West Seattle, Washington
28 Thursday
As noted here Monday, the Sylvan Way spot paving is scheduled to start tomorrow; in the meantime, Mike spotted this SDOT painting truck out on Delridge by Orchard today. We also saw one near 35th/Morgan yesterday, while photographing the Aggressive Drivers Response Team in action (speaking of which, the last, longest story from last night’s West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meeting will be up in the next 15 minutes).
At the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meeting, where SDOT community traffic liaison Jim Curtin is front and center: While most of the discussion so far has centered on 35th, Curtin revealed a new proposal for a California SW intersection that’s been of concern – California/Dakota. You might recall the most recent wave of concern there, sparked when a hit-and-run driver killed a dog (and narrowly missed its owner – WSB coverage here and here, and specifically regarding traffic-safety followup, here). Curtin says that the city is applying for a state grant to install a “rapid-fire beacon” (here’s what those look like) that would be pedestrian-activated. If they get the grant, the installation could happen this fall, he says.
ADDED: We asked Curtin a few follow-up questions after the meeting. He says the city will apply for the grant in May, and is fairly confident it’ll be approved; the cost of the special lights will be about $50,000 $15,000. The case of Lucy the dog is not the only reason California/Dakota is being singled out for this, he says; it’s also a busy crossing area because of the schools on the north side of The Junction – such as Tilden, Holy Rosary, Hope, Seattle Lutheran.
Somehow, we had expected to see this happen in advance of tonight’s traffic-safety discussion at the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council, since SDOT’s Jim Curtin (who will address WSCPC) had told us “more enforcement” was a possibility after last week’s deadly crash: The Seattle Police Aggressive Drivers Response Team was out on 35th SW earlier this afternoon. (Thanks to the WSB’er who texted us after spotting them!) We photographed one of the Chargers at 35th/Henderson – after first spotting them just north of 35th/Webster (and as we got the camera out, off they went, lights flashing):
This comes six days after the deadly motorcycle-car collision at 35th/Juneau, where this afternoon, as police patrolled, we found a roadside tribute to the motorcyclist, Andrew Seffernick (whose 25th birthday would have been today):
Though there have been other 35th SW deaths in the years between, that stirred memories of the tribute a few blocks away at 35th/Graham after the death of bicyclist Susanne Scaringi (also in her mid-20s when a collision killed her in 2006 – also a 2-wheeled vehicle hitting a turning 4-wheeled vehicle broadside). Meantime, we spotted two TV crews out in the area this afternoon, so you may see regional-media stories tonight about 35th SW; the Crime Prevention Council meeting is at 7 pm, Southwest Precinct.
7:48 PM UPDATE: We’re at the WSCPC meeting. SW Precinct commander Capt. Steve Paulsen says 21 tickets were written today, average speed 50 mph (in a 35 zone), highest one, he believes, was for 60 mph.
(Photo by Long Bach Nguyen; click the image to see a larger version on his website)
From the distance at which that West Seattle overview was photographed, it’s easy to forget what it’s like down in the trenches, on the roads and the sidewalks, in the cars and the buses and the trucks and the ferries, on the bikes and the motorcycles. We talk about individual challenges and concerns here all the time. But take a moment if you will for the big picture. Right now, the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce is doing that – in hopes of angling for a share of another city pie related to transportation needs.
Chamber CEO Patti Mullen has convened a group to brainstorm a potential “wish list” for the Citizen Transportation Advisory Council, CTAC III for short, as it drafts recommendations on spending about $7 million around the city (partly related to the new $20 license tax, as explained here). No one on that council represents West Seattle, so the Chamber is trying to make sure our peninsula has a loud, unified voice, by presenting some strong requests/recommendations. We sat in on the Chamber-convened group’s first conversation last week and agreed to run a list of questions by you – for your seat at the table, so to speak, if you’d like to post a comment with your answers to these questions:
*Identify ONE transportation improvement or project you believe is essential? (for example improved bus service to Delridge, more bike lanes or paved streets)
*What ONE street needs the most improvement? What specific improvements (new sidewalks, paving, crosswalks, signals) need to be made?
*If you had $500,000 to improve some part of the transportation system in West Seattle what would you invest it in?
The Chamber needs to compile comments by April 28th; that’s the date CTAC will convene a meeting about “neighborhood interests” (see the link above), and the Chamber plans a followup shortly thereafter. P.S. In case you’re wondering who’s in the Chamber-convened group – facilitated by consultant Josh Stepherson – those on hand for the first of two conversations last Friday were: John Huey, Viking Bank; Patrick Jablonski, Nucor; Brandon Nicholson, Nicholson Kovalchick Architects and West Seattle Junction Association; Denny Onslow, Harbor Properties; Gary Oertli, South Seattle Community College; and Chas Redmond, Feet First (and Morgan Community Association, Sustainable West Seattle, Southwest District Council, among other groups).
The date is now set for the pothole-fighting “spot paving” work along Sylvan Way we told you about earlier this month. The traffic advisory is just in from SDOT:
SDOT paving crews will lay a new surface of asphalt this week in the eastbound lane in the 2400 block of Sylvan Way SW (at the curve by Home Depot).
On Thursday, April 21, the crews will grind off the old surface, and on Friday, April 22 they will lay new asphalt. One lane will remain open in each direction. Traffic flaggers will assist traffic.
This repair work is needed due to an ongoing pothole problem at this location.
(Seen April 2010 at 35th/Webster, shared by MAS)
There have been safety concerns for years along the central stretch of 35th Avenue SW – symbolized by the sign in our file photo – and they resurfaced following last Wednesday night’s 35th/Juneau motorcycle-car collision, which killed a motorcyclist identified by his family in WSB comments as Andrew Seffernick (who would’ve been turning 25 tomorrow).
If you share those concerns – or are worried about other West Seattle streets – it just so happens that, coincidentally, a key SDOT traffic-safety manager is the guest at tomorrow night’s West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meeting. West Seattle resident Jim Curtin is community-traffic liaison for SDOT. We had checked with Curtin late last week, after the deadly crash, to ask if anything happened to currently be in the works for that stretch. He pointed out that Seattle Police will investigate the crash to see what factored into that, but in the meantime: “No changes are currently planned for this location [35th/Juneau] at this time. We can, however, recommend additional enforcement in this area and will look at SPD’s findings to see if any changes are warranted.” It should be noted, though, that those findings may not be out for months, given how long major investigations often take. Tomorrow night’s WSCPC meeting is at the Southwest Precinct (the meeting room is right off the parking lot alongside SW Webster, east of Delridge), 7 pm, all welcome (and you can bring neighborhood-crime questions for SWP police, too). Till then, you can also read up on SDOT’s neighborhood-traffic program, by going here.
If you were following the saga in February and March, you’ll recall a sinkhole by the traffic circle at Fairmount and Forest in Admiral turned into a three-story-deep pipe-replacement project. Now that work’s done, and the circle has been restored – but it needs some landscaping love, according to SDOT, which asked us to put the call out for a volunteer, since they don’t have anyone on record as tending to this spot:
We need a landscape volunteer for the traffic circle at Fairmount Ave SW and SW Forest Street. For those who are interested, or may be interested in becoming a landscape volunteer for other traffic circles in the City of Seattle, please contact Joshua Erickson with SDOT’s Urban Forestry Section at (206) 684-5008 or via e-mail at joshua.erickson@seattle.gov.
(January photo of Orchard-to-Sylvan potholes, shared by Gary)
Hat tip for this one goes to the Sanislo Elementary School PTSA newsletter – reading the latest edition last night, we saw news of some road-repair work planned nearby, so we followed up this morning by asking SDOT for details. Here’s the reply from Marybeth Turner:
An SDOT asphalt crew will be doing spot asphalt paving along Sylvan Way SW, SW Orchard St and Dumar Way SW in areas where there are frequent problems with potholes.
They will pave the eastbound lane on Sylvan Way SW around the curve to the intersection with SW Orchard. They will also pave the eastbound lane of SW Orchard from Delridge up to the intersection with Dumar Way SW, and then continue for a short distance around the curve on Dumar.
The crews have not yet scheduled this work–it will be executed with other paving jobs, and it requires favorable weather. We will announce the dates when the crews are closer to starting this paving work.
We will also be doing some spot travel lane repairs between the 4100 and 6900 blocks on Delridge to address problem pothole areas.
We would like to perform more extensive street reconstruction and paving, but this is what we can do with the funding available at this time.
The Sylvan potholes got special note here back in January. The city is still tracking potholes online (with 229 in queue as of about a week ago); you can see the latest map, with info on how to report them, by going here.
As first reported here yesterday, the King County Water Taxi‘s West Seattle-to-downtown run will start its new spring/summer 7-day-a-week schedule on April 8th. And now we have details of how that’ll work this year, including shuttle and game-day plans. The schedule is online here, and you can read on for the overview!Read More
Among the many ongoing changes related to Alaskan Way Viaduct and Spokane Street Viaduct construction, here’s one that starts tomorrow, affecting bicyclists:
Starting Wednesday, March 30 through Friday, April 8, crews will route bicycles off of both directions of Alaskan Way S. between S. Atlantic Street and S. Royal Brougham Way while they rebuild the entrance into the Port of Seattle’s Terminal 46. Cyclists will need to follow a signed detour route via East Frontage Road S.
Find more information about the detour – including a map – by going here.
With the West Seattle Water Taxi resuming service today after several days off for repairs, some have asked when the 7-day-a-week spring/summer schedule will begin. We got the answer from the office of West Seattle’s King County Councilmember Joe McDermott: April 8th, one week from this Friday. The official schedule isn’t online yet but should be available soon. Councilmember McDermott, by the way, recently became chair of the King County Ferry District board, which oversees the Water Taxi.
Just out of the WSB inbox:
King County Metro is hosting two transportation focus groups for West Seattle residents in April 2011:
King County Metro is bringing a new program to West Seattle in the Admiral, Alaska, and Morgan Junctions. The focus groups are designed to help shape a new program to increase the number of people walking, biking, taking the bus, and carpooling in and out of West Seattle.
Two focus groups will be hosted on the following days/times:
Tuesday April 5th at Hope Lutheran Church, 4456 42nd Avenue SW, from 6pm to 7:30pm
Wednesday April 6th at Gatewood Elementary, 4320 SW Myrtle Street from 6pm to 7:30pmParticipants will receive a 2011 Chinook Book a guide to living well and having fun in the Puget Sound good for savings of up to $3,000 at local businesses. Food and beverages will be provided.
Space is limited. Reserve your spot at www.westseattletalks.org or by calling Derrick Van Kirk 206-652-2310 or emailing derrick@feetfirst.org
Just in from SDOT:
Seattle Department of Transportation paving crews will start work this week on two pedestrian safety projects on California Avenue SW.
The first project will be at the intersection of California Avenue and SW Frontenac Street [map], where they will install new curb ramps on three corners of the intersection. When the first job is finished, the crews will install a new curb bulb on the southbound side of California Avenue SW at SW Othello Street [map].
The crews will work from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Parking will be restricted in the work area. The crew chief hopes to complete both projects by the end of the month.
These are the two remaining projects out of three on California SW whose Neighborhood Street Fund money was announced last year; we had a progress report on the third one, at SW Findlay, earlier this month.
ALASKAN WAY VIADUCT CLOSING BOTH DAYS THIS WEEKEND: It’s the semiannual safety check plus testing of the automatic closure-in-case-of-quake gates. 6 am-6 pm both days (as always, we’ll watch for an early reopening Saturday, and will let you know here/Facebook – “liked” our NEW page yet? – Twitter if that happens). In the official announcement, WSDOT says the “viaduct closed” lights on signs in West Seattle (etc.) may operate “intermittently” because of the gate testing – but even if they’re not flashing, the viaduct WILL be closed.
NORTHBOUND 1ST AVENUE SOUTH CLOSED AT SPOKANE FRIDAY NIGHT/SATURDAY MORNING: The Spokane Street Viaduct Widening Project will close northbound 1st South right at the bridge from 8 pm Friday to 5 am Saturday; that means detours for buses as well as private transportation, and Metro has sent an alert saying it means a reroute for Routes 21, 56 and 85: “During this closure, Routes 21 & 56 will travel on 4th Av S & S Horton St. Use the stop northbound on 4th Av S just north of S Spokane St. No stops will be missed for routes 21 & 56. Route 85 Night Owl will miss one stop northbound on 1st Av S just north of S Spokane St. Use the stop northbound on 4th Av S just north of S Spokane St. ”
NEED THE ‘GOOD TO GO’ PASS FOR 520 BRIDGE? WSDOT’s mobile van is coming to Roxbury Safeway (26th SW and SW Roxbury) both days this weekend, 11 am-4 pm, and you can buy the sticker that will line you up with the electronic tolling system. Details here.
Three weeks ago tonight, much fanfare accompanied the start of demolition for part of the original Alaskan Way Viaduct (WSB coverage here), which more recently served as the northbound onramp to The Viaduct from 1st Avenue South in the stadium zone. Work on a temporary onramp was scheduled to be done by April 1st – but it’s so far ahead of schedule, the new temporary onramp is opening tonight! WSDOT says that by 7 tonight, they’ll open the newly complete “temporary detour onramp” to northbound 99, with access from Royal Brougham Way.
3 quick Alaskan Way Viaduct notes – Northbound this morning, the Seneca exit is backed up more than usual because of a crash at Seneca/2nd – Metro has even rerouted the 21, 54, 55, 56, and 120. It’s not a major-injury situation, though, so a long-running blockage is not likely … THIS SUNDAY, you may have seen signs about a Viaduct closure for the St. Patrick’s Day Dash. To clarify, WSDOT says the 8-11 am closure is north of downtown, Republican to the Aurora Bridge (course map here), so it shouldn’t affect you south of the Battery Street Tunnel … One more reminder, WEEKEND AFTER NEXT, March 19-20, it’s the next weekend-long Alaskan Way Viaduct inspection shutdown, 6 am-6 pm both days.
(King County rendering of new South Park Bridge design)
Two months after they were requested, bids were opened this afternoon for the new South Park Bridge, and the county has announced that the “apparent low bidder” is Kiewit-Massman. The joint venture of Kiewit Infrastructure West Company (Kiewit, by the way, helped build the West Seattle Bridge) and Massman Construction Company bid just over $96 million dollars, less than the county’s estimate ($98 million-$108 million). In the official county news release, King County Executive Dow Constantine called it an “excellent bid”; it needs to be evaluated before it becomes the official winning bid. Construction is expected to start in May, about 11 months after the old South Park Bridge was permanently closed, and the new bridge is expected to open in mid-2013. On the eve of the bid opening, the county threw a “Thank You, South Park” party last night at the Machinists Union Hall in SP (celebrants posed for the group photo below, including Constantine and King County Councilmember Joe McDermott)
(Photo by Ned Ahrens, courtesy King County DOT)
Thanks to Dan for the tip and the photo – a madrona tree has fallen from the slope over Jacobsen Road (between Seaview and Beach Drive), blocking most of the westbound (downhill) lane. He says it just happened about half an hour ago.
3:44 PM NOTE: As the wild weather continues – we’re under a “short-term forecast” alert for at least another half-hour (that explains the current downpour) – might even see some lightning.
If you are headed toward the West Seattle Bridge any time soon – be forewarned, there’s a car on its side in the inner eastbound lanes on the highrise, and while fire units already have cleared, the wreck itself hasn’t been moved, so avoid the bridge for a while if you can. (Above, a screengrab we took from the traffic camera a few minutes ago; here’s the live version.)
10:38 AM UPDATE: Wreck is cleared, according to an update from Metro (and a check of the aforementioned live camera).
Two updates that both involve lights and roads:
First, thanks to the team at Ventana Construction (WSB sponsor) for the tip that a new flashing-light crosswalk sign has gone up over California SW at Findlay (map). It’s one of three California SW intersections in a Neighborhood Street Fund project whose funding was noted here last year. The other two, SW Frontenac and SW Othello (both south of Morgan Junction), are also slated to get pedestrian-safety improvements this month – as reported here a few weeks back.
Second – we’ve been talking about the city’s ongoing conversion to LED streetlights, to save energy and money. A few West Seattle neighborhoods and side streets have seen some test installations. Now, there’s word that the entire West Seattle Bridge – from I-5 to the 35th/Fauntleroy end – is going to get LEDs as a “pilot” project testing them on arterials. This is according to the slides in a briefing presented to the City Council’s Energy, Technology and Civil Rights Committee on Wednesday. (The rest of West Seattle, as reiterated in the briefing, isn’t slated for conversion till 2012-2013.)
(King County rendering of new South Park Bridge design)
You’ve heard a lot about the Highway 99 tunnel today (we’ve added more to our ongoing coverage, with still more to come). But that’s not all the City Council did today – they also finalized agreements related to the new South Park Bridge, for which they’re forking over $15 million. Here’s their announcement. As reported here last month, the bridge-replacement project has gone out to bid; one week from tomorrow, on March 8th, the resulting bids are to be opened – construction then could start as soon as May, per the county’s website for the project.
As the RapidRide “C” Line bus service gets closer to its West Seattle debut, currently set for September of next year, Metro is locking in the details for stops, stations, bus lanes, and the rest of the accompanying “facilities,” working in tandem with SDOT, since the facilities are on city streets and sidewalks. We have been reporting here on the concerns that two business districts along the route have had regarding street parking that will be removed for bus lanes. While Triangle business owners along SW Alaska had most of their concerns quelled (as reported here), Luna Park business owners (whose concerns we first detailed last December) have just received final word of the plan for their area. It’s largely unchanged from the proposal that was discussed again at their most recent merchants’ meeting.
The plan is outlined in a letter sent to Luna Park businesses this week (read the 2-page PDF here), signed by Metro director Kevin Desmond and SDOT director Peter Hahn. It finalizes the plan for a bus lane that will mean no on-street parking along the east side of Avalon 6-10 am weekdays between the bridge and SW Bradford. That had drawn strongest objections from Luna Park Café owner John Bennett and Java Bean Coffee owner Tony Hoyt, both of whom do much of their business in the mornings. The letter notes that the restrictions “will affect 355 linear feet of curb space …” The county and city reps who had attended Luna Park merchants’ meetings had previously described the affected area as 15 parking spaces; by the city’s 15-to-19-feet-per-space measure, that’s between 19 and 23 spaces.
There is one potential change: Desmond and Hahn write that “… with this letter, we commit to reassessing whether an additional RapidRide stop at the existing northbound (bus) stop at SW Charlestown Street [map] would be warranted to meet the needs of more riders.” Luna Park business owners had taken the previous proposal as adding insult to injury, as there was no RapidRide stop planned in the business district, or anywhere north of SW Yancy, a few blocks uphill.
We’re checking on how soon the decision on that potential stop will be made; work along Avalon Way might start as soon as “late spring,” according to the letter (again, you can read it in its entirety here).
Ever check the city’s “Construction Lookahead“? It lists what’s in the works for road closures, as we continue steering through the maze of Spokane Street Viaduct work, Alaskan Way Viaduct work, and more. Checking it last night, we noticed the dates have quietly been set for the next Alaskan Way Viaduct semiannual inspections – since those are almost-all-weekend shutdowns, you might want to mark your calendar now: Saturday and Sunday, March 19-20, 6 am-6 pm both days.
| 5 COMMENTS