Another West Seattle sidewalk project about to start, with a P.S.

| Delridge | Transportation | West Seattle news

The official announcement of the “Snake Hill” sidewalk work on 30th SW (see the city “concept” rendering here) is just in from SDOT – it’s scheduled to start next week:

30th Avenue SW Sidewalk Improvements to Start April 6

The Seattle Department of Transportation’s contractor plans to begin construction of 30th Avenue SW sidewalk improvements on Monday, April 6. The sidewalk will be constructed on the eastern side of 30th Avenue SW from SW Brandon Street to the existing sidewalk at the top of the hill (just north of SW Juneau Street and High Point). Some preparation work such as surveying will start later this week.

The construction is expected to take five to six weeks, depending on the weather. For the duration of construction, 30th Avenue SW between SW Findlay and Brandon Streets will be closed to through traffic. A detour route will be signed for through traffic to use 29th Avenue SW.

Parking will be restricted in the area under construction. Access to driveways will be maintained.

Work hours will typically be from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Also from the same city news release, this P.S. of what’ll happen when the sidewalk work is done:

Seattle City Light will be moving the utility poles closer to the new curb on 30th Avenue SW between SW Findlay and Brandon Streets. This work will occur after SDOT’s sidewalk project and is expected to take two months. After the new utility poles are placed and the old utility poles are removed, SDOT will return to fill in any gaps in the sidewalk that remain.

Like the Alki Point sidewalk project, the 30th SW sidewalk work is a Neighborhood Street Fund project first announced in November 2007 (WSB coverage here). The project’s official city webpage is here.

Ken March 31, 2009 (10:46 am)

The street on the SDOT PDF is labeled wrong of course, the one marked SW Juneau is actually Findley where it runs between 29th and 31st.

The sidewalk will also drop from an altitude of 305 ft at the existing section at the border of highpoint, down to 140ft at the corner of Brandon.

I predict skateboards crashing into houses and trees just after the Findley bump.

Also note, since this is a wetlands area, I suspect the locals should watch carefully where SDOT routes the already fierce drainage along this continuously neglected street. I can only assume the three new half million dollar houses (and maybe the three new houses that are narrower than their driveways) on the street triggered this sudden interest in visible if half assed improvement

Note the owner of the dangerous, dark and deep ditched segment of Brandon from the end of the project to 25th is entirely the City of Seattle on both sides of the street.

snakehillneighbor March 31, 2009 (10:56 am)

Great news! The sidewalk is much needed on 30th Ave SW- it’s quite dangerous walking up or down the hill because the street is kind of narrow and drivers speed up and down that hill.

Please use caution at the intersection of 29th & SW Findlay- I can see that as a possible hazard during the detour.

Lisa K. March 31, 2009 (11:28 am)

I agree that drainage is going to be an important issue to follow, but many locals have been wanting a sidewalk here as long as we’ve lived in the area (5+ years), and that’s before the fancy homes at the top went in. The local neighborhood council (which doesn’t include High Point) has been another voice advocating for this project. The issue for those of us who use this route regularly is the number of folks who, because there is no sidewalk, walk in the street as they travel towards Delridge to catch buses, etc. We drive a Prius, and because we’re running on battery downhill, we’ve often surprised walkers on more than one occasion who are walking in the middle of the road and didn’t hear us coming up behind them (probably the prevalence of folks wandering around with earbuds for their MP3s doesn’t help, either). I’m hoping pedestrian safety improves with this project….Now how ’bout a few more sidewalks for neglected Delridge side streets like ours?

Michael March 31, 2009 (11:38 am)

Thank god, the High Point youth needed an easier walk to the Delridge gas station convenience store.

Ken, skateboarders will really have to jump the 30-50 feet of setbacks to hit houses over there. And if they’re not doing that now, what makes you think a sidewalk will make any difference?

My question: if someone doesn’t like sidewalks, skateboarders, skinny houses, rich people, “dangerous” ditches (yet complains about improvements by wetlands?) or SDOT…what DO they like?

sam March 31, 2009 (11:42 am)

Lisa K.- more sidewalks for our neighborhood, wouldn’t that be nice ?
too bad the City used some of that “Bridging the Gap” transportation money on trees….

https://westseattleblog.com/blog/?p=6680

maybe someday all the streets in Seattle will have sidewalks…

maybe there’s some way we can also convince Nickels/ City to use “car-free day” production money to promote permanent pedestrian solutions, rather than single day publicity stunts, but I doubt it.

Aaron March 31, 2009 (1:10 pm)

Awesome! This is my bike commuting route to get in and out of WS, and it would be nice to get out of the street when making the loooong sloooow climb home.

Canderson March 31, 2009 (2:02 pm)

I live in the area and I think this is great. Lots of us walk up that hill and it will be nice to be able to do it off the street. At the top of the hill the incline is steep enough that it’s hard for pedestrians and cars to see each other (and people have a bad tendency to fly down that hill).

As for those big houses driving the sidewalk improvements… have you noticed that those houses are empty and two are unfinished?

Mike D. March 31, 2009 (3:58 pm)

Ken,

This project was pushed by the North Delridge Neighborhood Council to create a safer route for pedestrians to-and-fro Delridge Way/Longfellow Creek to High Point. The idea that it was driven by x,y or z builder/developer is wrong. The only person who actually lives or owns property on Snake Hill that was present at NDNC meetings when this project was discussed is a most wonderful, upstanding and retired gentleman who lives near the bottom of the hill. Someone I might add who has given back tremendously to the neighborhood, the Delridge Community Center, his church and the city at large. Did you ever think that some things occur because people like him actually jump in to make things better? Not every thing is some kind of a boogey man driven conspiracy. Think about it.

Ken March 31, 2009 (7:28 pm)

For those of you who think I was criticizing the project itself, no.

I have been advocating for the repair, upgrade or even simple basic maintenance of this stretch as well as Brando to Delridge pedestrian dodge’em area for more than a decade. The city just never, ever, does anything until property owners with sufficient assessments appear.

BTW Mike I know Ed and how hard he has worked for the community. I also know how frustrating it has been to see the largest landowner in the area (Seattle) drag it’s feet, lie and ignore the requests of residents until a few developers happen to make similar requests.

Also note the latest large scale sidewalk project in the Longfellow creek watershed steep hillside. Where Sylvan way drops from the cemetery to the green belt there is a long continuous sidewalk with zero drains. The new pavement is already buckling and the erosion on the other side of the street is undercutting the roadbed because SDOT allowed the developer of the luxury town homes to channel the water back across the pavement or dump it at the edge of the development.

I don’t have any objection to the project on 30th, I just have to assume it will be buggered in some way by a city department so disinterested that it cannot even use updated maps or label them correctly.

Also note, as dangerous as this hill and street are now, it did not stop Seattle schools from listing it on its “safe routes to school” maps.

This community has been ignored by its city government for far too long and I guess my cynicism showed in my earlier post.

BTW:

If you live on the project street or two blocks on either side, I am your elected precinct committee officer in the Democratic party.

k2 April 1, 2009 (8:55 am)

what about 26th ave sw? People who can’t find the Longfellow trail end up walking down this street and there is no sidewalk from Brandon all the way to the end…

Mike D. April 1, 2009 (8:55 am)

Appreciate the clarification Ken. Good to know you weren’t coming down on the people who pushed for the project, especially Ed. The man is a gem:)

As I recall, the Snake Hill project was funded by the 2006 Bridging The Gap levy passed by voters. The Large Projects portion of the Neighborhood Street Fund portion of Bridging The Gap paid for the Snake Hill sidewalk. This project was selected by a citizens committee that had to sort through and decide amongst 150 +/- projects that were submitted. I would presume that the long neglected and unsafe nature of Snake Hill helped push its sidewalk project to the front of the herd. I know of one person who was hit by a car on the hill, certainly there were others throughout the years.

There is I believe an effort underway to try and extend all the way to 30th, the trail that currently runs through the woods on the south side of Brandon from Longfellow Creek to 29th. If this can be accomplished over the next few years there will be continuous out-of-the-street pedestrian access from from Delridge Way, to Longfellow Creek to High Point. We just have to keep chippin’ away and someday we’ll get there….

Mike D. April 1, 2009 (10:08 am)

k2 – 26th Ave SW from Brandon southbound has had proposals put forth that include traffic calming, bio-swales/raingardens and sidewalks. I do not know the current status of any of these proposals. The North Delridge Neighborhood Council meetings are on the first Wednesday of each month at the Delridge Library from 6:30 to 7:45pm. The meeting tonight will have discussion of the 2009 Neighborhood Street Fund process so please attend to learn more.

Andrew April 2, 2009 (6:37 am)

I am just curious to see how the sidewalk will bend and fit around that tree at the big drop-off, just South of Findlay. Now that High Point Drive is open to Morgan/Sylvan, we don’t use Snake Hill much. I suppose it would make a challenging run down the stairs, down Longfellow Creek to Spokane Street and then back to sprint up Snake Hill. On second thought, maybe I will drive to Beach Drive to start running. ha!

SabrinaKS April 2, 2009 (12:29 pm)

This is great news! I live in Delridge and work in High Point. The walk home is treacherous when it is dark and wet.

To Michael: I really don’t appreciate your commentary about High Point youth. Whatever you think it is that they are lacking, perhaps you should consider volunteering at the community center or West Seattle Elementary. Many of those kids are lovely, loving, and smart. But when people look down and them and assume bad things, they will live up to your biased expectations. Your attitude sucks.

Sorry, comment time is over.