-10 years. So, it’s
not bad enough that we have drunks and drug addicts taking over our bus
shelters, but drunks and addicts who are also violent felons.

Thank you Metro for your GENIUS non-solution to the problem. A half squished maggot could have come up with a better idea.

Just Wondering December 22, 2016 (2:09 pm)

If drinking alcohol in public is against the law should you have called 911?

anonyme December 22, 2016 (3:06 pm)

No. It is not an emergency, it is a chronic issue. Police patrols were to have increased to deal with it. As past police involvement has done nothing to curb the problem, why would a 911 call make a difference? If an arrest would have been made, maybe this (and other felons) would have been held on outstanding warrants. Probably not; call me cynical, to say the least.

WSB December 22, 2016 (3:11 pm)

If it’s happening now, it’s a 911 call. You’re certainly under no obligation to make it, but just to clarify, yes, that IS a 911 call, per police. They might not have had anyone to respond… or might have happened to have someone around the corner. I don’t know which agencies will be represented at tonight’s 5 pm tour but if city and/or transit PD are there, we’ll ask if any citing has been going on. – TR

Lez December 22, 2016 (5:00 pm)

But it worked at 3rd and Pine so well Metro just had to build on that success…

Erithan December 22, 2016 (8:45 pm)

Very glad to see some attention here and junction in general(excluding the shelter thing…)

I think it would help immensely simply to have a patrol come by the lot(I know we’re short on police), more lights I doubt would deter much as currently a lot goes on in and around the lot, and calls in are rarely fruitful. The lot is extremely bright with the signs from close by apartment/condo buildings to……and construction…and delivery trucks… *sigh*

sorry for wording still unwell, and hard to type on phone.

Erithan December 22, 2016 (8:48 pm)

Er to clarify, I’m speaking of the lot on 42nd, which another jerk just screamed right out of…bleh

WestCake December 22, 2016 (11:00 pm)

I see the same sketchy people down there as I did before the shelter was removed.

Olive December 23, 2016 (10:13 am)

Oh I dunno, maybe advocate for outreach services, accessible chemical dependency treatment and affordable housing.

You can chase people around the city removing benches and bus shelters but it does nothing to improve anyone’s quality of life.

Homeless folks with chronic chemical dependency and/or mental health issues are citizens too.

I can’t believe anyone would complain that an individual made conversation with another. It’s called community, and you don’t have to own a home to be a part of it.

Happy holidays!

anonyme December 23, 2016 (11:11 am)

When the conversation includes an admission by a stranger to what sounded a lot like murder, I don’t call that “community”. The same individual claimed to own property, which she could not access due to her status as a CRIMINAL. It is unacceptable when the interests of criminals are placed above those of law abiding “citizens” .

You can put on your rose-colored PC blinders, hold your hands over your ears, and sing “Tra-la-la la-la” all you want, but a reality check is what is needed.

Jon December 23, 2016 (2:14 pm)

Agreed. And everyone should be careful when engaging with anyone who says things like that. In the past, I’ve always just tried to “well, what can you do? / you take care” my way out of those sorts of awkward encounters. You never know what’s going to set someone off; especially if they’ve got a violent past and a screw or two loose. You really shouldn’t call 911 in front of someone like that, in my opinion.

And yes, I can confirm that the “People Experiencing Homelessness / In Crisis” or whatever else we’re supposed to say to win Super Good Boy/Girl Points are now camping and littering in the doorways of apartment buildings and local businesses. For me, I don’t mind someone staying out of the rain if that’s their only option: but at least don’t throw your alcohol containers and litter everywhere when there are trash cans all along the street.

So, I suppose not much has changed besides losing two bus shelters to stay out of the rain and having the same crowd of people just spreading out around the neighborhood.
Double Dub Resident December 23, 2016 (4:29 pm)

Exactly

Sorry, comment time is over.