FOLLOWUP: Fairmount Ravine neighbors’ 26th annual cleanup, beneath and atop the bridge

(First two photos courtesy Fairmount Ravine neighbors)

Back on Thursday, we previewed the 26th annual Fairmount Ravine cleanup, and neighbors’ plans to hold the city accountable for taking care of the publicly owned greenspace and right-of-way. Above are the volunteers who showed up to pitch in on Saturday, including Matt Algieri, who tells us how it went:

15 interested area residents each donated three hours of their time, cutting ivy from trees, cleaning Admiral Way Bridge sidewalks and removing garbage and debris from under the bridge.

There was a lot of garbage under the East side of the bridge, more than we anticipated. That generated most of the 40 bags of garbage collected and shown in the pictures.

Many ravine trees had ivy removed, ensuring their health and vitality, and both bridge sidewalks are now clean and clear. 15 people working three hours gets a lot of work done!

One note, Seattle Public Utilities sent a crew at 8:30 AM Saturday morning, the start time of Ravine cleanup, to paint over graffiti under the bridge. Yes, 8:30 am, the Saturday before Easter. John Lang asked a person, who we believe was the crew supervisor, about the crew’s work and timing of the work order for this work, and did not get a specific answer. In any case, we worked around the crew and experienced no problems.

Overall the event was a great success. The next step is obtaining Seattle City ownership removing garbage and debris under the bridge.

Here are links to our coverage from past years – 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008.

8 Replies to "FOLLOWUP: Fairmount Ravine neighbors' 26th annual cleanup, beneath and atop the bridge"

  • Also John April 2, 2018 (9:02 am)

    Wow….looking at that huge pile of garbage reminds me that we’re not a good steward of our planet.

    Thanks to those that picked it all up. 

  • JVP April 2, 2018 (9:08 am)

    Thank you volunteers for doing this! Both the trash cleanup and the control of invasives. Big impact in 3 hours.

  • Maria April 2, 2018 (11:04 am)

    That is great community collaboration – Thank you to all.  I am unsure what the question about the SPU crew work is though.  They do have coverage through the weekend, so if not there they’d be elsewhere.  I’d say their work complemented this service project, unless the concern is that they may have needed a clearance zone that could have impeded the volunteer work.

  • West Seattleite April 2, 2018 (1:20 pm)

     Kudos
    to the volunteers, it’s people like this that keep the city livable! What
    is left out in the story is the likely source of the trash. It doesn’t appear
    to be the sort of thing tossed out of moving cars. More likely would be
    Seattle’s myriad homeless denizens. Part of being good planetary stewards
    entails facing reality, something our Mayor and city council refuses to
    do.       

    With millions
    of tax dollars going to support the homeless it isn’t heartless to expect
    those that can to clean up after themselves and while they’re at it cut/pull
    some ivy; maybe with the direction of neighbors such as these. Hey I’d
    volunteer for that. What’d ya  say Mayor
    Durkan? Bring your gloves.

     

    • WSB April 2, 2018 (2:33 pm)

      We have reported on this for a decade (see links at story’s end), and the cleanups have been going on for a quarter-century. Yes, some people have lived under the bridge. Also, there’s been a lot of trash over the years left by people partying there who likely do have roofs over their heads, elsewhere. There’s also illegal dumping and people throwing trash out car windows, more likely from housed people than unhoused people. – TR

      • West Seattleite April 3, 2018 (9:59 pm)

        I truly appreciate your response to my post TR. Your points are noted. I don’t know the specifics of this site. I do however see the blight throughout the city and beyond as does every reader of this blog. My point remains nonetheless; the city would be better off, even for the homeless, if  those (that can) do something in return for the millions being spent on their behalf. Why is that so objectionable?

  • Rob B April 2, 2018 (10:56 pm)

    Thanks to the volunteers who helped! I’d like to participate in the future – how does one learn about it ahead of time and “register?”

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