@ Admiral Neighborhood Association: Don Armeni speed bumps, 4th of July Parade, and more

The biggest news at last night’s Admiral Neighborhood Association meeting was word of speed bumps on the way to another waterfront trouble spot. That was revealed during this month’s SPD briefing:

SOUTHWEST PRECINCT BRIEFING: Community Police Team Officer Jon Flores was at ANA to talk with attendees. He brought stats:

In Admiral, residential burglaries are down 7 percent year to year; 16 have been reported so far this year, compared to 23 by this time last year. Car prowls have been a big issue and year to date the numbers are up, 61 in Admiral year to date as of today, 41 to this time last year. The precinct is proactively patrolling West Seattle hotspots, including undercover – “you won’t see us there, but we’ll be there” – such as Lincoln Park.

Precinct commander Capt. Pierre Davis, Officer Flores said, wants people to know that the precinct is working with the Traffic Enforcement division to have patrols on Alki this summer. And he also the SW Precinct Bicycle Team is now “fully functional” and will be deployed in Admiral and Alki this summer as things get busier. In general, as summer nears, Alki becomes the area where officers also are told to be if they are not on emergency responses somewhere else, “to set the tone.”

Officer Flores added that he is working with some neighborhoods on traffic calming and ongoing problems, such as the section of Beach Drive that worked with SDOT to get the OK for speed bumps.

That’s when he mentioned that speed bumps are coming to Don Armeni Boat Ramp, as a result of coordination with Seattle Parks.

He says they’ve been ordered and it’s hoped they’ll be in place before summer really revs up. As the weather improves, Don Armeni becomes a hot spot, especially for drivers to show off, and the speed bumps should cut down on that problem. (We reported earlier this year that Don Armeni has a dock replacement coming up this fall, but it sounds like this would happen before that work.)

Speeding came up again later in the conversation with Officer Flores, and one attendee wondered about what to do if you see someone driving at high speed – is that a 911 call? If it’s happening now, yes, said Officer Flores, with the caveat that depending on what else is happening, the response might or might not be immediate. Often, though, he said, those who are so flagrantly speeding might be committing other offenses, and that means they’re of extra interest.

Also, he said, if officers (clarified 5/11) see firsthand, and note, a plate of a speeder/violator but aren’t able to pull them over, SPD could still be able to send them a ticket by mail if they get the plate number – so don’t assume that someone’s getting away with it if they don’t get pulled over.

As for neighborhood speeding issues, Officer Flores pointed people to the online info about Neighborhood Traffic Calming, which explains what you can do.

Then the ongoing issue of car prowls came up. The officer issued the same reminder you’ve repeatedly heard (and hopefully heeded) – don’t leave ANYTHING in your car. Even if you think it’s something no one would want, even if it’s a beat-up bag or other item – thieves might take the chance to smash a window or otherwise break in, just in case it’s concealing something of value.

An attendee said she had heard warnings about going to Hiawatha at night last summer. Officer Flores wouldn’t comment on park specifics but said that in general he wouldn’t recommend that anybody go out after dark by themselves. And if you are somewhere and see someone/something that looks suspicious, don’t hesitate to call 911.

4TH OF JULY PARADE: The big parade for West Seattle kids and their families is returning this year. Nicole from West Seattle Fit4Mom came to talk about the plan; they will be crowdfunding early to get donations to help support the parade, which was bigger than ever last year – an estimated 2,000 participants – and that means the permit fees will be bigger than ever this year. The parade route through North Admiral will be the same, though if it is that big again this year they might have to look at expanding the route. They would appreciate help in early community notification along the route, for example. ANA will be selling refreshments (water, popsicles, etc.) at the end-of-parade event at Hamilton Viewpoint Park, with volunteer help, as they do each year – it’s a major fundraiser for the group. (Watch for more parade info on WSB soon!)

SUMMER CONCERTS AT HIAWATHA: The new volunteers who are handling this are “close to finalizing the lineup,” ANA president Larry Wymer reported, but they weren’t able to attend the meeting.

HALA UPZONING: ANA member Diane Nelson provided an update, including from attendance at last weekend’s city-convened open house (WSB coverage here), at which, she noted, the proposed map for the Admiral Urban Village hadn’t changed. She summarized points that Admiral residents have been making at HALA-related meetings. The group is planning to send comments to the city after a discussion with the board.

“What do we want?” another attendee asked, in hopes of focusing discussion. Ensuing talk included the timeline for comment, the duration of the process before any zoning changes become official, etc.

Past ANA president David Whiting emphasized that ANA is the only group that could have a collective voice – if it doesn’t speak up, nobody’s going to. Maybe organize a community tour or a walkthrough of the potential changes, he suggested.

ANA’s message is not “no growth,” it was clarified, but rather, the importance of having growth work with the longstanding neighborhood plan.

VICE PRESIDENT: ANA finally has one: Paul Seim, an east Admiral resident whose neighborhood was just added to the organization’s jurisdiction last month.

SOUTHWEST DISTRICT COUNCIL: Past president Whiting is co-chair of SWDC and ANA’s representative there. One topic of interest from this month’s SWDC meeting was the upcoming Your Voice, Your Choice vote which projects should get city grants from what used to be the Neighborhood Park and Street Fund. Whiting says voting will start June 3rd and he could bring ballots to the June ANA meeting. President Wymer thought that sounded like a good idea.

The Admiral Neighborhood Association meets second Tuesdays most months, 7 pm, at The Sanctuary at Admiral (42nd SW/SW Lander).

11 Replies to "@ Admiral Neighborhood Association: Don Armeni speed bumps, 4th of July Parade, and more"

  • JanS May 10, 2017 (4:25 pm)

    a lot of thumbs up for the aggressive policing of the popular summer areas.  

  • Matt May 11, 2017 (6:49 am)

    If we can report excessive speeders and they will get a ticket, which is odd because what if someone is just mad and reports them, can we report handicap parking violations and have those people get a ticket.  I see a violation nearly every time I’m out with pictures to prove it. 

    • WSB May 11, 2017 (7:20 am)

      That would be a call to Parking Enforcement: https://www.seattle.gov/police/about-us/about-policing/parking-enforcement

      206-386-9012

      • Twistedindustries May 11, 2017 (8:48 am)

        Thanks.  I will give it a try although I am skeptical they will do anything about it especially if said asshole leaves before they get there.  I am super tired of people threatening me and getting in my face because I tell them that they have no right to park in a handicap spot without a placard.  The usual response is “$&@! you, your not a cop, ill just be a minute”.

        • WSB May 11, 2017 (10:18 am)

          Parking Enforcement has at least one officer stationed over here and we hear them specifically dispatched to check out specifically reported-by-the-public violators. So do give it a try.

          • SGG May 11, 2017 (11:21 am)

            Parking enforcement is non-existent.  Last year I called on a Sunday when someone had parked and blocked our driveway.  I was politely informed that there were no available officers to send, and that there would not be any available officers that day at all.  There is simply no recourse!  If someone blocks your driveway and there is no law enforcement officer to come and authorize a tow, then you live in a city with no law enforcement period.

  • Swede. May 11, 2017 (8:38 am)

    They can’t just send you a ticket for speeding in the mail! It have to be proven and documented by police. Otherwise people would get tickets left and right like ‘Matt’ pointed out from people that get pissed off on there neighbor or someone at work and just report it. 

    There are A LOT of criteria the police have to fulfill and meet even when you are caught in the act. 

    • WSB May 11, 2017 (10:16 am)

      Sorry, apparently my original verbiage looked to more than just Matt as if SPD had said anyone could send in a license plate number and have someone ticketed. NO, that was not what they said, and that was not what I meant, so I’ve just clarified it a bit above (and made a notation of clarification). What Officer Flores said was that *police* would have to get the plate, as in firsthand. However, the original 911 call still might have originated from a citizen … and he was also encouraging people to make those calls if you see some out-of-control driver. That can result in an officer seeing the violator – for example, if you call in somebody heading west/northbound on Harbor/Alki, there might be an officer further down the line who hears the dispatch and watches for the person. – TR

  • wetone May 11, 2017 (9:44 am)

     Speed bumps at a boat launch, brilliant….. once again Seattle not dealing with the problem makers and penalizing all. I PAY to use that launch and last thing I want to deal with is speed bumps when towing.  Why not put a undercover cop down there a few times and ticket or impound cars if they’re  racing around, like they used to do in the old days. Word gets out real quick… I know I grew up there ;) Worked very effectively and trouble makers left the area.  City really needs to change their thought processes dealing with non law abiding trouble makers. 

    • dsa May 11, 2017 (10:46 am)

      Oh, I guess I misread it.  I thought the speed bumps would be on the arterial.  I agree totally with Wetone.

  • rico carvee May 11, 2017 (10:29 am)

    It is beyond ridiculous that the Police advocate that people do not leave their home alone when dark.  Talk about resigning yourself to failure.  At least the Police can lie and tells us the goal is so that you can safely leave your house alone after dark, not simply admit defeat.

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