West Seattle, Washington
31 Tuesday
Quick mid-afternoon note: Exactly one month until the 11th annual West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day, 9 am-3 pm on Saturday, May 9th (coordinated by WSB since year four)! Great lineup so far – 100+ sales big and small, east to west, south to north – and registration continues for at least another week and a half (we’ll set and announce the closing date next week). If you’re planning to be part of this big day of “person-to-person recycling” by having a sale, go here to register. If not – just save the date and get ready to be out and about meeting neighbors and friends. More updates ahead!
(Photos/video by WSB co-publisher Patrick Sand)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog co-publisher
“I think we’re very lucky … to have people like this running to represent us,” 34th District Democrats chair Marcee Stone-Vekich observed after her group’s City Council District 1 candidates’ forum last night.
As we reported right after the meeting, which had standing-room-only turnout at The Hall at Fauntleroy, the 34th DDs took an informal straw poll afterward (see the results here). Their formal endorsement meeting is set for May 20th – five days after filings close, but still two and a half months before the primary that will narrow the field to two.
This was the third major forum of the campaign season (after ours in February and the VIEWS forum in March). Six of the 10 current District 1 candidates were there – Brianna Thomas, Chas Redmond, Lisa Herbold, Phillip Tavel, Shannon Braddock, Tom Koch. The organization extended invitations to all 10. One of the four who did not participate, Amanda Kay Helmick, has said that she chose not to because the 34th DDs asked participants if they were Democrats, but she is running for the non-partisan position as an independent. The other three – David Ishii, George Capestany, Pavel Goberman – have not said why they weren’t there.
Here’s our video of the entire hourlong forum:
Ahead, our notes on most of the Q/A, plus other toplines from the meeting:
(Reader photo: Car with window damage, near scene of one of last night’s gunfire incidents)
Seattle Police have just announced an arrest following last night’s string of shootings (here’s our original story). This was just posted to SPD Blotter:
A 16-year-old boy arrested this morning for pulling a gun on his family in West Seattle is also under investigation for a series of late-night drive-bys in the neighborhood.
Seattle police first received reports of gunfire around 8 pm Wednesday in the 5400 block of Delridge Way SW. Officer did not find any damage, injuries or shell casings at the scene..
Later, around 10:45 PM, police again received numerous reports of shooting, this time near 17th Ave SW and Delridge Way SW, where officers found several shell casings. Witnesses told officers a red four-door car had fled the scene, and police began searching the neighborhood for the vehicle.
As police continued their search for the gunman and red vehicle throughout the night, officers received a third report of a shooting around 11:30 PM at 23 Ave SW and SW Findlay St. Again, police found shell casings and were told a red car had sped away from the scene.
Half an hour later, at midnight, police received another report that the a red four-door car had pulled alongside another vehicle at Olson Pl SW and 4 Ave SW and fired two shots striking, the other car twice. No one was injured.
Gang Unit detectives joined patrol officers in the investigation and search for the suspect in the red car.
Finally, at 2 AM, police received a report of a domestic disturbance involving a firearm at a home in the 7700 block of 12th Avenue SW.
Officers arrived and learned a 16-year-old boy had pulled a gun on his family members. The teen reportedly pointed the gun at one victim’s head and pulled the trigger. The gun was not loaded at the time.
Police arrested the teen and seized the gun, which matched the caliber of shell casings recovered Wednesday night at several of the West Seattle shooting scenes. Officers also impounded a red Honda civic found parked near the teen’s home.
Police booked the 16-year-old into the King County Youth Service Center for investigation of domestic violence harassment. Detectives are still investigating the teen in connection with the four shootings. Police have not received any reports of injuries in any of the incidents.
Thanks to Don Brubeck for the sunrise view from the Alki Trail. A beautiful Thursday is under way…
TODDLER STORY TIME: 11:30 am at High Point Library. Free! Details here. (35th/Raymond)
GET OUT IN THE ORCHARD: 4-6 pm today and every Thursday in season, visit the Community Orchard of West Seattle and help out with urban gardening and orchard maintenance. Learn while you’re there, as explained here. North end of the South Seattle College (WSB sponsor) campus. (6000 16th SW)
Then tonight:
FIRST WEST SEATTLE ART WALK OF SPRING! While The Junction is the heart of the Art Walk, you’ll find participating venues in other neighborhoods too – including Gatewood, Sunrise Heights, and White Center. Here’s the map/venue list:
In addition to the previews you can find on the official Art Walk website, here are announcements we’ve received:
*5:30-8 pm, 20th anniversary of West Seattle Wine Cellars (6026 California SW), free tasting of French wines tonight
*6 pm, The ProletariYacht Club opens at The Building (4316 SW Othello)
*6 pm, Wallflower Custom Framing and Shooting Gallery (4735 42nd SW; WSB sponsor) features photographer Marlin Greene with Landscapes & Wildlife of Eastern Oregon and Washington
*6 pm, Hotwire Online Coffeehouse (4410 California SW; WSB sponsor) hosts artist Ginny Gensler
*6 pm at Merryweather Books (4537 California SW), book signing with Theresa McCormick
*6:30 pm at Emerald Water Anglers (4502 42nd SW; WSB sponsor), Little Edie performs, plus Writers on the Fly
*7 pm at C & P Coffee Company (5612 California SW; WSB sponsor), Mary McGough opening reception
Also tonight:
SECOND THURSDAY OUT! 6 pm at the Senior Center of West Seattle, LGBTQ event with no-host happy hour and movie (“Sordid Lives“). All welcome; no membership or RSVP required. (Oregon/California)
COMMUNITY CONVERSATION: The West Seattle/South Park rep on the School Board, Marty McLaren, has her next informal “community conversation” meeting at 6 pm tonight, West Seattle (Admiral) Library.
‘STAR TREK’ NIGHT TO BENEFIT DELRIDGE GROCERY: 7 pm at Skylark Café and Club – details here. (3803 Delridge Way SW)
‘PAJAMA GAME’ AT WSHS: The West Seattle High School Drama Club‘s current production – second-to-last chance to see it! 7:30 pm curtain time at the school theater. (3000 California SW)
MORE! on our calendar.
The West Seattle Bee Festival will be back this year! It’s the third year for the celebration surrounding the WS Bee Garden in High Point, and we just received the official flyer (above) as well as this list of highlights for the festival on Saturday, May 16th:
*The Honey Run starts at 9 am at High Point Pond, SW Juneau & 30th (no registration necessary, just show up)
*Come to Neighborhood House (6400 Sylvan Way SW) at 10 am and make your own bee or flower costume (materials and help provided) so you can march in the Kids and Pet Parade in High Point Commons Park at 11 am
*Learn about Bee-Friendly gardening, food, books and activities at the Information Fair from 11:30 am-2 pm
*Taste healthy, delicious, easy-to-prepare food at the Lunchbox Cook Off from 11:30-1:30
*Take a tour of the West Seattle Bee Enclosure (SW Graham and Lanham Pl. SW) and Garden from 11:30-2 pm, where you can buy honey from the Puget Sound Bee Keepers Association
*Kids can participate in the Bee-Ball Tournament or Field Games in Commons Park
*Music by DA Productions will fill the park. Text your request to 57682 on the day
*Crafts, henna, face painting and more…..
The first festival in 2013 launched the garden, whose backstory is here.
(Four WS-relevant views; more cams on the WSB Traffic page)
We’re on watch for Thursday. But first, our weekly feature:
THROWBACK THURSDAY, ROAD EDITION: Thanks to Alan in Highland Park for digging up more historic road views from the Municipal Archives, where we’ve been going lately to get this report into the “Throwback Thursday” online meme. Here’s what part of 9th SW in HPark looked like in 1932:
Click the image to see the page with the largest image of that scene. Alan believes it’s near SW Trenton, looking south, and points to this distinctive house as part of the evidence.
11:04 PM: If you’re in the South Delridge area and thought you heard gunfire … police report finding at least one shell casing in the area of the 9000 block of Delridge Way SW. No reports of any injuries so far. (Thanks to the person who texted the tip.)
11:15 PM: Via the scanner, we’ve heard police report also finding casings near 17th/Barton, and now officers think they are hearing shots in the distance to the southwest, possibly closer to 13th/Roxbury, where people are calling in about it. They’ve also found a car window shot out – we’ve just received a photo we’re adding atop this story.
11:42 PM: Also, reports shots were heard near Delridge and Juneau.
12:01 AM: And now in the Olson vicinity, east end of Roxbury, near Arrowhead Gardens. Helicopter alert: You might also hear Guardian One joining the search.
12:14 AM: The car they’re looking for is described (again, via scanner) as a red older 4-door Honda, possibly loud exhaust, 3-5 male teens/young adults inside. If you have any tips, call 911.
11:48 AM: Police report the overnight arrest of a 16-year-old who’s under investigation in connection with all this – we’ve published a separate update.
Seattle Council Candidates #34dems forum: Braddock, Redmond, Herbold, Koch, Tavel, Thomas – HT @WestSeattleBlog pic.twitter.com/eRgQPgiKxj
— 34th Democrats (@34dems) April 9, 2015
The 34th District Democrats‘ meeting is wrapping up, with more than half the time devoted to a candidates’ forum in the City Council District 1 race. Six of the 10 current candidates participated. We recorded it all on video and will add it along with notes later. But first: It was followed by a secret-ballot straw poll, won by Shannon Braddock with 31 cards, followed by Lisa Herbold with 17, Chas Redmond with 10, Tom Koch with 9, Brianna Thomas with 8, Phillip Tavel with 3. That is just an unofficial temperature-taking, though – the 34th DDs’ official endorsement meeting is May 20th, after filing closes.
The Port of Seattle says you will see a container ship at closed-since-last-summer Terminal 5 in West Seattle starting tonight. But it has nothing to do with the Foss lease/Shell/etc. According to an FYI note we received from spokesperson Peter McGraw: “The Hanjin Copenhagen will be at T-5 starting this evening for the next few days to address a Coast Guard requirement before leaving port.” According to MarineTraffic.com, the ship is crossing the bay right now, so should be docking at T-5 soon.
Will the city make Neighborhood Conservation Districts available as a tool for interested neighborhoods to use if they choose to preserve their “character”?
City Councilmember Tom Rasmussen has been exploring the idea for a while, presenting a briefing on a study last September, and convened a discussion at the High Point Community Center last night, the second of three around the city (the third and final one is on Phinney Ridge tonight).
One challenge: The legislation to be brought up for a council vote hasn’t been written yet. So while those in attendance had many questions, few answers were available. Here’s the slide deck that was shown:
The first round of meetings is being held primarily to gauge community interest. One point made clear: These districts couldn’t be created to stop development projects already on the drawing board. Questions focused on what would or would not be allowed in a district, and how that might affect property owners’ rights, given that in theory, one could be implemented without unanimous approval of affected owners. Would it come down to something simple like, what kind of fence you could put up? Answer: If there are guidelines for that, yes. Wouldn’t that make this something like a homeowners’ association? another attendee asked. And what about people moving into the district long after it was created?
Other questions: What disclosure will there be for property owners regarding the costs of these districts? What’s the final cost to the city, considering that if an area can be as small as a block, hundreds could spring up. (Rasmussen’s legislative assistant Evan Clifthorne said he expected this to start slowly.) Which city department would run the program? Probably the Department of Neighborhoods – but nothing’s finalized yet.
Again, lots of questions – the answers will depend on what’s in the official proposal. We asked Councilmember Rasmussen afterward about the likelihood of this making it to the finish line before, or after, he leaves office; his view is that if the council sees enough interest from citizens, they’ll carry it through, and public meetings like this one are one way to do that. (Our informal count last night was around 20.)
If you’re interested in the topic and can get to north Seattle, tonight’s meeting is at 6 pm at the Phinney Neighborhood Center, 6532 Phinney Avenue N.
SIDE NOTE: Speaking of centers, we noted that several people were confused about last night’s location (including our crew!). So many meetings are held at Neighborhood House‘s High Point Center (6400 Sylvan Way, not a city-run facility) that any mention of a “center” in High Point seems to send people there. The site of last night’s meeting is officially called High Point Community Center, a Seattle Parks-operated facility at 6920 34th SW.
(WSB photo from 2011 ‘Summer Streets’ on Alki)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
After seven years, it’s the end of the road – at least for now – for the city-presented “SDOT Summer Streets” event on Alki.
We have just confirmed that with SDOT, after noticing that no announcements or sponsorship solicitations had been circulating, though it’s just a little more than a month until the West Seattle 5K Walk/Run, which “Summer Streets” has followed since 2009.
The street festival (part of a series around the city) debuted in 2008 as “Car-Free Day” – a program announced by then-Mayor Greg Nickels and then-SDOT director Grace Crunican as part of the city’s climate-change-awareness campaign. The two West Seattleites even came to the WS waterfront to make the announcement.
(WSB photo of ‘Car-Free Day’ announcement, July 30, 2008)
That year, the city closed almost the entirety of Alki and Harbor Avenues for the first “Car-Free Day,” noon-6 on September 7th, a warm, sunny day, as is so often the case in late summer. It drew reactions from controversy to giddiness:
(WSB photo, September 7, 2008)
The next year, 2009, the city renamed the program “Summer Streets” and moved it to May 31st to follow the WS High School PTSA-presented West Seattle 5K, which already was closing much of the beachfront route for the first few hours of the morning. May, however, is seldom truly summery, as evidenced in our photo of street art during the 2012 Summer Streets event:
That’s been typical of Summer Streets weather – no all-out-sunny days since the September 2008 “Car-Free Day.” Nonetheless, community organizations have soldiered on with activities and festivities each year, and bundled-up community members have come to the beach to join in.
In 2011, the city shortened the no-motorized-vehicles zone to between 56th and 63rd, recognizing that few activities had been happening east of the Alki business district anyway.
Flash forward to this year. Two months ago, the Summer Streets Facebook page featured the cryptic status: “Sorry for the radio silence. Summer Streets is undergoing some changes this year – please stay tuned for our event schedule and a big announcement.”
No announcement has ensued over those two months, so we pinged SDOT spokesperson Marybeth Turner, who replied today, “SDOT is redesigning the Summer Streets program. While SDOT will still continue to support and sponsor the West Seattle 5k, we will no longer be organizing the street festival that has traditionally followed the race. If a West Seattle community group would like to sponsor a Summer Streets event this summer, we are willing to assist. SDOT’s new Summer Streets program is being developed, not quite ready for a public announcement.”
Again, the WS 5K is still on (we’re a co-sponsor again this year), and that will still close the beachfront road until about 11 am on race day, Sunday, May 17th. But after that – for the first time in 7 years – you’re on your own.
(WSB photo)
We promised updates on the Rent-A-Ruminant goats’ work for SDOT along the SW Holden stairway, following our first report after their arrival Tuesday afternoon and our original report last Friday on the plan. So we stopped by a little while ago. They still have much left to munch. Right now, they’re working further up the slope, closer to the 20th SW top of the stairway than to the Delridge Way end of the stairway, where they were in view yesterday, so no cute closeups (yet, but we’ll be checking back later). R-a-R proprietor Tammy estimated after arriving that they’d probably need about three days to get the job done.
After seven years of work, West Seattle filmmakers Amy Benson and Scott Squire (left & center in photo) are now just three weeks away from the world premiere of their completed film “Drawing the Tiger.” When we first featured it here almost two and a half years ago, its working title was “The Girl Who Knew Too Much,” but what began as the heartbreaking story of a Nepalese girl whose one-in-a-million chance at an education ended in her suicide, evolved into a story with many more layers. We found out about the project’s evolution when we covered the Washington Global Issues Network youth-led conference at Chief Sealth International High School last month; Benson was a keynoter, and we featured her speech and project in our report. She also told its story in a TEDx talk captured on video last year:
The change in their story also meant a change in funding, as suddenly they were no longer telling “a globalization success story.” Instead, as Benson explains in the TEDx talk above, Squire says, “This film is, in the modest world of documentary films, kind of a unique thing – it’s subtle and observational and not at all an advocacy film. However, it was made with the goal of opening up the conversation of how we ‘in the west’ DO global aid. How, and how well do we account for the new vulnerabilities that arise when radical opportunities are proffered? It’s so important that we help, we believe, but stories like Shanta’s tell us we must consider how we can conduct our interventions more holistically.”
So the couple pressed on, scrapping together backing any place they could find it. Earlier this week, Squire e-mailed us with an update on their timeline and on their push for completion via crowdfunding. By the time we could write this story, they had already passed their goal – but if you’ve ever tried to raise money for something, you know that more always helps. Their Kickstarter campaign is open until Friday. The premiere is April 29th at the Hot Docs festival in Toronto, which Squire says is “one of the two most important doc fests in the world.” They are hopeful the U.S. premiere will be here in Seattle – nothing finalized yet but they promise an update once it is.
(Photographed by Ryan O’Keven in Admiral on Tuesday – thanks to everyone who ID’d this as a Spotted Towhee!)
Noontime until nighttime, check out the West Seattle Wednesday highlights:
GET OUT OF THE HOME OFFICE … and network with other nontraditional workers/entrepreneurs during the weekly West Seattle Office Junction (WSB sponsor) meetup – details here. Starts at noon. (6040 California SW)
HIGH-SCHOOL SPORTS: West Seattle High School plays varsity softball vs. Nathan Hale at Southwest Athletic Complex (2801 SW Thistle) and varsity baseball vs. Garfield at Hiawatha (2700 California SW), both at 3:30 pm.
HEALTH CARNIVAL AT HIGHLAND PARK ELEMENTARY: Community welcome! Here’s the announcement:
Join us at Highland Park Elementary from 5:30-7:30 to celebrate the many ways students stay healthy. There is something for everyone! We will have food, insurance assistance, Zumba, family games, raffles, face paint, and much much more. This event is cosponsored by Communities in Schools of Seattle and Neighborcare.
(1012 SW Trenton)
BOARD MEETING @ SENIOR CENTER OF WEST SEATTLE: 5:30-7 pm at the Senior Center, all are welcome at the monthly board meeting. (Oregon/California)
AMERICAN LEGION POST 160: All those who have served or are serving are welcome at Post 160, which is also home to the West Seattle Veteran Center. The post’s monthly meetings are at 6 pm on the second Wednesday. (37th/Alaska)
CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT 1 CANDIDATES’ FORUM: The next major forum in the first-ever City Council District 1 (West Seattle/South Park) race is at tonight’s 34th District Democrats meeting, 7 pm at The Hall at Fauntleroy. (9131 California SW)
‘PAJAMA GAME’ AT WSHS: The West Seattle High School Drama Club‘s current production starts its second and final week, 7 pm curtain time at the school theater. (3000 California SW)
OPEN MICROPHONE @ THE FEEDBACK: 8 pm, hosted by Sheila Kay and The Wolftones, with Mikel Rollins on sax and bass. Go get on stage at Feedback Lounge! (6451 California SW)
THOSE ARE ONLY THE HIGHLIGHTS … our calendar is where you’ll find even more for today/tonight.
(Four WS-relevant views; more cams on the WSB Traffic page)
Trouble-free morning through and from West Seattle so far. So, the transportation headlines:
SW ROXBURY PLAN: Officially announced last night and set for implementation starting in August, SDOT’s Roxbury plan will “rechannelize” the road from 17th to 35th – one lane each way plus a center turn lane – and involve some simpler changes on the eastern stretch, including a speed-limit reduction. Sidewalks will be installed on the last sidewalkless stretch, which is on the south side of Roxbury east of 30th..
NEW VASHON WATER TAXI STARTS RUNNING THIS AFTERNOON: King County says M/V Sally Fox – twin to the future new West Seattle Water Taxi, M/V Doc Maynard – will take over the Seattle-Vashon run starting at 4:30 this afternoon.
VIADUCT STILL SETTLING: Results of the recent inspection closure are now public.
HOLDEN STAIRWAY GOATS: While the stairway from 20th to Delridge on Holden remains open, its north side is fenced off with the Rent-A-Ruminant goats at work, as covered here (and spotlighted by TV too).
(WSB photos: District visual/performing-arts manager Gail Sehlhorst leading students in an exercise)
A break from routine on Tuesday at West Seattle’s Sanislo Elementary … and it all traced back to the founder of the world’s most famous breakfast-cereal company. In honor of the birthday of Will Keith Kellogg, people who had gained leadership training via the Kellogg Foundation fanned out for a Day of Service – and Sanislo was among the stops. Among the Kellogg Fellows visiting Sanislo to provide a day of arts education was Seattle Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Larry Nyland, reading “Stone Soup” to students via his iPad:
Another Kellogg Fellow who worked with the Sanislo students, Dr. Lora-Ellen McKinney, who is working with the district to facilitate enrichment experiences:
The day’s theme was “Compassionate Leadership,” and the visiting fellows were joined by Seattle Art Museum teaching artists in using the arts to help students work on those skills. Among them, Regan Pro, SAM’s manager of school and educator programs, who showed kindergarteners Malcah Zeldis‘s triptych of the life of President Abraham Lincoln:
The day’s theme was also meant to underscore the district’s Creative Advantage program to bring more arts into the schools; a new South-Southwest Pathway for arts is expected to include Sanislo. The school’s visual-arts teacher Andrew Wakefield was part of today’s programming, as was librarian/teacher Craig Seasholes.
Three weeks ago, Chief Sealth International High School and West Seattle High School opened the boys-soccer season with a 1-1 tie. Tuesday, they met again, and this time the final was a 1-0 victory for Sealth. #3 in the top photo is the Seahawks’ Abel Kidane (featured in our earlier story about 3 Sealth & WSHS players who helped make history last weekend), who had the assist for Yael Pina‘s goal.
Next on the schedule – Sealth plays Seattle Prep at Magnuson, 3:30 pm Friday; West Seattle plays Roosevelt at Walt Hundley, 3:30 pm Thursday.
King County is mailing ballots tomorrow for this month’s special election. In our area, you’ll just see one thing on the ballot – a levy to raise money to replace the area’s emergency-radio system. In the first of its nine years, the rate will be 7 cents for every thousand dollars of property valuation, so if you have a house valued at $400,000, this will cost you $28. Several areas outside Seattle have various other measures, and you’ll see them in the voters’ pamphlet, but the radio levy is the only thing that’ll be on your ballot, which will be due by 8 pm April 28th. If you mail it back, use a stamp; if you want to vote without paying postage, the West Seattle and White Center dropoff vans will be in place for the last few days of voting – see days, times, locations here. (And if you’re not registered to vote in this state, you have time – register in person by 4:30 pm April 20th.)
That’s the plan for SW Roxbury, which SDOT is about to unveil at the Westwood-Roxhill-Arbor Heights Community Council‘s April meeting, under way until about 7:30 pm at the Southwest Branch Library (35th/Henderson). An open house is also planned April 16th. First, WWRHAH is hearing briefly from City Council District 1 candidate Lisa Herbold (we’ll add details later on what she says, and other parts of the meeting that aren’t related to the Roxbury presentation).
6:27 PM: SDOT’s Jim Curtin begins his presentation, saying the details (which you can see in the slide deck above) aren’t much different from the previous discussion, and that implementation will start in mid-August. The package, he recaps, has short- and long-term “engineering solutions” for SW Roxbury from Olson on the east to 35th SW on the west. He also recaps the road’s conditions, which are at the start of the slide deck – 52 percent of what’s along Roxbury in that stretch is single-family residential housing. The traffic flow goes from an average of 13,000 vehicles a weekday at 35th to 25,000 vehicles each weekday at Olson. The roots of the project lie in the fact so many people speed – more than 5 mph over the speed limit, on much of the stretch – the average at 30th SW is 41 mph, “a big problem” in SDOT’s view. The stretch has seen 223 crashes with 112 injuries over just the past three years.
The changes are at 60 percent design, close to “ready to go,” Curtin said, and they are coordinating with partner agencies including Metro and King County Roads (though SDOT is accountable for the road from curb to curb). 100 percent design is expected in June, and that’s when they’ll mobilize their crews, in hopes of getting the work done by the first day of the 2015-2016 school year.
Just a few tweaks from the draft plan. From 17th to 35th SW, rechannelization is proposed, “which means we will eliminate a lane of traffic and bring Roxbury down to its surroundings, including parks and schools … while still maintaining travel times that are essentially unchanged for people who are driving. There will be short sections of bus lanes for the 120 and RapidRide; we are going to repave Roxbury from 17th to ’18th and a half’ … a really, really rough section of road.” The curb will be fixed and ADA-complaint curb ramps will be put in, 8 each at 17th and 18th SW.
300 new linear feet of sidewalk will go in, on the south (county) side of the street across from Roxhill Elementary (photo added above), past the auto-parts store and casino – “the last section of Roxbury without sidewalks,” Curtin said, adding that the city and county have secured a grant to pay for this.
No rechannelization is planned east of 17th. At the White Center intersection – 15th/16th “funky five-way split,” as he described it – curb painting and audio pedestrian signals are part of the plan. Then from Olson to 15th SW, the speed limit will be reduced to 30 mph; two new radar speed signs will go in to support that; and other “spot signage” improvements are planned. That will include changes targeting the “persistent collision patterns” at 4th SW and 8th SW. For the latter, Curtin said, the patterns are rear-end crashes. The county has put in a “warning” beacon that isn’t making a difference. Engineers concluded, Curtin said, “we need people to slow down” – as is the case with the “spinout” crashes at 4th SW – and they believe that will make a difference. (Later, he said, they hope to take that “all the way down the hill” toward 509.)
Back to the west – A “shared bus lane” will go in near Roxhill because of operational requirements for Metro and school buses; a potential bus-layover zone is being considered by Roxhill. The Metro transit stop that’s currently right in front of Roxhill Elementary will be moved to the west of 30th (where it had once been). WWRHAH’s transportation chair Chris Stripinis asked if that would create a situation like the notorious C-Line stop at Fauntleroy/California – Curtin cited reasons why it won’t, including a “partial lane” that vehicles will be able to use to get around.
No bicycle lanes right now; bicycle facilities will be considered “later” – likely 2016 – said Curtin; right now, the curb and pavement are not in good-enough shape, and so the area that later will become bicycle lanes will for now be “buffers” between vehicle and pedestrian traffic.
For rechannelization doubters, Curtin hauled out a slide he acknowledged has been shown at many meetings lately – other rechannelized streets including Fauntleroy and (outside West Seattle) NE 75th have seen decreases in crashes even as traffic volume edged up a bit.
Beyond all this, he said, in the long term: If the Transportation Levy to Move Seattle passes, SDOT hopes to “completely rebuild” SW Roxbury, with repaving and even in some places “taking it down to the dirt” and redoing it. Also, a pedestrian signal at or near 12th SW would be a long-term priority, according to Curtin (it came up often at previous meetings). Anything else missing? he asked. WWRHAH co-chair Amanda Kay Helmick suggested a crosswalk at 24th and Roxbury. Between 35th and 30th, Stripinis suggested, some visual cue for crossers would be helpful, since because streets don’t connect from both sides, and drivers don’t tend to stop even for the implied crosswalks at corners.
WWRHAH secretary Joe Szilagyi asked about the parking spots along Roxbury by Taqueria Guaymas at 17th. They’re staying, said Curtin, adding, “Despite what you read … we actually like parking at SDOT,” for reasons including, “it slows people down.” Speaking of slowing down, though they’re not proposing rechannelization of the entire length of Roxbury now – even though it was frequently suggested, Curtin said, during the comment period – it might be looked at again in the future. Also for the wish list, Helmick added, a roundabout for the Olson end, and more mowing and vegetation clearing so people who are walking and biking can get through.
Though it’s technically beyond Roxbury, several people brought up the walking/biking dangers of going down the hill from Olson toward SW Cloverdale and South Park, as something that should eventually be examined.
Curtin then put up the engineering plans for Roxbury, starting with the 35th/Roxbury intersection, which he said “works remarkably well.” (A side discussion erupted regarding sidewalks on 35th, and Curtin reiterated that the city has some in the works all the way to 106th. Not part of the project in the spotlight tonight, but still of interest.) One stretch is still undecided – the eastbound side near Roxbury Safeway, where they had been looking at a bus lane but decided they don’t need it. Maybe a right turn lane? Right now, by the way, Curtin said, the 28th/Roxbury intersection “functions really well,” too. At 26th, there’ll be a right-turn-only lane heading southbound, and then it’ll be a bus-only lane on the outside, east of 28th, with a bus-and-turn lane on the westbound side, turning onto 26th and heading toward Westwood Village. This intersection’s design isn’t completely finalized, though, acknowledged Curtin – “we’re still kind of wrestling with (it).”
7:20 PM: Overall, he summarized, “this project is universally loved by everyone at SDOT,” where he says some wondered how the road ever had “so many lanes.” If you have comments, go to the Open House, and/or e-mail Curtin – jim.curtin@seattle.gov – ASAP.
Rest of the meeting:
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Though the local political discussion has been dominated by the City Council District 1 race for months, you’ll be voting in many other races this summer/fall – among them, Seattle Public Schools Board of Directors Position 6, representing West Seattle and South Park. Marty McLaren, the Puget Ridge resident first elected four years ago, confirms to WSB that she plans to run for re-election. And her first challenger has come forward today: Leslie Harris, a native West Seattleite and longtime local political activist, who announced via her personal Facebook page, from which we quote with her permission:
My reasons are that we can do so much better for our kids and families and communities.
We need to put more dollars in the classrooms. We need to address the cycles of high stakes testing. We need to address the current and looming capacity crisis. We need to address the decades of maintenance backlogs. We need more transparency and more follow-up to unanswered questions. We need to replicate what is working and move away from failures. We need accountability and leadership. I have attended board and committee meetings at the central office for over 10 years, worked on other Directors’ campaigns and do understand the commitment for what is essentially a volunteer position.
With 30 years active in the Democratic Party, as a District Chair and several years service on the State Democratic Central Committee, State President of my professional association and two terms on its national board, and 13 years of PTSA, several years on a school building leadership team, recent lengthy service on a local contemporary dance company board, over 20 years on community college advisory boards — I understand board policy making functions and fiduciary duty. I know how to read budgets and ask questions and drill down to the critical facts.
Harris, who is a veteran litigation paralegal, says her website will be live by week’s end at harrisforschoolboard.com.
(WSB photo, taken from Vashon Island on March 29th)
You’ll be seeing a lot more of the M/V Sally Fox off West Seattle shores starting tomorrow afternoon: Vashon Island’s new Water Taxi officially goes into service with the 4:30 pm run on Wednesday, as just announced by the county. Here’s our coverage of the Sally Fox dedication ceremony on Vashon a week and a half ago. It’s a twin to the M/V Doc Maynard, under construction now and due to take over the West Seattle Water Taxi run in October.
The first goats ever booked for West Seattle work by SDOT are now on the job – Rent-A-Ruminant‘s goats are at work along the Delridge/Holden stairway:
We first told you back on Friday about the plan for them to spend a few days tidying up the overgrowth that has created safety issues along this stairway, which was the site of one of the student-targeting robberies earlier this year.
We will of course be checking in to see how it’s going. Note that this is not a particularly spectator-friendly site – on either end – busy roads bookend the stairway (Delridge and 20th SW). Rent-A-Ruminant proprietor Tammy is on scene to keep watch over her herd. We’ll be adding more photos later.
ADDED 3:45 PM: Went back over to check in – here’s a bit of Instagram video, from through their protective fence:
Tammy tells us about 40 goats are on the job here – her first job of the season; she generally works with them April through October. In all, she has more than 100 goats; they’re based on Vashon Island.
(WSB photo: SPD vehicles around the corner from reported crime scene)
11:48 PM: Seattle Police just tweeted that they are investigating an armed robbery reported at a home in the 8100 block of 22nd SW. We are arriving in the area and see police along Thistle west of 22nd. More to come.
12:03 PM: Yes, that’s a TV helicopter. Meantime, police at the scene tell us they’re still sorting out the circumstances – whether robbery or burglary.
12:24 PM: The police search spans several blocks in all directions from the house where an intruder was spotted, so if you’re seeing police anywhere from Sunrise Heights to Westwood, it’s likely related. Seattle Public Schools spokesperson Stacy Howard tells us that Sealth/Denny are NOT on lockdown or shelter-in-place, in case you are wondering.
12:34 PM: Update – now Howard says these schools are sheltering in place: Sealth, Denny, WS Elementary, Highland Park, Sanislo.
12:50 PM: Police tell us they have confirmed this was a home invasion. More just posted to SPD Blotter:
Police are searching for a man who entered a West Seattle home Tuesday morning and pointed a gun at the resident before fleeing with several stolen purses.
A woman called 911 around 11:30 AM saying a man armed with a shotgun had entered her home in the 8100 block of
22nd Ave SWand locked her and her four-year-old son in a bathroom. The woman and her son climbed through a bathroom window and ran to a neighbors house where she called 911.According to the victim the suspect left the home after stealing two purses and some prescription medications. The suspect is described as a white male, about 5’4″, thin build, with “scruffy” facial hair, wearing a black Kangol hat, black jacket, dark pants and sunglasses.
Officer searched the home and neighborhood and are still working to locate the suspect. Robbery detectives will be handling the investigation.
1:01 PM UPDATE: SPS says shelter in place lifted at all 7 schools that had one because of this.
5:27 PM UPDATE: As pointed out in comments, the address turned out to be on 24th, not 22nd as per both of SPD’s initial reports above.
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