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\"Car-Free Days\" on Alki Ave SW

Started 3 years ago by Karl
Latest reply from roundthesound

Karl
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Mayor wants to close Alki Ave SW to traffic one day a week.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008020287_carfreedays27m.html

Posted 3 years ago #
WSB
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Hi, we broke that story here two weeks ago (and discussed it too)
http://westseattleblog.com/blog/?p=8220

What the newspaper apparently didn\'t follow up on, was in our followup report
http://westseattleblog.com/blog/?p=8258

--TR (WSB editor)

Posted 3 years ago #
WSB
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Oh also, just to clarify for anyone who grazes this without following the links. Not one day a week. They are looking at possibly one SINGLE day, one time only, for a closure sometime before the summer\'s over. We\'ll be continuing to follow up to SDOT to see when they plan to make a decision.

Posted 3 years ago #
Karl
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This is the information from the June 27th Times article:

\"Lake Washington Boulevard and other Seattle streets are likely to have experimental \"car-free days\" later this summer as part of Mayor Greg Nickels\' green agenda.

The parks department has told lakeside residents that it proposes limiting traffic to bikes and pedestrians on Thursdays, and to increase the \"Bicycle Saturdays and Sundays\" to at least one a week.

Alki Avenue Southwest is one of several sites being considered separately for a single car-free day.\"

It is clear that the Mayor wishes to expand the Lake Washington Blvd \"car-free days\" from a weekend event to include a Thursday. Additionally, Alki Ave SW is being considered in the expansion of the Mayor\'s program.

\"Car-free days\" is plural not singular. What is the frequency, intensity, and duration of this event? One day at each of the suggested parks?

Enjoy the grazing :=)

Posted 3 years ago #
Karl
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Sunday September 7th is the appointed day.

Posted 3 years ago #
WSB
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We reported that last Friday night. Here are our reports on the official announcement today:
http://westseattleblog.com/blog/?p=9404
http://westseattleblog.com/blog/?p=9407

Note that the city is looking for volunteers to help watch the \"water taxi shuttle lane\" during the event. The link about that is at the very end of the second WSB link above.

Before ours happens, the Capitol Hill and Rainier Valley events will be the preceding two Sundays, so we\'ll be there for a closer look at how it works in those areas - shutting down Rainier for three hours should be interesting, to say the least! - TR

Posted 3 years ago #
Karl
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Am I allowed to drive down the \"water taxi shuttle lane\"?

Posted 3 years ago #
Karl
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Guess the city is treating it like the Independence Day \"closure\", residents show their ID to access the road blocks.

Posted 3 years ago #
WesCAddle
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ridiculous

Posted 3 years ago #
ellenater
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This is a bandaid.

Posted 3 years ago #
JanS
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it\'s only 6 hours, and, as was stated, an \"experiment\" It\'s in Seattle, no guarantee of sun...maybe have the family over and wait it out ;-)

They\'re going to make exceptions for people who live in the condos and can only get to where they\'re going by car...I don\'t understand what the big complaint is? I\'d hop that little land shuttle and go play, go walk in the street - lol, go to the farmers market, whatever, if I lived down there. Could be a fun day. And if it doesn\'t work, they\'ll find out, and change things or not do it again.

Posted 3 years ago #
HP
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Perhaps our mayor is using us to build his resume for his next gig...maybe a Gore/Nickles 2012 ticket :)

Posted 3 years ago #
JanS
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lol...HP...that\'s pretty laughable..hmm...wonder what the slogan would be?

Posted 3 years ago #
ellenater
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\"Nothing More. Nothing Less. Gore/Nickels 2012\"

Posted 3 years ago #
JanS
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hahaha...ellenator...that\'s pretty good :)

Posted 3 years ago #
HP
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\"Green and Greener . Gore\\Nickels 2012\"

Posted 3 years ago #
acemotel
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I know it\'s all in fun, but to go from mayor of a medium-sized metropolitan city to vice president of the United States? I don\'t think so. He\'s been with the city and the county - not even into state affairs, much less national politics, and international not even in the picture. The governor has a better chance of being VP than the mayor.

Posted 3 years ago #
WSB
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However, I think he may be angling for some sort of federal-level politics. If Patty, Maria, or Congressman Jim ever decided to hang it up, I could see him trying to make a go of it. This morning at the start of the car-free news conference, he went off on this tangent about something that just happened in DC re: highway money and gas costs, and it was such a \"this isn\'t really a city constituent-level comment\" that I wondered what he was trying to do. Now, if none of the above decides to give it up any time soon, he may find himself somewhat like Prince Charles, potentially in line for a throne but waiting for someone to kick the bucket ... TR

Posted 3 years ago #
HP
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Acemotel regardless of your field there is a ladder to climb and we all know this but...he does appear to enjoy the national level attention these things get him and I think he may be doing some posturing. Just a hunch but TR even sees it so I think we may be onto something :)

Posted 3 years ago #
Sue
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I was reading somewhere that they were going to \"consider\" adding bus service to Alki that day. Duh ... how am I supposed to get to Alki for car-free day without a car if they don\'t run buses? Buses from the Junction to Alki is pretty crappy on a good day, and on Sunday it\'s even worse. If they had an easy bus from the Junction to Alki, I\'d *never* take my car there!

Posted 3 years ago #
Zenguy
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The saying \"think globally act locally\" comes to mind. Seattle is often on the forefront of new ideas and trends and what we do does have an affect on other cities. Yes, SF was the first US city to ban plastic bags but we were the second and I am sure not the last.

I often disagree with Mayor Nickles (nightclubs for one) but I doubt I could ever say he has not done anything. This program will not reduce carbon emmissions, it is meant to shine a light on not always driving everywhere and to make people think...\"can I ride my bike to the store instead\".

Plus I think a day without cars on the beach is great, I for one will be on my bike or rollerblades.

Posted 3 years ago #
CM
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OK, here\'s what I don\'t get. I understand the concept, but not the execution. This won\'t be a day without cars at the beach. All the local residents and the water shuttle bus will still be able to drive there albeit probably with some lane restrictions.

They are the people that are going to be there anyway, it\'s all the other visitors that come from farther away that won\'t be able to drive there. These visitors currently drive to get over to Alki....how many of them will suddenly decide to switch to the bus or simply decide not to go to Alki for one day?

Posted 3 years ago #
ellenater
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TR, I agree with that assessment!

We\'ll have to wait and see...

What about having better public transportation. Like say, Portland, comes to mind. I remember when the city decided to expand the freeway AND build the train. Gasp. You can ride the trains all over in Portland. My mom takes it to the airport all the time. Point is, if we had trains, people would use them. IMHO, Seattle is spoiled with too much cash and natural beauty and not enough sacrifice to do the right things. Bandaids.

Posted 3 years ago #
Zenguy
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A little Seattle history. We had a big train system on the ballot in the early 1970\'s, the city was not doing well (Boeing was the only major employer) and voters rejected the plan. The money proposed for our train system went to Atlanta of all places.

We are building trains now (better late than never I guess) but I am continually amazed at the greed of voters unwilling to invest in our city\'s infrastructure which is what keeps it running and attracts new business. In late 2009 the train to the airport will be running and get travelers from the airport to downtown in 36 minutes. It is a start and other lines are in the works as well, as long as we fund them.

Posted 3 years ago #
JayDee
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First of all this is another \"feel good\" experiment by the Mayor to make him feel better, but not the citizens. The bus service in the entire city not just West Seattle, sucks. Go to Vancouver, a city with even fewer freeways or viaducts--buses run every 10-15 minutes. And these buses run on the streets, often in transit only lanes. I\'d rather they use the paint for the \"Sharrows\" to mark transit only lanes on 1st and 4th aves rather than invest in light rail tunnels.

Hmmm...do you think it will be SRO on the water taxi shuttle that Sunday since no buses run along the beach? Maybe I should drive my car to the Mayor\'s \'hood, park in front of his house and walk down to the water taxi.

Once Sound Transit manages to have the light rail train running, let\'s see how it does and if the benefits pan out. A car to Seatac takes 25 minutes from West Seattle. Oh...you mean we cannot take a bus to the light rail station? It may take 1 to 1.25 hours to get to Seatac, adding this time to the post-911 time sink of air travel. Before Sound Transit asks for more regressive sales tax monies, please show us that Sound Transit can even make the first line work.

Posted 3 years ago #
Zenguy
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JayDee, sorry your glass is always half empty.

My post does say from downtown to the airport not West Seattle to the airport and the trian will take the same amount of time regardless of traffic.

Posted 3 years ago #
Lex
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Super Hero Nickles..and I mean that as a joke..strikes again. Once again he has lot his mind with this decision. is it me or should he not be focusing on more important matters ie..hiring more police to mirror the increase in our population. Fixing the roads in west seattle. Working with Metro to improve our transit to and from west seattle, getting a solution to the via duct... and the list goes on...or my favorite workign with Ron Sims to give us our money back from tabs years ago that never went to the monirail project.....Nickles you dont\' deserve to live in west seattle when you continue to make these bone head decisions!!! i\'m so going to celebrate when he leaves office

Posted 3 years ago #
Jerald
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I picture the mess of people driving thru sidestreets to the beach, then having to turn around at the closed off part (like by Tully\'s). Or are they closing access to the entire area? If I wanted to go there I\'d just drive in as close as possible and park on the side streets, where most people have to park anyway on a normal day.

Posted 3 years ago #
JayDee
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I wouldn\'t mind if the point of the \"Car Free Days\" in Alki Ave was similar to the \"Car Free Days\" on Lake Washington Blvd--which is a relatively bucolic street that is difficult to get to even if you want to go there. This street is an ideal bike street for those very reasons. You can get to the areas it services by myriad other ways.

Alki Ave/Harbor is serviced by an off-ramp on the West Seattle Fre...I mean \"Bridge\". All of the non-WS folk who haven\'t rec\'d the press release will wondering what\'s up that weekend when they get turned back. Others will go to Alki via Admiral, a major arterial that normally does a wonderful job handling traffic. What does a \"car-free day\" do to \"teach\" or \"instruct\" these folks? That they shouldn\'t drive to Alki? What does it teach locals?

Yes, I plead guilty to being \"half-empty\" in my outlook, but I would rather be wrong and have things go right than deal with other\'s dreams of what is right for me. I ride the bus during the weeks and sometimes on weekends because I have a Metro bus pass, and use re-useable bags because I remembered to bring them. That is my choice, and I don\'t need experiments to prove it to me.

I understand that light rail will go from downtown to the airport in 25 minutes if it works as promised. I live in West Seattle, and light rail is but a pretty dream today. After the light rail is running, make direct bus connections every day to the ID station from the Junction, and light rail may possibly be attractive. But don\'t ask me for higher property taxes without delivering the goods first. My two cents.

Posted 3 years ago #
JoB
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Jaydee..

i remember hearing the same kind of talk in Portland before the light rail proved itself...

Vancouver, WA consistently voted it down... and as a result, during rush hour there is no \"quick\" way to get between downtown Portland and Vancouver...

and to get between downtown Vancouver and the airport... well that takes a leisurely drive along the river.. good for the soul but not very efficient.

too bad the monorail didn\'t fly here... great concept and it would have made a world of difference to those who commute downtown.

hubby spends 40 minutes one way on a good day on a 15 minute commute...

if you use the bus system, you would love light rail... just think what you could do with the extra time...

Posted 3 years ago #
Jo
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I really don\'t understand the negativity and mayor-bashing about this car-free day on Alki.
It\'s just one 6-hour day in a whole year. People can still drive to Alki, by going down Admiral, and park on one of the side streets (as they do now, and was pointed out in a post above.) Or they can drive to the Junction or Admiral Junction and take a bus, or the free water taxi shuttle.
How about looking at it as one BIG block-party. This could be great fun, if we choose to make it so.

Posted 3 years ago #
JoB
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sounds like fun to me.

maybe an opportunity for a WSB meet-up?

Posted 3 years ago #
hammerhead
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I couldn\'t find a date as to when this is going to happen. It had better not be during the week. I have business and CAN NOT use a bus. This is not fair to those who have to drive there car for work purposes. Sorry if I missed the date. The economy is rough enough on my business I don\'t need for it to get any worse.

Posted 3 years ago #
JoB
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i think it\'s sept 7.. which is a sunday.

Posted 3 years ago #
roundthesound
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My neighbor came home last night when she saw the city had put one of those 'no parking' signs for car free Alki day at the end of her driveway she became furious. She stopped her car in the middle of the road blocking traffic while she got out and threw the sign at the end of my driveway almost hitting my car. The no parking sign is now lying in 2 pieces at the end of my driveway. She then proceeded to start yelling at me like I had put it there, maybe she hadn't noticed the 400 other no parking signs up and down the street. She told me she was going to call the cops and then she stormed inside.

I wonder if this is what the mayor had in mind when he planned these car free days to bring the community together? Not even 5 minutes earlier my other neighbors and I had discussed the BBQ and pool party we are planning for Sunday so I wasn't sure to add this comment to the crazy neighbor thread or the car free Alki Day thread.

BTW, if your trying to promote people to use the bus and walk you might want to choose a road that actually has a year-round bus, not just the WT shuttle, that runs on Sundays...

Posted 3 years ago #
Sue
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roundthesound - I agree with you about the bus service. I have no intention of going anywhere near there with the Sunday bus pathetic schedule. Those water taxi buses hold like what, 20 people on them? If that's the only reasonable option (without my having to change buses), you'd be lucky to be able to get one one. Would be fun to be stranded at Alki with no way to get home, and not even be able to call a cab!

Posted 3 years ago #
roundthesound
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Yeah, the shuttle only runs when the water taxi is running so in the winter you're kinda screwed. I was so excited when I moved to Alki because I saw the bus stop across from my house, I wish I would have looked at the schedule first. 2 runs on Saturday and no service Sunday, why bother? I can't even get to Alaska Junction without having to switch buses, how is this supposed to be appealing? 5 min car ride as opposed to a 20 min walk to the 56 bus stop, switch buses at admiral, then take another bus ride to the junction, what a difficult decision.

Posted 3 years ago #

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