Andy Cote and his neighbors on SW Portland Court [map] call it “The Hole.”
It’s not anything close to the size of the West Seattle development excavation that held that title for years. But they’re having trouble understanding why it hasn’t been fixed. The city claims that it addresses road holes quickly. Andy says he’s been reporting this one for three years. But it’s not shown on the city’s pothole map – either as fixed or as pending.
We talked with him and his neighbors this morning, as the return of summer sunshine showed it in all its glory.
This one isn’t a deep hole. The problem is that it’s a spot in the road where the pavement has literally eroded away.
Among the handful of homes on their cul-de-sac, two residents require wheelchairs, and they have a problem too – no curb cuts.
What curbs they do have, are also crumbling. They wonder if development just to the east, with a retaining wall built five years ago, is to blame. Whatever it is, they say, it’s nothing they have any control over, and since the city owns the road and sidewalks, they’re looking for a little help.
And what burns a bit – neighbor Hillairee says SDOT will “show up for something we haven’t bugged them about.” Like, if “sidewalk closed” signs related to work nearby nearby are moved. (Portland Court is just off 26th SW, which leads directly to Denny International Middle School and adjacent Chief Sealth International High School down the block to the south.)
So this week, they put out a call for help – to City Councilmember Lisa Herbold, among others, and cc’d us. Andy explained in the note, “Our cul de sac is crumbling. I am assuming it was paved one time in the early 1950s. With the 8 houses on the cul de sac and the multiple deliveries coming and going every day with the changing retail environment, the pavement is gone in a spot. If that spot is not corrected soon, the entire bottom portion of the cul de sac will be gravel. Already there is a 6 foot square that can no longer be pavement.”
Not long after we stopped by this morning to talk with neighbors by The Hole, Andy e-mailed to say that they had received a reply from Herbold, who said she’s sorry he hasn’t heard from SDOT, and added:
By the way of this email, I am bringing this situation directly to the attention of Scott Kubly, Director of the Department of Transportation, as well as Elliot Helmbrecht, the Department of Transportation liaison to the Seattle City Council. Director Kubly and his staff are best equipped to address this problem.
Will they? We’ll be following up.
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