(April photo of encampment, taken by an Arrowhead Gardens resident)

Back on Tuesday, we told you about reports of cleanup activity on the east side of Myers Way, though people and vehicles remained visible in the northeasternmost encampment area, on state/city land. We had asked local and state departments/agencies for updates. We’ve also gone back the past two days and seen no signs of further activity; this morning, the “no parking” signage along the city stretch of the street was gone. Meantime, a statement was sent to us and others, including Arrowhead Gardens resident groups and the Highland Park Action Coalition; it indicates that any further activity is still in the planning process. The statement is from Brian Nielsen, WSDOT Northwest regional administrator, who explains that he is “responsible for overseeing all aspects of state right of way within the Region”:

Dear Arrowhead Gardens Senior Living community and Myers Way neighbors,

I want to share with you information and next steps as it relates to the encampments on Myers Way. The Washington Department of Transportation (WSDOT), Washington State Patrol, King County Regional Homeless Authority and the City of Seattle collectively agree that this site is our top multijurisdictional site to address. Operational teams are coordinating a site resolution plan.

Our teams are working together to determine next steps to address the site and those living there unhoused. This work requires a multi-agency approach as the encampment is spread across both WSDOT and City property and we know from experience that close coordination is the best way to resolve these sites for the short and long term. Actions currently underway include:

Site stabilization

WSDOT, in coordination with partners, will assess the location to determine where we might make changes to better manage ingress and egress to the site to prevent further growth and better manage access.
The City of Seattle is onsite providing litter picks and trash mitigation at this site several times a week.

Outreach, Housing, and Shelter – KCRHA will:

Assess housing and shelter availability and options within the current system.
KCRHA’s outreach providers are onsite regularly to engage and work with the people experiencing homelessness, ensure connections with services and prepare for housing when resources become available.

Outreach staff will also provide assistance to ensure that any barriers to housing, such as obtaining identification documents, are addressed ahead of time so that people may move into housing immediately when resources become available.

Housing and shelter outreach at this site are in alignment with state legislature requirements that WSDOT and its partners in Right of Way Safety Initiative work to “transition persons residing on state-owned rights-of-way to safer housing opportunities, with an emphasis on permanent housing solutions,” and that the housing offered is a “meaningful improvement over the individual’s current living situation” and “well-matched to an individual’s assessed needs.”

Although the circumstances and conversation regarding the encampment are challenging, I am committed to sharing the parameters in which our agency operates transparently. I also very much appreciate your concerns and understand that you have questions. Please know that we hear your concerns and are working with urgency. We are not currently in a position to share a definitive timeline for site resolution, but we would like to provide timely updates for your community as they are available. I will share more information next week.

City Councilmember Lisa Herbold had said last week that the resolution was “planned.” But we haven’t heard back from her office, the city’s homelessness-response spokesperson, or the state regarding exactly what it was that happened this past Tuesday. Meantime, no arrest reported yet in the Myers Way murder and assault cases from earlier this month.

(WSB photo, May 30)

After a murder and other incidents, “resolution” is planned for the encampment on the east side of the north end of Myers Way, according to City Councilmember Lisa Herbold. From her newest weekly newsletter:

… On May 31st, I requested that the King County Regional Homelessness Authority consider this location for its State-funded work removing encampments in State Right of Way. The funding supports shelter and services to people living at a site. I’ve also learned that last week the Executive [mayor] also reached out to WSDOT (which owns most of the land under the encampment), also recommending the site for joint resolution. I was told that the decision was made recently to move forward with that joint resolution at Myers Way, which I fully support.

Because this work is supported with blended funding, both from the State Right of Way program, King County Funding, and City of Seattle funding, the LEAD Policy Coordinating Group, of which I am a member, also has to agree that LEAD should take on the project. The City contract for LEAD services requires resources focused on geographic areas. So, we have LEAD resources specifically focused on South Delridge and Highland Park, you may remember the work they did at the Rosella Building in December and the Roxbury/Delridge Triangle before that. The Myers Way/Arrowhead Gardens area is not currently included as a focus area, but that will hopefully change. On Friday, I requested that LEAD refocus its District 1 specific work to Myers Way. I hope to have an outcome of that request to report out next week.

The City’s Unified Care Team, which responds to encampments, reports it’s been a complex site for the City to work in for several reasons: because the majority of the site is not City property, and the site has challenging topography and requires an in-depth safety plan that take into consideration EPA regulations in run-off areas, soil saturation levels that affect use of heavy machinery used in site resolutions, and land inclines and soil shifting.

Nonetheless, the UCT has been on site providing trash mitigation and geo cleans for RVs; along with 3-4 visits per week from outreach workers who also mitigate fire hazards and conduct needs assessments for residents.

It’s been a month since Arrowhead Gardens residents met with city reps (WSB coverage here) who agreed that removal of the encampment was needed, but had no firm commitments. That was three weeks before the shooting that killed 35-year-old Reginald Moore.

(April photo of encampment, taken by an Arrowhead Gardens resident)

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

The growing encampment in the woods east of the north end of Myers Way [map] is currently the Southwest Precinct‘s second-highest call-generating location, police say. And that’s a major reason why it’s high on the priority list for a future site cleanup.

That’s what a room packed with dozens of concerned residents at Arrowhead Gardens – the senior-living complex across the street from that encampment – heard from a panel of city reps in a meeting Monday afternoon. You can see it in its entirety in the video below, recorded and provided by AG resident John Walling.

Resident Diane Radischat facilitated the meeting, with a city panel including Southwest Precinct Crime Prevention Coordinator Jennifer Danner and Operations Lt. Dorothy Kim, the precinct’s City Attorney liaison Joe Everett, Tom Van Bronkhorst from the city’s homelessness-response-focused Unified Care Team, and another UCT rep, Marta Idowu, the Civil Rights Advisory Commission Liaison for the Mayor’s Office.

Danner began with a reminder of when to call 911: “SPD is very data-driven … we rely on our community to make sure the data is accurate … if you see any kind of criminal or suspicious activity, we want you to report it.” She said that in many cases, the “data” – records of 911 calls – doesn’t match what they hear at meetings like this, and indeed as the meeting went on, several people mentioned incidents that they hadn’t called in at the time.

But it was stressed that aside from criminal or suspicious activity, SPD is not the agency to call just to report an unauthorized encampment’s existence.

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We got multiple messages Thursday afternoon from people wondering about the smaller boxes that have replaced the previously standard larger boxes outside both of West Seattle’s post offices. After verifying the change (our photo above shows the one outside the Westwood Village post office), we asked regional USPS spokesperson Kim Frum about it today. Her answer, in short: These smaller boxes are more secure. The long version:

The increase in crime throughout the country over the past several years has resulted in escalating criminal incidents against United States Postal Service (USPS) employees and the mail. Every postal employee deserves to work in safety and to be free from targeting by criminals seeking to access the public’s mail. In an increasingly challenging environment, the USPS and the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) are highly focused on protecting postal employees and property and ensuring the secure delivery of the nation’s mail and packages.

Recognizing these ongoing safety threats, we have been – and will continue to- implement an engaged, robust nationwide initiative to harden blue collection boxes, enhance collection box key and lock technology and institute dual authentication for change of address protocols. These measures not only protect the integrity of the mail but offer additional safeguards for our carriers and other employees. Furthermore, USPS and USPIS are partnering with federal and local authorities to enforce the laws and bring criminals to justice.

We will continue to adapt to evolving security threats and implement expanded measures to safeguard our employees and preserve the security of the mail that our customers expect and deserve.

The Postal Service will be releasing and implementing additional preventative, protection, and enforcement measures later this spring.

While we don’t know about specific measures involving these two mailboxes, this type of box isn’t entirely crime-resistant – as evidenced in Admiral back in January.

(Mayor’s Office photo)

Southwest Pool in West Seattle is expected to be part of a program announced by Mayor Bruce Harrell today. Registration will open May 16th for Swim Seattle, described as “a new drowning-prevention and youth aquatics initiative.” Here’s the city news release, sent following a launch event at Rainier Beach Pool:

Swim Seattle is a new initiative that will combine the efforts of YMCA, Public Health—Seattle & King County, Associated Recreation Council, Washington State Parks, No More Under, Seattle Children’s, and the University of Washington to remove barriers to learning to swim and to eradicate disproportionate drownings among youth of color.

In 2023, Swim Seattle will begin as a pilot by providing a year of free lessons to a cohort of 250 youth, prioritizing access to those who cannot afford lessons, while also providing workshops to support children and their families in becoming comfortable swimmers and water safe.

“Teaching children how to swim and be safe around water is an important lesson that will serve them for years to come,” said Mayor Harrell. “For far too long, lack of access to swim lessons and water safety education has put children and families of color at a disproportionate risk of drowning. Swim Seattle will address these disparities by offering free lessons to the children who need them most, removing the barriers that have prevented many youth and families from accessing swim lessons and offering culturally responsive workshops so they have the tools they need to stay safe in and around the water. Programs like this will help every child, from every neighborhood, access opportunities to learn and grow, promising a safer future for our entire city.”

“Swim Seattle is a promise that, together with our partners, and any interested investor to come, the Department of Parks and Recreation will not stop until we can eradicate the barriers to learning to swim and erase the needless risk and harm to our children. While we are starting small, with phased and implemented pilot programs to study effective outcomes, we know a program like Swim Seattle cannot wait, and drowning disparity data amongst white children and children of color implores us to act now. Swimming is an essential life skill that must be taught to all children, and Swim Seattle will ensure that all those living in a city surrounded by water can enjoy that water safely,” said AP Diaz, Seattle Parks and Recreation Superintendent.

“Water safety is a critical part of childhood development,” said Loria Yeadon, President and CEO of the YMCA of Greater Seattle. “Unfortunately, many historical and generational barriers prevent children (especially children of color) from accessing swimming lessons, including cultural barriers, systemic inequalities, and lack of transportation. We still feel the effects of those barriers today. At the Y, we are breaking barriers to swim safety and fun by offering programs designed to make swim lessons accessible, affordable, and culturally responsive. Water safety is for all and our collective responsibility, and we are excited to join the Swim Seattle collaboration to ensure that every child learns how to swim and stay safe around the water.”

“Water safety is a fundamental life skill that every child should have the opportunity to learn. Swim Seattle is doing its part to ensure that children in our community have access to quality swim lessons, regardless of their financial circumstances. By working together, we can ensure that every child has the chance to swim safely and confidently in our state’s beautiful bodies of water,” said Chezik Tsunoda, Executive Director of No More Under.

“We all have some connection to the dangers of drowning. And we all can help improve this devastating problem. Numbers show that water safety is a critical public health and public safety issue. Swim Seattle invests in our children’s futures and will save lives in the long run,” said Tony Gomez, Manager of Injury Prevention for Public Health-Seattle & King County and one of the co-leads for the Washington State Drowning Prevention Network.

Registration for the first cohort will begin May 16, online, in-person at Seattle pools, and via phone (206-684-8020). Lessons will begin in summer 2023 at pools throughout the city, and workshops for families will be monthly on topics such as skincare and haircare when swimming, addressing fears of water, and water safety practices.

Several people have asked about that RV that’s partly atop the curb along the northbound lane of California SW near SW Othello on Gatewood Hill. According to what officers told dispatch a short time ago after someone called in to report it, the RV was involved in a collision earlier this morning. @SDOTTraffic mentioned it briefly at 5:41 am. No injuries, as SFD was not dispatched; no other details available.