West Seattle, Washington
19 Friday
If anyone has info that this is a legitimate door-to-door survey, it would be nice to hear … otherwise we would agree with Karma, who sent us the report, that the line of questioning is potentially unsettling:Read More
We mentioned earlier that the city is also leafletting cars as an extra way of getting out the word about Car-Free Day on Alki SW this Sunday (parking restrictions 10 am-6 pm, driving restrictions noon-6 pm). Looking at the leaflet forwarded by SDOT’s Rick Sheridan, we see a few additional details: The parking restrictions are now listed as SW Maryland (map) to 63rd SW – different from the traffic closure, which is supposed to start at California Way (map); the bus lane is described as being for the 56 as well as the Water Taxi shuttle (route 773). You can see the flyer here.
(Investigation photo added 4:12 pm)
Just got two reports about this, and we’re en route to check it out in person: Some kind of crash has closed 35th between Findlay and Graham (High Point area; here’s a map), so obviously stay clear. (There’s been an open “medic response” call at 35th/Juneau since just before 3 pm, so likely that’s related.) More to come. 3:44 PM UPDATE: Our crew’s getting closer and confirms people are being turned around at Findlay. 3:50 PM UPDATE: We’re being told at the scene that a pedestrian got hit, 35th/Juneau. A witness tells us it may have been a teenager – books and clothes are visible in the street – and that the injuries are believed to have been life-threatening. An official police/fire spokesperson is expected at the scene shortly. 4 PM UPDATE: Police briefing just concluded — teenage girl hit while crossing 35th at Juneau, west to east, black SUV hit her, crime investigators have just arrived – trying to get in touch with witnesses and hope to have the street open within the next two hours. The girl was taken to Harborview Medical Center; no word on her condition. 4:50 PM UPDATE: Adding video of what Sgt. A.T. Bailey of Seattle Police told reporters at the scene:
Also, here’s the vehicle that police say hit the girl:
ADDED 5 PM: Thanks to the commenters who have added information (as well as discussion). This is about a half-mile from the scene of the deadly car vs. pedestrian crash near Camp Long that killed Gregory Hampel last month; we also have covered previous non-fatal crashes at 35th/Juneau (here is a sample report from earlier this year). 5:04 PM UPDATE: We just checked back at the scene – 35th is still closed – “traffic is a nightmare,” according to our crew – please avoid the area. 6:52 PM UPDATE: 35th is now open.
Less than 48 hours to go till the Alki Statue of Liberty Plaza dedication celebration – and Parks Department workers, under the direction of project manager Patrick Donohue, are racing to the finish of what was an incredibly short construction schedule – less than two months. As part of that, the statue itself is to be placed atop its new pedestal by day’s end – it’s already on site, resting in the back of a pickup truck (as shown above) on the north side of the construction site. Its current position affords a view that hopefully won’t have to be seen again – inside the statue from its base:
Right now, crews are working to be sure the new pedestal, its steel support, and the bronze lantern between pedestal and statue all fit together – they were built in different places at different times, in part because of the project’s time constraints. Also at the site, along with Donohue and his crew members, Plaza Project co-chairs Libby and Paul Carr, who are busy putting the final touches on the plan for Saturday’s all-day celebration (we’ve got one of the first copies of the official program; you can see the schedule online here); one data point they shared – if you bought a brick in the plaza, you will be able to find it easily on Saturday, because committee members David and Eilene Hutchinson (who have kindly shared great photos with WSB along the way) have catalogued the location of each brick, and a schematic will be available at a table by the plaza to direct brick-owners to the locations. 4:16 PM UPDATE: The statue has just been replaced atop its pedestal – so that’s what you’ll see if you come by Alki tonight – we’ll be adding more visuals a bit later – some paving work at the site is scheduled tomorrow morning, for finishing touches.
By year’s end, there’s supposed to be a plan for what will happen when the Central Waterfront mile of the Alaskan Way Viaduct comes down in 2012. Since that plan will affect West Seattle mobility in a big way, community leaders have been working to make sure they and their groups are plugged in to the latest information — and that’s the reason most of last night’s joint meeting of the Southwest and Delridge District Councils focused on what’s up with The Viaduct. They got a heavy-hitting panel of top transportation execs to present the briefing — WSDOT’s David Dye, SDOT’s Bob Powers, and King County Department of Transportation director Harold Taniguchi. In addition, meeting participants included the two West Seattleites who serve on the Stakeholder Advisory Group that’s been helping vet Central Waterfront possibilities — Delridge District Council chair Pete Spalding and Fauntleroy Community Association‘s Vlad Oustimovitch. Here’s what happened in the meeting:Read More
The city promised it would put up “No Parking” signs 72 hours in advance of this Sunday’s Car-Free Day on Alki – we just checked, and as that photo shows, they kept the promise. Alki SW is off-limits for parking from California Way to 63rd SW (map’s on the city-info page) 10 am to 6 pm on Sunday; it will be closed to traffic (except one lane for the Water Taxi shuttle bus, and some resident-access exceptions) noon-6 for the actual event. Next part of the notification plan that’s scheduled to kick in: Automated phone calls to area residents/businesses, which SDOT’s Rick Sheridan told us would start this afternoon. (Let us know if you get one!) 6:05 PM UPDATE: Just got word from SDOT that leaflets are being placed on cars. Will upload a copy of the leaflet soon as we can so you can see it.
The county Public Health Department is putting out a call for volunteers who can be on standby in case of a public-health emergency, calling them “Tomorrow’s Heroes.” Here are full details on who they need and how to get involved.
We posted this first at partner site White Center Now, since it’s in the unincorporated area, but the photo’s too good not to share here too. We got it along with this report from Phoebe:
There were goats running around loose near SW 106th Street and 28th Ave SW this AM! (map) I saw them darting out into traffic and then ducking into this yard for a snack! I parked my car and tried to find where they had escaped from, without any luck. Eventually I called animal control, who told me the goats are technically in King Co (Seattle city limits end at SW 106th & 32nd Ave SW) and that she would “see what she could do.” I drove by again at 10:00 and I didn’t see them in the area … I hope they made it home safe & sound!
Today we’re welcoming another West Seattle-based business to the WSB sponsor team: Eagle Electric of Seattle. 
They’re reachable at 206/246-7123, and they’re online at eagleelectricofseattle.com. At left you see Eagle Electric‘s mascot, who keeps eagle-eyed watch over a strong family business: When Wendy and Dave Lind welcomed daughter Amelia into the world five months ago, Amelia became the 5th generation of Linds to live in West Seattle. Dave’s dad Larry Lind started Eagle in 1982 and has extended the service range from West Seattle and White Center to Burien, and as far south as Tacoma. Dave took over from Larry in 2001. Dave tells us the whole family has worked hard and gotten high marks from clients for their fair pricing and the overall appearance and quality of their work. They’ve received positive customer referrals not only from the WSB Forums’ Reader Recommendations section, but also from Angie’s List and Service Magic. Eagle is a member of Electricians’ Success International – a US and Canadian business group made up of 350 contractors. They’re members of the Better Business Bureau, Master Builders Association, the Eaton Certified Contractor Network, and the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce. Welcome to Eagle Electric! We appreciate their support and we appreciate your support for all WSB sponsors, who make it possible for us to bring you real-time West Seattle news, information, and discussion — just like Eagle Electric of Seattle, we are here for you 24/7. If you’d like to see the full list of sponsors and/or find out how to join them in reaching thousands of people every day, here’s the place to start.
We told you a few weeks ago that work was almost done on the new sidewalks leading to Sanislo Elementary School (map) leading to it from the east. On the first day of school, as the photo above shows, the sidewalk was open and in use. But there’s another issue left resolved: Crossing nearby streets safely. Close to the school, student crossing guards are on the job, like Antje Staudt‘s daughter:
But about a block east, where Myrtle meets busy arterial 16th SW (map) – still no adult crossing guard. We first talked with Antje and other Sanislo parents last spring (WSB coverage here) when the situation came to light: The longtime crossing guard had become chronically ill, and wasn’t replaced — in the midst of a citywide crossing-guard crunch, with dozens of positions open. Sanislo parents and administrators had been working with citywide pedestrian-advocacy group Feet First on the issue; FF says the police department, which administers the crossing-guard program (from central HQ, not from local precincts), hired several new guards citywide but still has no current plan to replace the 16th/Myrtle guard. FF says concerns can be directed to Karen Bye, who runs the guard program, at 684-8984. By the way, while we were in the area Wednesday morning, we noticed police on patrol for traffic violators in the school zone – an alleged violator got pulled over heading north on 16th SW near the intersection:
The City Council has a Pedestrian Safety committee, but its next quarterly meeting is not planned till December.
Thanks to Brian for the tip – a month and a half after the demolition permit was issued, the backhoe’s digging right now into 6053 California (at Graham, north end of Morgan Junction) right now, from the alley side first (this view is looking southeast through the back fence in the alley west of the site) – this demolition has been going on by hand for a few weeks, as parts of the building were “deconstructed” for salvage before the walls started coming down. This is the building we once wrote we’d be sad to see go:
But neighbors are thrilled because while it’s been vacant, they’ve had tons of trouble with trespassers, transients, and even some arrests. Here’s the latest rendering we have of the townhouse/live-work project slated to replace it:
10:29 AM UPDATE: The teardown is currently in a stopdown – so if you drive by any time soon, you won’t see anything obvious from California or Graham.
If your garden’s bursting with more veggies and fruit than you can use, Community Harvest of Southwest Seattle and the White Center Food Bank (whose service area includes southern West Seattle) have a new way for you to make sure they don’t go to waste — “Share the Bounty,” Sunday 9/14 at the West Seattle Farmers’ Market. Community Harvest will have a table set up there; just bring your spare produce to donate, during WSFM hours, 10 am-2 pm that day. Want to know more? Check the Community Harvest website at gleanit.org, or call 762-0604.
(photos courtesy Chris Porter)
As the Republican National Convention heads into its final night, we’ve just received a firsthand report from one of three West Seattleites who were delegates to the Democratic National Convention. It occurred to us way too late that we should have arranged with local delegates to send back in-progress reports … Chris Porter of Fauntleroy must have been reading our minds, as his story and photos just landed in the WSB inbox even without us having asked. (Haven’t seen any evidence of West Seattle Republicans in Minnesota – but if you know of one, have ’em give us a shout.) Here’s what he has to say, and show:Read More
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