West Seattle, Washington
29 Friday
Just last night, we reported on another lane restriction on the Spokane Street Viaduct (the section of The Bridge between Highway 99 and I-5) that at the time was noted as starting “soon” – reducing the eastbound 1st Avenue South exit to one lane – and now there’s word it starts Monday. Here’s the official announcement just sent by SDOT:Read More
We’re now sharing the long weekly citywide list of road-work updates when it comes out, since this list is often the first word of traffic alerts that might affect you. That was the case two weeks ago, when this list was the first to reveal May 17 as the exact date (tentatively) set for longterm closure of the 1st Avenue So. onramp to the West Seattle Bridge (here’s this morning’s update with detour maps) … and tonight, the list has news about the 1st Avenue offramp from the eastbound bridge:
Waterline work is starting soon on 1st Ave S near S Spokane St. Lane restrictions will be in place for approximately five months, including reducing the EB off-ramp from the Spokane St Viaduct to one lane.
The entire list of alerts has just been updated on its accompanying webpage – note the stadium-area 4th Avenue closure coming up this entire weekend.
As first reported here two weeks ago, the city has set May 17th for the closure of the 1st Avenue South onramp to the West Seattle Bridge, as the Spokane Street Viaduct Widening Project goes into its next construction phase. Today the city has sent a news release reiterating that date, with a new detour map – read on for both:Read More
(Photo courtesy Dale Brayden, from the “Captain Dave river tour” last weekend)
Wednesday night of last week, City Councilmember Sally Bagshaw was at the second of two consecutive-night meetings in South Park (WSB coverage here), talking with – and listening to – community members regarding the county’s scheduled shutdown of the deteriorating South Park Bridge. She promised them, “I’ll be here with you.” One week later, after she wrapped up an appearance last night at the Delridge Neighborhoods District Council meeting, we caught up with her to ask what’s happened since then. She mentioned meetings with other key elected officials – but most notably, a new idea she’s exploring: Since the bridge’s biggest safety issues come from the wear and tear of repeated openings and closures for marine traffic, she’s trying to find out if there are vessels based south of the SP Bridge that could be moved upstream (north) for a year or so – till a new bridge could be built. If the bridge didn’t have to open for marine traffic, Bagshaw says, it could have an extended life of availability for vehicle and pedestrian traffic. She emphasizes that a lot of research has to be done to see if this would be feasible, including conversations with the Port of Seattle and the Coast Guard.
Following our report on Saturday about the new Dynamic Messaging Signs that SDOT is putting up in West Seattle (and other areas of the city), commenter Aim wondered why one wasn’t going up on Delridge. We checked with SDOT to see if one was in the works for Delridge further down the line. Short answer: No – Fauntleroy, Admiral and 35th are the three where you’ll get information before you get to The Bridge. We asked SDOT why Delridge isn’t getting one. Not enough money – they had to prioritize, according to SDOT’s Marybeth Turner, and of the four main roads that carry traffic onto The Bridge, Delridge has the lowest volume. So, she says, “While Delridge would benefit from a DMS, it is not funded at this time.” Adiam Emery from SDOT’s Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) team says, “For the lower level roadways, we will keep all the flashing beacons that inform drivers when the swing bridge is open and operating.” Speaking of bridges, we also inquired with SDOT when the West Seattle Bridge traffic camera would be back in operation – the one that points westbound has been dead for months. Emery’s reply: “The new West Seattle Bridge camera is installed and ready to go, waiting for electrical service connection. We are coordinating with Seattle City Light to assist in any way possible to get power to the equipment. They hope to have power to the camera by the end of this month, if not before.” By the end of August, 136 traffic cameras will be in operation within the city limits, though Emery cautions they’re not all reflected on the travel-info page so far (web5.seattle.gov/travelers).
(Photo from “Celebrate Seattle Summer Streets” event on Alki Ave, 5/31/2009)
With the mayoral change and budget cuts, this was by no means a sure thing, but with two months to go till the West Seattle 5K Run/Walk, it’s just been confirmed, according to organizer Jo Bader from the West Seattle High School PTSA: The second annual edition of their successful-from-the-start fundraiser will again be the kickoff to a “car-free day” on Alki – as part of Celebrate Seattle Summer Streets, as the city rechristened the series last year. We don’t know yet about other Celebrate Seattle Summer Streets plans around the city – an official media announcement is in the works. But since the Alki “car-free day” is confirmed, you can mark your calendar for Sunday, May 23, starting with the West Seattle 5K, followed by special events along Alki SW. Here’s our wrapup on last year’s Alki CSSS event; here’s our story on the first-ever West Seattle 5K that kicked off the day. By the way, registration is under way now for this year’s run (WSB is among the co-sponsors for a 2nd year), with an early-registration discount available.
Marisa e-mailed this morning to ask about that new sign over the downhill lanes of bridge-bound Admiral Way. It’s one of three SDOT “Dynamic Messaging Signs” that should all be complete by midweek along major West Seattle paths to The Bridge; the work was mentioned in the list of traffic alerts we wrote about last Thursday, with work on Admiral as the week ended, plus two more:
That’s the not-yet-finished sign on Fauntleroy Way, just east of SW Alaska. And another one is slated for 35th SW at SW Snoqualmie (by the golf course and Merrill Gardens [WSB sponsor]). We can’t find one good overview of the program online anywhere, but docs like this give you a hint. SDOT is expanding use of these signs in time for the major construction work to come on the Highway 99/Viaduct corridor, so that you will theoretically get enough warning of trouble, from crashes to travel times, to make an informed decision on high bridge vs. low bridge, etc. (We can’t help but wonder if there will be a programming option such as “JUST TURN AROUND AND GO HOME” or “GO TAKE THE WATER TAXI” …)
(Thursday night photo by Christopher Boffoli)
As reported here a week ago, May 17 is now set as the date when the city will permanently close the 1st Avenue South/South Spokane onramp to the westbound West Seattle Bridge – and that means no access to The Bridge between I-5 and Highway 99 until the new 1st Avenue South on/offramp opens more than a year and a half later. In the meantime, more traffic will be using the “low bridge” – including rerouted Metro buses – so it’s been suggested that the city should reopen its request for restrictions on marine use of that bridge during rush hours. (In 2008, the U.S. Coast Guard rejected a request for permanent restrictions.) This week, we checked with the city regarding the status of a new request to the USCG; SDOT communications manager Rick Sheridan tells us today it hasn’t been formally filed yet:
SDOT is interested in temporarily prohibiting evening rush hour openings of the Lower Spokane Street Swing Bridge starting in May, when a new phase of work begins on the Spokane Street Viaduct. While we believe this proposal has merit, we also understand there might be impacts to some marine users. We are currently in conversations about it with the marine industry, the Port of Seattle and the US Coast Guard, which is an important coordinating step prior to submitting a formal request to the Coast Guard.
City Councilmember Tom Rasmussen, chair of the Transportation Committee and main backer of the previous proposal to restrict rush-hour openings, says he’s aware of this and “willing to help.”
While we were at King County Department of Transportation HQ on Thursday afternoon to talk about some of the ongoing routing changes caused by construction, KCDOT’s Linda Thielke mentioned a proposed change was in the works for Route 22 through Gatewood. She didn’t have full details, but they’re out now: Metro wants to take the 22 off about half a mile of residential streets (41st and Ida) and move it to California SW for the full stretch through Gatewood, so that it stays on arterials all the way. Here are the details; note the “online survey” on the right side for comments. If Metro goes through with the change, it’ll take effect in October. (Disclosure, because we always try to let you know when we have skin in the game: WSB HQ is on the proposed new route.)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
One thing is clear, after two nights of standing-room-only meetings about the South Park Bridge‘s scheduled June 30 closure – if the residents and businesspeople of South Park could build the unfunded replacement bridge themselves, they would.
The second meeting, organized by South Park Action Agenda at the SP Community Center last night, ended with an attendee pleading with County Councilmember Jan Drago, “Tell us what to do.”
Drago was one of three elected officials in attendance last night – triple that turnout from the night before, at the official county-publicized briefing during the South Park Neighborhood Association‘s regular monthly meeting (WSB coverage here).
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
More than 100 people filled, and spilled out from, tonight’s South Park Neighborhood Association meeting, facing a county rep who came to confirm the South Park Bridge – their “lifeline,” many called it – is virtually certain to close June 30. (The time is even set – 7 pm.)
The fury: “If this was the University or Fremont or Montlake Bridge … would you be doing this? You come here so casually to tell us you’re closing it!”
The fear: “If you shut that bridge, you’re going to be cutting my arm off, and I’m going to bleed to death.”
The frustration: “It’s very clear that you all know what’s at stake. I know what’s at stake. The captain of the port knows what’s at stake. But somehow that voice, that story has not penetrated the powers-that-be that make the decision (regarding funding).”
The fighting spirit: “Who do we need to contact NOW to get the money we need for the bridge? We can’t undo the last 13 or 40 years, but we need to get the money NOW.”
The voice of frustration was that of Gael Tarleton, Seattle Port Commissioner, the only elected official present at the meeting, though representatives were there on behalf of King County Executive Dow Constantine, County Councilmember Jan Drago, and City Councilmembers Sally Bagshaw and Mike O’Brien. Tarleton was not a scheduled speaker, but finally spoke up from the sidelines, where she was one of several dozen standing against the walls when the South Park Neighborhood Center‘s chairs were all gone.
We originally checked out today’s City Council Transportation Committee meeting – during which we happened onto the Pigeon Point briefing – because of an agenda item about the city’s bridge-inspection program. The committee’s chair, Councilmember Tom Rasmussen, had shared photos with us recently after a tour that preceded today’s briefing – he and SDOT reps visited some of the city’s bridges, and his photos you see above and below show the “low bridge” from outside its control tower. No major news in this morning’s briefing, but interesting numbers: 146 city-owned bridges in Seattle (almost 170 others are owned by other entities); 46 of them are more than 60 years old, like the Admiral Way Bridge (cool historic construction shots here), and replacing them would cost the city about $1.5 billion, so they’re trying to prolong the bridges’ life. “Intrusion of water” is the main reason concrete bridges (like Admiral, which is “concrete truss”) fail, the committee was told; not because the concrete goes bad, but because water seeps in, corrodes the steel rebar, which in turn expands and starts breaking up the concrete. The city has steel bridges, too, and its main preservation work for those involves painting each one at least every 18 years; the repainting program costs $1 million-plus each year. Bridges are inspected routinely, following federal standards.
By the way, did you know the “low bridge” is the only bridge of its kind in the world?
The City Council’s Transportation Committee – chaired by West Seattle-residing Councilmember Tom Rasmussen – just got briefed by SDOT staff on the Pigeon Point road closure/detour/parking-restriction situation, and how the “unpleasant surprise” factor might be avoided in a future situation. Rasmussen, of course, was very familiar with the details, because he responded to neighbors’ requests for help and visited Pigeon Point (photo left) the weekend before the 23rd SW homebuilding-related closure took effect on Feb. 22. This discussion happened during the “SDOT director’s report” section of this morning’s committee meeting – acting SDOT chief Peter Hahn yielded the floor to SDOT’s Eric Widstrand, whose recap included this official map showing the originally proposed detours (etc.) and the revised version. The map also clearly shows what Hahn acknowledged was unusual about this situation – a road closure in one area, with major impacts on people living blocks away. Widstrand acknowledged that the main heads-up for the public was the original detour sign that some interpreted to say Delridge was closing, as first reported here on Feb. 10. (One clarification: Widstrand told the committee that developer Jon Riser had “notified” WSB, but we did NOT get any sort of “notification” from him or the city before the Delridge sign went up, though he did participate in a site discussion, quickly answered our request for comment, and was lauded for working with neighbors once he heard their concerns.) The mea culpa boiled down to: In most closures like this, apparently it’s OK to leave the notification to the developer – SDOT issues permits for thousands of closures every year. But an unusual situation like this should raise a red flag, and, Widstrand said, could be grounds for a community open house a month before closures/changes kick in. Rasmussen noted that could have saved a lot of time and trouble here, explaining that though Metro apparently didn’t consider the optimal reroute because of a tree in the way, neighbors told him that if they’d been brought into advance discussions, they could have explained that the neighbor who owns the tree would be happy to have it trimmed.
Two weeks into the North Delridge/Pigeon Point traffic re-routing/parking reduction required by a homebuilder putting in a sewer line along 23rd SW, new signs are up in PP, requesting detouring drivers’ consideration. Pigeon Point Neighborhood Council co-chair Jim Sander made the signs and sent the photos, taken by 6-year-old Tom Sander.
(Yes, Jim says, that second “Braveheart“-inspired sign is tongue-in-cheek.) The signposts are more often used to publicize upcoming neighborhood events such as PPNC meetings, but the slow-down reminders will be handy until the construction work is done, potentially another four weeks.
Many had a lot to say about the former head of the Seattle Department of Transportation, particularly during and after the December 2008 snow – so now the city is inviting you to have a say on the person Mayor McGinn wants to see in the job, Peter Hahn. The invitation comes from Councilmember Tom Rasmussen, who chairs the Transportation Committee – read on:Read More
Plenty of discussion when we reported last month that the Southwest District Council – reps from community councils and other groups/organizations around western West Seattle – agreed to send a letter to King County Executive Dow Constantine asking that part of the forthcoming RapidRide “C Line” route be revisited. The council has finally received a reply – delivered in person by Constantine staffer Chris Arkills toward the end of this past week’s SWDC meeting – read on:Read More
We didn’t want to bury this new information by adding it to our previous story about the city setting May 17 as the date for the permanent closure of the 1st Avenue South onramp to the westbound West Seattle Bridge – so here’s a breakout. We spoke with King County DOT‘s Linda Thielke a little while ago, and she said Metro does have the BUS detour worked out for the year and a half that there will be no way to get on the westbound West Seattle Bridge between I-5 and The Viaduct. First, the routes that will be affected:
21 local
22
56 local
57
116
118
119
Second, the detour route (we tried to make a custom Google Map but the line-drawing function is just not behaving for us, so that’s just going to have to wait): 1st Avenue South to Hanford (map), west on Hanford to East Marginal Way (map), south on East Marginal to Spokane (map), then across the lower bridge. Only one current stop, in the 1st/Spokane vicinity, will be missed, and this will only affect the “back to West Seattle from downtown” runs, since the 1st Avenue South offramp on the eastbound side will not be affected (also, the new 4th Avenue ramp on that side will open later this year). The one key piece of the puzzle that Metro is still working on: Travel times/scheduling, so they can create something resembling a predictable schedule for this detour. They’re talking with the city re: signal timing, for example. And Thielke pointed out one other thing: Metro also is trying to keep this all in the “big picture” – they can address what needs to happen because of this May closure, for example, but with all the other work scheduled in the area, they are trying to make sure things don’t have to change every time “another domino” falls. This domino – the 1st Ave. So. ramp closure – is part of the city’s Spokane Street Viaduct project; the official online info starts here.
If you use Highway 99 to commute past the Battery Street Tunnel, you’ll want to know about these lane closures coming up – read on:Read More
For those closely watching the future of the South Park Bridge, particularly whether it will have to shut down this summer if the county can’t find money to replace it, three notes: First, an update from our citywide-news partners at the Seattle Times – while that story’s topline is “the bridge might have to close in June,” the real news in the story appears to be that the county’s awaiting study results which might show the bridge COULD be kept open. Meantime, we’ve learned of two meetings next week for those interested in the bridge’s future – both have been publicized in South Park, but apparently not in West Seattle: First one is Tuesday (March 9), 7 pm, during the regular meeting of the South Park Neighborhood Association. The county has sent out a mailer – see it here. Then on Wednesday (March 10), community advocates are organizing a meeting about the bridge; here’s info about that, from the South Park Yahoo! group.
That’s one of the sketches shown at the last meeting of the Alaskan Way Viaduct South Portal Working Group, which had asked for better visual representations of the new tunnel route as it crossed under the current viaduct and approached the seawall. When we covered the most recent meeting of this group – tasked with discussing and vetting plans for how traffic will be handled south of the viaduct’s Central Waterfront section — its next date hadn’t yet been set, but now it has: March 23, 4 pm, Puget Sound Regional Council board room (1011 Western Avenue). At the January meeting, it was promised that this meeting will include more on upcoming construction staging, as well as how various scenarios would affect biking, walking and transit times. The public’s welcome at these meetings; here’s a map to PSRC offices.
We’ve been tracking work on the new King County Water Taxi dock at Seacrest – next step, the gangway. Its components arrived at the end of the week, after the concrete dock was towed in (see our previous story/photos here) and secured. And you may soon see the new vessel on the West Seattle-downtown run, the Rachel Marie, because King County Transportation Marine Division communications manager Susan Whitmore says it’s being brought into Puget Sound this week, after leaving the Ballard shipyard where it’s been getting ready for its new role (see our “sneak peek inside tour” story here). Whitmore says the crew – county employees, now that the service is no longer operated by Argosy – starts work two weeks from tomorrow and will be training until the new season begins on April 5. 6:48 PM UPDATE: Seems the Rachel Marie didn’t wait till next week – we’re told it was seen out and about today, and Zack sent this photo of the RM docked at Pier 50 this evening, now sporting the KCWT branding, next to its counterpart Melissa Ann, which makes the Vashon-downtown run:
9:31 PM UPDATE: The explanation comes in comment and on our Facebook (WS Blog) page – the Rachel Marie will fill in on the Vashon-downtown run because of mechanical trouble that took the Melissa Ann out of service.
According to Seattle Police via Twitter, there’s a multiple-car crash in the northbound Battery Street Tunnel, so the tunnel’s closed and drivers are being diverted off at Western Avenue, right before the tunnel. Also via Twitter, SDOT says a tow truck’s on site, so perhaps it won’t be closed too long. “No known injuries,” according to SPD. (Thanks to Nichole Taylor for the photo.) 3:20 PM UPDATE: SDOT has tweeted that the situation is cleared up – but one commenter with a view says the BACKUP isn’t clear yet.
That’s one of the new “no parking” signs just put up along eastbound Admiral Way, in front of the businesses on both sides of the Admiral/California intersection. The city was “considering” parking removal as of last fall, back when we had repeated reports/discussions here about traffic troubles at the intersection. Then today, via Twitter, Revolution Coffee and Art reported, “The parking on Admiral in front of Revolution is officially gone now – please don’t park there.” The signs went up today, Revolution confirms.
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