West Seattle, Washington
25 Thursday
The most impassioned campaign speech at tonight’s 34th District Democrats meeting came from a semi-surprise visitor – and he wasn’t even speaking on his own behalf, though he’s on the ballot for next Tuesday’s primary. Our clip includes most of what U.S. Rep. Jim McDermott had to say, mostly on behalf of U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, and why McDermott believes this may be the most important election of his lifetime. Also campaigning, State Sen. Joe McDermott (no relation), making one more pre-primary pitch for his King County Council District 8 campaign (vs. three opponents). And there was a mini-fundraiser for Reps. Eileen Cody (running for re-election against Republican Ray Carter) and Sharon Nelson (running unopposed for State Senate) before the meeting. But the hottest race on the ballot – 34th District State House, Position 2 (for which the 34th DDs have endorsed Marcee Stone, one of 4 candidates) – did not come up at all, and we didn’t spot any of the candidates in attendance. That may be a different story this Friday, when the group throws its annual fundraiser Garden Party at West Seattle Nursery – Chris Porter, who’s heading the effort, got up to talk about it twice. But the heart of the evening’s program was a panel on transportation – from current projects, to future possibilities – with a trio of panelists, including WS-residing City Councilmember Tom Rasmussen, chair of the council’s Transportation Committee. In addition to the Spokane Street Viaduct offramp-opening announcement we published as a separate bulletin earlier, they talked tolls, taxes, transit, and more – read on:Read More
Tonight’s marquee event in West Seattle – the 34th District Democrats‘ monthly gathering (7 pm, The Hall at Fauntleroy). And a timely topic, too – transportation, from the Alaskan Way Viaduct to the city’s future vision (which could include more taxes to pay for improvements). Here’s the full agenda, which includes West Seattle-residing Councilmember Tom Rasmussen, chair of the council’s Transportation Committee. (You’re also bound to hear an update on the 34th DDs’ biggest annual event, the Garden Party dinner/auction, coming up this Friday.)
The RapidRide bus-stop plans for the Fauntleroy ferry terminal remained the top topic for the Fauntleroy Community Association as its board met Tuesday night. While board members continue to meet with Metro rep Paul Roybal – who also is scheduled to attend the next meeting (Sept. 14) – they don’t believe their concerns about a potential traffic bottleneck are being addressed. As reiterated at last month’s meeting, they’re worried that will be a result of the current design, which brings traffic past the terminal down to one lane each way. And they’re concerned that many people don’t realize that – nor the potential for more traffic to divert onto 45th SW to avoid it – so time was spent Tuesday night discussing how to raise awareness – possibly via a mailing or door-to-door campaign. FCA also believes Metro is working with inaccurate traffic-flow numbers; while they say the county numbers show 400 cars an hour in the area during peak ferry-traffic hours, FCA’s Susan Lantz-Dey did a car count the past two days, and said she counted at least twice that – even without school in session (there’s dock traffic from West Seattle parents picking up Vashon-school-attending kids). She and FCA president Bruce Butterfield plan to push for a new traffic study. Also discussed: The ongoing discussions about how the county will control Combined Sewer Overflows from the basins that feed Barton (Fauntleroy) and Murray (Lowman Beach) pump stations, with the Barton “green stormwater” meeting last week and ongoing Murray citizens advisory group meetings (FCA board member Vlad Oustimovitch is a Murray group member).
The Fauntleroy Community Association board meets the 2nd Tuesday of the month, 7 pm, The Hall at Fauntleroy (old schoolhouse).
We’ve received several notes asking about this in recent days – so in case you were wondering too: The project that is starting to resembling a ramp to connect The Bridge and Highway 99 southbound in this area is something entirely different: It’s the East Marginal Way Grade Separation Project, which is being handled by the Port of Seattle and hasn’t gotten nearly as much publicity as the Alaskan Way and Spokane Street Viaducts. (We mentioned the start of construction back in January.) Here’s a fact sheet explaining it, rendering included, and a little more info here. It’s supposed to be done in about a year.
(SDOT aerial photo of new ramp, July 31st)
Since the final touches are in progress – namely, concrete curing – on the new 4th Avenue South offramp from the eastbound Spokane Street Viaduct (aka the West Seattle Bridge between 99 and I-5), we checked today with SDOT to see if they have an opening date for the ramp, which in turn would be reopening day for the eastbound lane that’s been closed for 3 weeks. SDOT’s Marybeth Turner confirms the big day “may” be next week – but the exact date isn’t set yet. (If it does happen next week, that’s one-third shorter than the “up to 6 weeks” lane-closure timetable first projected.) P.S. A reminder that we have area traffic cameras – including the closest ones to that area – “live” on the WSB Traffic page, including the city’s semi-new Junction and Lincoln Park-area cams, along with links to traffic alerts from a variety of sources.
“The tunnel’s going to be closed for quite a while.” That’s what we just heard on the scanner, as police call in the major-incident investigators for a crash on northbound Highway 99 at the Battery Street Tunnel. We don’t have details of the crash, but in case you drive the Alaskan Way Viaduct northbound overnight, you should be aware. (“Quite a while” translates to “at least two hours,” according to more scanner traffic heard as we wrote this.) FRIDAY AFTERNOON UPDATE: SPD Blotter has the story of what happened – motorcycle crash with two people hurt.
North Delridge and Morgan Junction leaders have just learned that their neighborhoods are winners in the latest round of decisions about who should get a share of city Neighborhood Street Fund Large Projects money. These proposals went through a lot of review, including the local district councils. The decisions just announced will allot $112,000 for crossing improvements – such as striping and signage – at three California SW intersections – at SW Frontenac and SW Othello, as well as, north of Morgan Junction, SW Findlay (see the full proposal here). And $501,000 will be allotted for curbs and rain gardens 25th SW between Brandon and Juneau (see the full proposal here). These are two of 11 projects citywide (here’s the list) that were chosen for NSF money this time around; the mayor and City Council have to sign off on it for next year’s budget, and provided that happens, SDOT says design will likely start this December.
You’ve seen the city’s new traffic-messaging signs in action recently – with the alert about the Spokane Street Viaduct lane closure, for example – and now the state is sending a reminder that its “Smarter Highways” signs are about to be activated on highways including the stretch of northbound I-5 used by drivers leaving the West Seattle Bridge. So what are these signs going to do that the current “trouble ahead” signs don’t, you ask? Read on for the official news release:Read More
If you have a bicycle you can spare – somebody needs it on the other side of the globe. On Saturday, you can drop it off in The Triangle – and volunteers will take it from there. From Gatewood resident Tom Furtwangler:
A bicycle can truly have a transformative impact on the life of someone who lives several miles from their school, work, clinic, or water source: cycling reduces their time in transit, and increases the load they can transport.
There are many great organizations working to move used bikes to Africa, and build programs on the ground there to make sure bikes get in the right hands. And we have one right here in the Northwest – The Village Bicycle Project, which recently celebrated shipping its 100th container of bikes to Ghana!
Village Bicycle Project is having a bike drive this Saturday at the West Seattle YMCA from 9-5, which makes it incredibly easy to drop of an old bike, bike frame, bike wheel, pile of parts, whatever you have lying around, while you are out doing your weekend errands!
The Y is at 4515 36th SW (here’s a map).
(Photo by Cliff DesPeaux)
If you drive the Alaskan Way Viaduct or its parallel surface street – or if you ride the King County Water Taxi – you might have noticed this already today, or else you’ll see it on the way home: Crews have begun to demolish Pier 48 on the downtown waterfront, just south of the Water Taxi’s dock at Pier 50 (and the neighboring Washington State Ferries terminal). We remember it best as the dock for the Princess Marguerite car ferry between Seattle and Victoria, which shut down several years back. It’ll be a staging area for some of the Viaduct work. Photojournalist Cliff DesPeaux is there for WSB, and we’ll have more from him later in the day (click here to see a video snippet he tweeted); the entire demolition project, WSDOT says, could last up to four months. (added later – more video – the voice you hear is WSDOT’s Matt Preedy, a West Seattleite, explaining what’s happening)
ADDED 10:17 AM: Here’s a new WSDOT summary of the work that started today:Read More
(5:11 pm note – The hearing’s over; when we get code for the archived video, we’ll swap it out)
2:51 PM REPORT: Hit the “play” button to watch live – despite the slate you see, it IS in progress now. This meeting of the City Council’s Alaskan Way Viaduct Committee is the third of three events that we mentioned this morning. City Councilmember Sally Bagshaw just said about sixty people have signed up to speak in the public comment section, which has just begun, before the council discusses the proposed resolution announced this morning – which would say, the city intends to sign the tunnel agreements, but wants to see the bids (this fall) first. Here’s a photo sent by council staff via Twitter, showing the SRO crowd:
4:27 PM: The public hearing ended after about an hour and a half – primarily pro-tunnel – and has moved on into the councilmembers talking with a state team headed by Transportation Secretary Paula Hammond, who said, “Delay is not our friend” and insists that risk management is her team’s job. Meantime, Mayor McGinn’s reaction to the council’s “we’re passing a resolution but not signing yet” plan has finally come in – read on:
Two road reminders today: FIRST: The photo was taken this morning along 16th SW, north of South Seattle Community College, where the Brandon-to-Dawson section is now officially closed as work begins on another section of road rebuilding/repaving work. The city’s webpage for the project has a schedule of what happens and when, with work scheduled to last about two months. Go here to see the detour map. SECOND: If you have something to say to the city about the proposed Admiral Way “road diet”/”rechannelization” (here’s our report on the city’s “open house” 2 weeks ago), be sure to say it before tomorrow. As pointed out in a WSB Forums discussion, the city has set July 27th – tomorrow – as the deadline for comments – e-mail walkandbike@seattle.gov or call 206-684-7583. (The city project page also says, “These changes, as modified in response to public comments, are scheduled to take place in late summer 2010.”)
If you are following the ongoing almost-a-soap-opera-sometimes about the Alaskan Way Viaduct‘s Central Waterfront Project tunnel proposal, and the City Council and Mayor’s conflicting opinions about whether amended agreements protect the city from the cost-overrun responsibility the Legislature wrote into the original bill – three things you’ll want to watch today (and of course we’ll be watching too). First, the Council gets a briefing from City Attorney Pete Holmes during its 9:30 am meeting; second, seven council members (all except Mike O’Brien and Bruce Harrell) and Holmes plan an 11:30 am news conference; third, the council’s special Alaskan Way Viaduct committee takes up the agreements at 2:30 pm. The folks at Seattle Channel tell us all of the above will be streamed live online, at www.seattlechannel.org/councillive. 10:41 AM UPDATE: The 1st discussion has just begun (apparently delayed while city legal staff put “finishing touches” on documentation). Councilmember Sally Bagshaw says the council will propose and vote on a resolution indicating their commitment to proceed, BUT will not sign the agreements till early next year, after seeing the proposals (bids) to be opened this fall. 11:45 AM: The council’s media briefing is under way now. It was noted that the council’s resolution is not subject to mayoral veto; he can decline to sign it, but it doesn’t require signature to move forward, since it’s non-binding.
A note from Jason served as a reminder – since it’s starting next week, today’s a good day to re-mention that the next round of 16th SW paving – SW Brandon to SW Dawson – is just around the corner, so to speak. Here’s our first reminder from a week ago; here’s the official project page; here’s the detour map.
As is usual this time of year and this time of the week, SDOT has gone public with its list of big events around the city. Included in this roundup, the American Legion Post 160-presented West Seattle Grand Parade, happening Saturday morning at 11 (check our coverage archive for all the newest previews, and past years’ coverage). Click ahead to see what else is happening where and when:Read More
(King County rendering of future South Park Bridge)
First – the Puget Sound Regional Council has just finalized its $15 million South Park Bridge replacement-funding pledge, bringing total commitments to $98 million of the needed $130 million, according to an announcement just sent by the county. (The recommended pledge was first reported two weeks ago.) Second – at last night’s Delridge District Council meeting at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center, City Council President Richard Conlin was asked by Pigeon Point’s Pete Spalding how the city will rustle up the $15 million it recently pledged to the bridge-replacement project. Conlin replied that options included adding the money to what the city borrows, delaying some Bridging the Gap programs, or perhaps a car-tab fee of up to $20. ADDED 3:46 PM: In coverage of the PSRC vote, our partners at the Seattle Times also report that demolition of the now-out-of-service bridge’s drawspans is set to start next month.
Two transportation-funding notes out of Senator Patty Murray‘s office this afternoon: $21 million for RapidRide bus service, scheduled to officially begin in West Seattle in two years (though service increases are expected to start sooner), is now part of a bill that just made it out of a subcommittee and goes on to the full Senate Appropriations Committee. And the same bill, THUD for short (Transportation, Housing and Urban Development), now contains $3 million for the South Park Bridge replacement project; Murray says she’ll support the county’s upcoming application for the federal grant known as TIGER II, which could provide most if not all of the remaining $35+ million the bridge project needs.
(EDITOR’S NOTE: We mentioned earlier that we had assigned a reporter to ride along on Councilmember Tom Rasmussen‘s open-invite bike commute today. Here’s his story, with photos along the way)
Story and photos by Johnathon Fitzpatrick
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
Seattle Councilmember Tom Rasmussen, an eight-year West Seattleite, has invited the public to bike-commute in with him all week as part of Mayor McGinn‘s Walk-Bike-Ride initiative. He has been writing online about his experiences; this morning at 7 am, he stood at Weather Watch Park with his Univega (rain bike) waiting for traveling companions.
A low fog clung to the shoreline across the sound as a ferry horn bellowed and seagulls picked their way across the early-morning low tide along Beach Drive. A group of four cyclists rode along with Rasmussen in the slightly chilly morning he considered to be more like October weather. “I sure hope summer’s not done,” he muses.
There’s a brief moment of awkwardness as the group navigates around a trash truck and yet another as a cyclist shouts “on your left! ON YOUR LEFT… (Expletive)!” Yet these are minor annoyances as Rasmussen plays tour guide and discusses transportation issues.
(The story continues, with more photos too)Read More
West Seattle-residing City Councilmember Tom Rasmussen just wrote about Day 3 of bicycling to work (as part of the Walk/Bike/Ride Challenge) – 2 people showed up to join him (as did reporter Johnathon Fitzpatrick, a transportation bicyclist we’d assigned to cover this morning’s ride). Rasmussen writes that as they pedaled along, somebody swore at them – NOT a driver! Read about it here (and look for Johnathon’s story on WSB later). P.S. The councilmember won’t be riding tomorrow, but will on Friday, and you’re welcome again that day to join him, meeting up at 7 am at Weather Watch Park (4035 Beach Drive SW).
On Sunday, West Seattle-residing Councilmember Tom Rasmussen issued an open invitation to you to join him bicycling to work from Beach Drive’s Weather Watch Park any morning this week (7 am) as part of the Walk/Bike/Ride Challenge. So what happened the first two mornings? Read his vividly written update here. (P.S. Rasmussen really isn’t a biker-come-lately. We have pictorial proof including this February story, when he biked up to Pigeon Point to look into the development-detour dilemma that caused consternation back then.)
The city’s new Walk/Bike/Ride campaign has issued a challenge: Spend five days commuting without cars. West Seattle resident Councilmember Tom Rasmussen plans to do it this week, and has an invitation for you:
This week several City Councilmembers and I will be participating in the “Walk Bike Ride Challenge” of Mayor McGinn. The goal is to convert two car trips per week to walking, biking or riding to shop, work or play. This is a great idea and sounds pretty easy to me.
If you would like to join me on my commute to work next week, meet me at Weather Watch Park at 4035 Beach Drive SW [map] at 7:00 a.m. [photo above shows the park & the councilmember’s bike] I will be riding my bike from that location each morning for the next five days unless something requires me to take the #37 bus instead.
I will be updating (my) blog (rasmussen.seattle.gov) with experiences from my commute trips. You can let me know by commenting (on that site) how you are participating by taking the challenge yourself. Here is where you can sign up and get more information:
Councilmember Rasmussen’s plan is particularly notable, given that he chairs the council’s Transportation Committee.
Just got word from SDOT that the next segment of repaving on 16th SW, from Brandon to Dawson (map), is set to start on July 26th. SDOT’s Marybeth Turner says that detour information will be available next week, but it’ll be “similar to (last year’s project).” (Here’s the infopage on the SDOT website.)
This weekend’s big events in West Seattle – the Alki Car Show on Saturday, the West Seattle Outdoor Movies debut Saturday night (“Mamma Mia!”), the West Seattle Garden Tour on Sunday (latter two co-sponsored by WSB – aren’t blocking streets. But elsewhere around the city, this weekend’s big events might land you in the middle of some changes. Read on for the latest list from SDOT:Read More
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