West Seattle, Washington
04 Wednesday
That’s Dante Taylor from SDOT, project manager for the city’s West Seattle Junction parking study, announced almost exactly a year ago (here’s our 2/21/08 story) but not really launched in earnest till a walking tour this afternoon. The open invitation was accepted by fewer than a dozen people:
Taylor and a fellow SDOT manager, Mary Catherine Snyder, say what was seen and said today will help their department prioritize which blocks of The Junction will be studied most closely before any proposals for possible changes (new restrictions? pay stations? or?) can be made – read on for more details of today’s tour, and what happens next:Read More
Jane is looking for anyone with information that can help her friend, who’s just come home from the hospital:
Yesterday afternoon (Friday 2/27), my friend had a bike accident … on Beach Drive. He flipped over his handlebars, hit pavement, cracked his helmet, and, fortunately (given what could’ve resulted), is escaping with a broken collarbone and a concussion that has given him a headache but will eventually go away. Because of the concussion he doesn’t really remember what happened before or during (or for that matter, immediately after) the accident. In the process of calling through my friend’s cell phone contacts, paramedics called my house and spoke to my husband, and it seems someone must have called 911 for my friend, and paramedics or ER docs told both him and my husband that witnesses said he was biking fast but hit a patch of gravel or something on the road. At any rate, on the off-chance any readers on here witnessed the accident or called it in (a thanks from him, by the way!), he is wondering what exactly happened, what you saw, etc. He wants to better piece together what took place.
There was a 3 pm call for medical help in the 4100 block of Beach Drive (map) on Friday afternoon and Jane says that was likely the one. If you have any information on the bicycle accident, please e-mail: pitysings@yahoo.com
Fellow neighborhood-news site My Ballard has been covering the controversy since a neighborhood there was told that a church-owned building would become the new site of the homeless shelter that’s spent the past year at West Seattle’s Church of the Nazarene (2008 photo at left; here’s our update from a week ago; here’s our story from 3/08). A short time ago, My Ballard published breaking news of a new development – the shelter’s overseers at SHARE are holding off on the potential Ballard move for at least 4 weeks, while saying they’re being allowed to stay in West Seattle another week. (As for what would happen during the interim three weeks, My Ballard is working to find out.)
FIRST 3:22 PM REPORT WITH IPHONE PHOTO: A car’s flipped at Delridge and Henderson. Traffic is closed to northbound traffic.
(photo added 4:29 pm – the other car involved in the crash is the one at left with front-end damage)
3:42 PM UPDATE: The scene should be cleared soon. The crash happened feet away from Stan’s Mt. View Towing on the southeast corner of the intersection – one truck quickly towed the white car that suffered front-end damage in the crash, and another has already righted the overturned burgundy-colored car. Two people were being treated for what did not appear to be life-threatening injuries, and one ambulance arrived for each one. A witness told us that the burgundy car apparently ran the light, and went airborne after hitting the white car. More visuals shortly.
ADDED 4:35 PM: Here’s the unedited video of the flipped car being turned back over. It happened in two stages: Seconds into this clip, the tow truck pulled it onto its side; then after a bit more repositioning and tinkering, toward the end of the clip, the job was finished:
Thanks to Sally for the tip that the Lagarto Glass studio in Pigeon Point (1904 SW Dawson; map) is having a sale today to clear out the garage studio and switch to work-at-home mode. Get there as soon as you can – they’re just going till it’s gone. Meantime, we’ve also stopped by the first-ever Rat City Rummage at the old White Center skating rink – good turnout of sellers and shoppers:
This one’s going till 6 tonight and you can see a few more pix as well as an artist/seller interview at our partner site White Center Now.
ADDED 9:52 PM: Thanks to Highland Park’s Dina Johnson for sharing this page full of photos of other artists and craftspeople who were on hand at Rat City Rummage.
Two updates today on programs to get kids moving – the first one is new to West Seattle, according to Rebecca Evans, who e-mailed us to announce:
Starting in mid-March, Hiawatha Community Center will be a program site for Girls on the Run!
This exciting, non-competitive program combines training for a 3.1 mile walking/running event with self-esteem enhancing, uplifting workouts. The goals of the program are to encourage positive emotional, social, mental and physical development for girls. The program is for 3rd through 5th grade girls of ALL fitness levels. The only requirement is to believe in GIRL POWER!
Where: Hiawatha Community Center – 2700 California Ave SW, Seattle, WA 98116
Dates: March 17th – June 7th, 2009 (New Balance Girls on the Run 5k)
Days: Tuesdays & Thursdays
Times: 3:15-4:45pm
Cost: Fees based on a sliding scale. Click here to view the sliding scale.
Registration deadline is this Friday; you can register online (go here), or by postal mail – here’s the form; send it to GOTRPS, 8757 15th Ave NW, Seattle 98117. You can also find Girls on the Run on Facebook.
Meantime, we also have just received word of West Seattle Little League tryouts/drafts tomorrow:
***TRY-OUTS AND DRAFT FOR MAJORS AND MINORS DIVISIONS THIS SUNDAY, MARCH 1ST AT BAR-S PLAYFIELD****
MAJORS: 9:30 – 11:30 A.M. PLEASE ARRIVE NO LATER THAN 9:00 A.M. TO CHECK IN AND WARM UP.
MINORS: BECAUSE OF THE LARGE GROUP SIZE, WE WILL HAVE TWO SESSIONS BROKEN UP ALPHABETICALLY BY LAST NAME.LAST NAME “A-K”: 1:00 – 2:15 P.M. PLEASE ARRIVE NO LATER THAN 12:45 P.M.
LAST NAME “L-Z”: 2:30 – 3:45 P.M. PLEASE ARRIVE NO LATER THAN 2:15 P.M.PLEASE MAKE SURE YOUR BALL PLAYER IS PROPERLY DRESSED FOR THE WEATHER. ALL PLAYERS SHOULD WEAR THEIR GLOVE, CLEATS, HAT (AND PROTECTIVE CUP FOR BOYS)
While checking on the 48th SW fire (see below), we also got an update on the Harbor Island tugboat fire we covered last night: An “accidental electrical fire,” say investigators; damage to the Corbin Foss – whose size they have corrected to 140 feet – totals half a million dollars.
(photo added 8:44 am)
A man and woman were taken to the hospital from the scene of a duplex fire that happened around 4:30 am in the 6700 block of 48th SW (map). No word yet on its cause; Fire Department spokesperson Dana Vander Houwen says firefighters had it out within about 20 minutes of the first report. As of 8:30 am, investigators are still on the scene; the front of the duplex is heavily damaged. Vander Houwen says the two who went to the hospital got out through a window. No update on their condition so far.
ADDED 10:53 AM: One other photo from this morning, looking southwest toward Lowman Beach, to show even more clearly where this is – barely a block uphill from that waterfront park (which itself is just north of Lincoln Park):
SATURDAY AFTERNOON UPDATE: LD reports in comments:
The couple have been released from the hospital and are doing ok. They are receiving help from friends and the American Red Cross and doing as best they can under the circumstances.
9:24 PM UPDATE: SFD says the fire was accidental – caused by “combustible material too close to a baseboard heater” – with damage totaling $150,000.
More highlights from the current edition of the West Seattle Weekend Lineup (jump here to the full Saturday list):
RAT CITY RUMMAGE: In White Center, the first-ever Rat City Rummage takes over the old skating rink, 10 am-6 pm, and we’re told vendor spaces are sold out, should be lots to browse and buy.
SANISLO USED-BOOK SALE: The 4th graders at Sanislo Elementary are having a Used Book Sale, 10 am-3 pm, to raise money to go to camp on Vashon. Never been to the school? Here’s a map.
JUNCTION PARKING REVIEW WALKING TOUR: Even if you didn’t RSVP, you’ll still be welcome to join in. Noon-2 pm, meet at Cupcake Royale (California/Alaska). Archived coverage of the parking review is here; by the way, the results of the Fremont parking review are being installed as we speak.
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