2012 was the first year Delridge Day had a music stage and helped to showcase some the best local talent! This year, the plans are no different and the community planners for Delridge Day are hard at work in search for some great musical talent to help fill out time slots and show the community what they have to offer.

Delridge Day is planned for Saturday, August 17th from 11 AM-4 PM at Delridge Community Center and Park. If you’ve got a voice, guitar, drum set or even a drumbot, then we want to hear what you have to offer! We have time slots ranging from 11 AM-3 PM and are looking to fill them immediately. Interested musicians can e-mail Chas Redmond at credmond@mac.com and provide links to their music. We’re looking for solo artists and groups that are ready to entertain the local community!

This year’s Delridge Day co-sponsors include WSB – and they’re still seeking more; here’s the info packet for prospective sponsors.

As announced last week, SDOT plans to shift the Delridge Way repaving work to Phase 3, Thistle to Trenton, this Wednesday. The section of Delridge that will have a southbound detour during that time will be between Thistle and Holden. Above, the map; below, the update:

Beginning May 15, southbound traffic on Delridge Way Southwest in West Seattle will be detoured at Southwest Holden Street and the currently detoured stretch from Southwest Thistle to Southwest Trenton streets will be reopened. The closure will allow the contractor working for the Seattle Department of Transportation to reconstruct the roadway and install storm drains. The new detour, from Holden to Thistle streets, is expected to remain in place through mid July. This work is Phase 3 of the project that is rebuilding much of Delridge Way Southwest.

Traffic will be redirected (see attached map):

· West on SW Holden Street
· South on 35th Avenue S
· East on SW Thistle Street
· South on Delridge Way SW

Delridge will remain open to northbound traffic except for intersection work. Local access to businesses and residents will be maintained.

This is a five-phase project. At the end of Phase 3, construction activity will move north to Phase 4, between SW Orchard and SW Holden streets.

Seattle Department of Transportation’s paving crews will replace concrete roadway panels on Delridge Way Southwest at 23rd Avenue Southwest (near SW Graham Street) on Wednesday, May 15th. Two-way traffic will be maintained. Drivers may encounter some congestion in this area during the work.

This project is being funded by SDOT’s annual paving program and the Bridging the Gap transportation initiative approved by Seattle voters.

Tonight during the monthly West Seattle Art Walk, the new North Delridge apartment building Youngstown Flats not only will be open to visitors, it’ll host a reception for the 14 artists whose work can be seen around the complex. Youngstown Flats, now open to leasing and already home to its first tenants, is a new WSB sponsor; we toured recently to give you a peek inside. The art is not only outdoors, , but also in the public hallways of each floor, including the work shown above, and in the main lobby:

More ahead:

Youngstown Flats’ main entrance is on 26th SW – look closely and you’ll see “Continuity II,” by Jan Hoy, installed two months ago:

There’s also an entrance on the building’s south side, fronting Dakota. Back to the 26th SW side, which looks across to the mini-park space leading to Longfellow Creek, you’ll find the fitness room, which includes riding equipment with game-like features that include fun game-like features:

There’s also a water-bottle-refill station in the fitness room. The lobby also leads to a media room where movies or big-screen big events can be enjoyed:

Off the building’s garage, there’s a special area with ample parking for bicycle riders, and space to do repairs:

Youngstown Flats makes no bones about being dog-friendly. Also off the garage, you’ll find a dog-wash room (it’s not shown in our photo, but there’s some cute must-see decor on another wall):

Before you hit the dog wash, of course, you’ll be outside with your pooch. Maybe even right outside the building, where this turfed dog run makes creative use of some mandatory open space on the north side of the building:

Heading back into the building, we probably should take a look at an apartment – there are “urban one bedrooms,” 1 bedrooms, and 2 bedrooms (more on that here):

The building was designed as condominiums when originally proposed years ago, but built as apartments, so they’re larger than those you’ll find many other places. Some units have full balconies. And because of its design, there are lots of corner units, and lots of natural light from windows. Whichever unit you’re in, you can head up to the roof, gardens and comfortable places to hang out – with a view northward to the Port and Elliott Bay:

Big indoor gathering room too, with a kitchen, big screen, seating, and more:

Youngstown Flats will be happy to give you a tour any time, but tonight’s Art Walk event is an especially auspicious time to stop by – again, 6-9 pm. Other events are coming up too. The leasing office is open daily, and contact information is online here – its official address is 4040 26th SW; Youngstown Flats is on Facebook and on Twitter, too. (And they’re leasing live/work units as well as the apartments!)

Thanks to the people who tipped us about some kind of police operation under way in the vicinity of the Super 24 store along Delridge. WSB co-publisher Patrick Sand arrived and found SWAT officers, guns drawn, and someone apparently in custody. No one is commenting at the scene so we are trying to find out more. Traffic was stopped on Delridge for a while but Patrick says it’s just been allowed to resume.

Shortly after we took that photo, a tow-truck crew righted the car, which had flipped onto the south side of the 20th/Henderson intersection, just east of Delridge Way. No official information on circumstances at this point but police told us one person had been taken to a hospital.

5:15 PM UPDATE: This was a two-car crash, according to Seattle Fire spokesperson Kyle Moore, whose department does not investigate the cause but does treat the victims, so he was able to tell us that the person taken to the hospital as a precaution was the 28-year-old woman driving the flipped PT cruiser. She got herself and a 3-week-old baby girl out of the vehicle before Engine 11 arrived; the 25-year-old woman and 4-year-old in the other vehicle were not hurt.

8:02 PM UPDATE: A commenter who lives nearby says the 4-year-old was actually in the flipped PT cruiser and the baby in the other car.

(February photo of Delridge Way work, from SDOT via Flickr)
The second phase of the Delridge Way SW repaving project is almost over, with the third phase expected to start next week. So says SDOT in this advisory just out of the WSB inbox:

The Seattle Department of Transportation expects paving work on Delridge Way Southwest to progress to the next phase on Wednesday, May 15. The contractor will detour southbound traffic on Delridge from Southwest Holden to Southwest Thistle streets, and reopen the stretch from Southwest Thistle to Southwest Trenton streets. The new detour, from Holden to Thistle, is expected to remain in place through mid July. This work is Phase 3 of the project that is rebuilding much of Delridge Way Southwest.

Delridge will remain open to northbound traffic except for intersection work. Local access to businesses and residents will be maintained. SDOT will release a map and details of the new detour as the date approaches.

After the contractor completes work between Thistle and Trenton, Delridge will be striped between Thistle and Henderson streets. Also, crews expect to return by late May to the stretch between Trenton and Henderson for weather-dependent crack seal work.

This is a five-phase project. At the end of Phase 3, construction activity will move north to Phase 4, between SW Orchard and SW Holden streets.

Lisa Taylor-Whitley heads up the North Delridge Neighborhood Council Beautification Committee, and every month, whether 3 people show up or 30, she and helpers are out cleaning up another corner of the neighborhood. This morning, it was the walking/biking path that leads from the Skylark Café and Club parking lot down to the bus stop at SW Spokane St. (where buses and other vehicles are detoured today and tomorrow because of repaving, remember). Before we caught up with Lisa on the path, we found other members of today’s cleanup crew wrapping up outside Skylark – Tom, Oliver, Nancy, and Jackson the dog:

They all explained that the path was in pretty good shape this time, so they only needed to work for a little more than an hour, half of the time allotted. Keep an eye on the NDNC’s website for info on upcoming cleanups – and/or send Lisa a note if you have a site to suggest (lisataylorwhitley@gmail.com).

This is NOT affecting traffic now, but might later when it’s time for repairs – a car hit a streetlight pole (above left) on southbound Delridge Way SW across from the Boren/K-5 STEM parking lot, and veered off the road, onto the slope leading down toward Longfellow Creek:

City Light‘s been notified – one of its employees actually called in the crash – we’ll check on the repair timetable later; here’s the pole’s damaged base:

Police hadn’t yet sorted out why the driver – who was not seriously hurt – hit the pole and went off the road.

(Photos courtesy Seattle Parks and Recreation)
Followup today on the huge copper-wire theft that has put Delridge Playfield out of commission for many events until further notice, as reported here last night. Today, Parks says its electricians estimate the repairs will cost up to $20,000 and take up to two weeks. They were at the parks today, as were police, trying to find out more about the theft of 1,200 feet of wire. An update from Parks today explains how it happened:

The copper wiring was accessed from the junction boxes under light poles around the perimeter of the field. After cutting the wires between each junction box, thieves brought in a vehicle (likely a truck), hooked up the wire to the vehicle and pulled out the wiring. Parks staff believe the theft was conceived and executed over several nights, as it appears other junction boxes with wire still inside were prepared for theft.

Parks’ update quotes acting superintendent Christopher Williams as saying, “This is a significant theft … and we want to catch the person or people who did it because this creates a needless expense for taxpayers and an unnecessary loss of playing time for park users. … We are asking anyone who is a neighbor to a Seattle Parks and Recreation ballfield to help us keep eyes on our parks. We need neighbors’ help to deter criminal activity.” Call Seattle Police if you have any information about the theft – or any time you spot suspicious activity. Parks also says you can report suspicious behavior to the Park Rangers’ office at 206-255-8325.

(One more reminder about crime concerns/trends in general – the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meets at 7 tonight, Southwest Precinct meeting room, SW Webster just west of Delridge Way SW.)

(Delridge Day 2012 photo by Nick Adams for WSB)
After a day dominated by headlines about what’s NOT happening this summer – it’s time for a reminder about what IS. West Seattle’s summer festivals and events are all in full planning swing, as we’ve mentioned in neighborhood coverage throughout the fall and winter, and now that spring is really here, everything is starting to gel. Tonight, the North Delridge Neighborhood Council is getting out the word that Delridge Day is already recruiting vendors, sponsors, and musicians, while working on the overall plan:

The 2013 Delridge Day Festival is planned for Saturday, August 17th, from 11 am-4 pm at Delridge Community Center and Park. This year’s festival will feature a large vendor area, highlighting some of the best local businesses in the area, local savory and sweet food trucks where you can grab a bite to eat, kids and family style picnic games, bouncy house, face painting, and much more! Again this year, we’ll have our music stage with plenty of local live music and entertainment. Interested music groups and talent can e-mail Chas Redmond at credmond@mac.com and provide links to their music.

The planning committee is working on securing sponsors and vendors to make this year’s event happen. We encourage local businesses to submit an application to be a part of our local event! The sponsorship and vendor fees not only support the festival but all give back to the community, as 15 percent of all fees are donated to the ARC (Associated Recreation Council), which provides scholarships for Community Center classes at Delridge Community Center. Over the last two years, Delridge Day has donated nearly $2,000 to the ARC!

Vendor and Sponsor packets are available online at:
ndnc.org/delridgeday or by e-mailing the planning committee at delridgeday@ndnc.org

To keep updated on the festival plans, visit the festival web page: www.ndnc.org/delridgeday or check us out on Facebook at facebook.com/delridgeday.

Here’s our full coverage from last year, if you want to get a closer look at how it all unfolded.