Last Friday, hours after we first reported that a woman riding her bicycle from her West Seattle job to her Georgetown home had been attacked near Spokane and East Marginal, the city promised action this week – including clearing campers encroaching on the bicycle path in the area.
We’re following up on those promises, and to start with, we met up this afternoon with the Seattle Police sergeant who leads the Navigation Team (explained here), a team of officers and outreach workers.
Sgt. Eric Zerr tells us that the “hazard” clearance does not require the 72-hour notice called for in other areas, but they have been out talking to the people in the area, so they have been warned. He said an area on the north side of Spokane with about 10 “structures” will be cleared, but is not sure if they are all currently occupied. Here’s our five-minute interview recorded in that area this afternoon:
The Navigation Team is a citywide squad. Enforcement and patroling of the area is separate, handled by local officers (this area is in the South Precinct’s jurisdiction, not the West Seattle-based Southwest Precinct). While the RV camp to the south is not being cleared, as Sgt. Zerr reiterated and as the city Human Services Department explained on Friday, a major trash cleanup is planned in the area too later this week – starting on Wednesday. We’ll be following up tomorrow on specifics of those plans.
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