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).
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