Happy 50th birthday, Mike, whoever you are; one of the few people to brave the “banner police” in the past few months has put up this banner on the Fauntleroy walkover bridge in honor of your birthday. (Caveat, yes, as has been discussed here many a time, these signs are illegal, and a sign by the overpass entrance says so.)
So…
Anyone know what steps can be taken to put up a legal sign? The local churches, civic groups and festival promoters don’t seem to have a problem doing so or having them left up.
Is there a process? A set of rules?
Is it the SPD or local vigilante actions we are talking about here?
I am glad that mike’s friends/family braved the banner police…I have missed the signs.
I’ve missed the signs too. I’ve hung a couple over the bridge in my day…
Happy Birthday Mike!
Yeaa!! A friendly banner to brighten our day!! I’ve missed them too!
Ken – there really isn’t any way to “legally” hang a sign on the pedestrian overpass. The vigilantes are self-appointed, allegedly neighbors living near the overpass. In fact, I once called SDOT to find out about a (professionally produced) banner for a local non-profit that was removed. They hadn’t taken it down, and the woman we talked to was very nice and said how sorry she was that they couldn’t recover it for us. No admonishments from her at all.
Now, if you want to officially use the Walking on Logs sculpture to promote something, you are supposed to let the Chamber of Commerce know, and you can’t hang any signs on the sculptures themselves.
I was happy to see the sign this AM also. It brightened my day as I am sure it did Mike’s. Have a great birthday Mike!
Wow, it’s been up for more than 24 hours! (I first spotted it at about 11am yesterday)
Quick – anyone else got a birthday greeting to hang? :)
Well, it’s almost eight months too early for it to be for me! :)
Mike
I’m with the pro-banner crowd on this one. I feel like I’m in some awful covenant controlled area without them. Sorta silly too, given the amazing amount of what-not that can be applied to the statuary.
Well I guess paper birthday banners don’t do well in wind and rain-as part of the 50th Birthday sign is now hanging in the trees this morning. Thanks for comming back and taking your sign down. NOT.
I live on the north/west side of the overpass and would like to clarify a few things for all of you.
Signs are removed by SDOT as they are against the law. (this seems to be a really hard thing for people to get) There is a sign right there on the entrance to the bridge saying it is illegal.
The east and west sides of the bridge are a mecca
for drug deals. Someone waits in a car by the west
entrance of the bridge…someone walks over from the east side hands the goods off and it is done.
I have seen this happen time and time again. Really quite brilliant on the dealers part…not so great for our neighborhood. I am all for no signs and no drug deals…the CHARM of west Seattle are the beaches and the great shops…not crack dealers and people who think they have the right to post crap for all of us to look at and clean up. I would appreciate being able to walk
to my bus with out having having to look at a bunch trash in MY neighborhood.
Karen
What is up with the statues of the kids with ropes wrapped around their necks coming off the west Seattle bridge? My son asked me why someone was trying to hang them. I really think people don’t think. When a 9 year is getting the message of nooses around the necks of statues symbolizing children playing something is wrong.
The statues and the overpass were never intended to be the bumper stickers for people. I think it has gotten way way way out of control….as much as you like it, I hate it. Enough with all the crap. I wish the wonderful people at the blog would take a picture of the strangling children
@ play and post it.
That’s interesting. I know several people who work at SDOT and unless there is rogue personnel they don’t know about, they are not the individuals/entity responsible for the rampant policing of the bridge.
What’s more, while people’s concerns regarding drug traffic are valid, it is faulty logic at best to assume that banners encourage such activity. If that were the case, then every banner posting location throughout Seattle would be a drug mecca.
Banners are a positive tradition in West Seattle; they encourage community building and often bring others good cheer.
Rather than trying to take away what most in this community hold so dear, it makes more sense to come together to determine several ways we can educate posters about the dos/don’ts of posting.
Tish you seem really big on this issue. I hope you have the same passion for charitable works. Do you live in the neighborhood? Do you use the pedestrian overpass everyday to get to the bus? Do you even ride the bus? Did you ever think that other people don’t want to look at signs, or the garbage. Do you understand that it is against the law? Do you go 40 in a 30. Do you know that pedestrians have the right of way. I am sorry but I think charm gives way to common sense…seattle has changed (belltown use be a mecca for artists)
The smith tower use to be the tallest building.
Seattle has changed and people need to change with it or get run over in the crosswalk. Drug folks like to do their business there because it is a littered dead end street…cleaning it up can only help the problem.
Please see a note from the head of SDOT below.
Banners are not allowed on the bridge. In addition, SDOT Street Use will continue removing the signs when they are made aware of them.
I am not the sign police….I just know my rights.
I just choose to be on the side of the law. I am however single @ the moment so if you have any friends let me know.
The drug deals seem to be less frequent now.
But you really have to pay attention.
For example a guy was sitting in his car for
on Fauntleroy way, north of the pedestrian overpass and South of me.
I noticed he was there about 20 minute later (so I called to my boyfriend @ the time to have a look)
We watched for a time…..and a guy walked across
the overpass up to the car put his hand into the window of the car then put whatever (money?)into his pocket and went back over the overpass.
I have called the Police several times….but no since things have been cleaned up it doesn’t seem to happen as much….but I bought a gun just in case!
The problems with the banners: (1) they get ugly, but worse is (2) they blow off and are a danger to the cars below. that’s why they are illegal!
Michell I think you have a pretty sound understanding of the situation, there is a reason they are illegal.
It doesn’t sound to me like the banners have a huge impact on whether people deal drugs there or not. And I’ve never seen one of those signs blow off to the cars below (not even remnants of one).
I personally like seeing the signs (I’ve had a few put up by friends for my own birthday) and find some of them really funny and a good way to start or end my sometimes aggravating commute to and from WS. It’s a good way to lighten up.
Your opinion is based on your personal amusement or fact? I have seen signs blow off the overpass see February 5, 08 10:19 am…I suggest you ask the city to change the law.
The thing about the drug dealing/sign removel -obviously the banners aren’t giving the drug dealers the ability to “hide” or something to do drug deals on the overpass. It’s about keeping a problem area neat & clean to discourage the baddies. Somewhat like the “broken window syndrome” -signs of litter, decay & graffitti lead to neighborhood deterioration and more crime.
I loved all the banners too -but I completely understand why some neighbors might be hyper vigilent.
I think Luce sounds like he/she has it on the ball.
They should be in office.
BTW to Poster Karen I am a single parent…
Late Wed entry 9:46 PM….Tonight I spent some time looking out at the overpass….no one on the WSB has mentioned how dark it really is….you literally can’t see anything at either end. Hence the reason for the purchase of my new 32.
What no one has mentioned is that people go 40-50 MPH under the overpass 90 percent of the time…..I am not talking 7-9am or 4-6 pm. (slow crawl to and from work) I am talking no one can see what is going on that overpass traveling at those speeds during the remaining 20 hours of the day.
I have started thinking that I should buy a telescope and survey the place…perhaps even write a column about the loser drug dealers who hang around it and the real crazies who post banners on it….I could call it HAPPY BIRTHDAY LETS GET HIGH……the only action I saw today was a WSDOT truck picking up a fallen sign.
To the comment by Mike J…Sorry you seem like a cool guy but I’m not into kids….but if you wanna go to hang out at West 5 let me know.
The city has weighed in on this one…I see they have put up 3 new NO POSTING signs on the the bridge….guess it is time to move on to a new venue
Sorry, comment time is over.
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