16 Replies to "North Delridge Neighborhood Council: Traffic projects & produce"

• marty November 5, 2009 (8:04 am)

  1. Delridge Way SW between Andover and Myrtle: Traffic calming by adding a median with trees and plants – cost between $6.8 and $8.3 million

  Please tell me this a joke! Traffic calming??

• Aim November 5, 2009 (8:04 am)

  The median idea is a HUGE waste of money – how about repaving the street instead and fixing the many, many potholes! What would actually make a difference is to lobby for some additional officers out on Delridge busting the horribly aggressive drivers as well as drunk drivers. Delridge, for some reason, is full of both – and they are the cause of 90% of the issues. Repaving plus hiring an extra officer or two would cost significantly less than the 6-8 million it’d cost to put in some plants (which would just be run over by the drunk drivers anyway.) What a waste of money and poor prioritization!

• sam November 5, 2009 (8:27 am)

  what area does NDNC represent when making recommendations on BTG projects ? (like what are the boundaries?) is there a council representing say, Pigeon point or puget ridge to make recommendations on BTG projects?

  there are more than enough streets without sidewalks in the area that the money should be used first for sidewalks before trees.

  I know of one street in particular that doesn’t have sidewalks, is a direct pedestrian path to a bus line (including high school age kids who take Metro to school), and is a school bus route, and has an elementary school at the end of it.

  I feel nervous for all the kids who wait for/ walk to the bus in the dark, in the street. (and there really isn’t another choice because the un-paved, un-sidewalked right of way is full of puddles and pits)

• NGKL November 5, 2009 (8:42 am)

  What happens to the turning lane if they put in a median? Seems like a bad idea to me.

• WSB November 5, 2009 (9:15 am)

  Sam – while NDNC can correct me, I don’t believe there are official “boundaries” for the neighborhood groups, as these are not groups convened by government bodies, though the district council itself does have a set area it represents.
  .
  That said, yes, there is a Pigeon Point Neighborhood Council that meets regularly:
  http://www.pigeonpoint.org
  (we always publish preview reminders of their meetings and usually cover them) and there’s a Puget Ridge neighborhood group, though I’m not sure how active they are – I haven’t seen a rep from there at the district council meeting in the 2 years we’ve been actively covering neighborhoods – but I’ll ask a few experts (if they don’t see this first) – TR

• Nancy F, November 5, 2009 (9:20 am)

  I am glad to see a spirited discussion of the projects. We have broadcast loudly the projects, the meetings where the projects were discussed, a neighborhood walkabout to review the projects live, and the ranking last night. The active neighbors welcome and even desperately want people to join in. Anyone who lives, works, plays, or commutes through Delridge is free to join our meetings or our email list and contribute ideas and suggestions.

  The Large Streets process works like this: small neighborhood units, like the NDNC, proposed streets projects in 2007 for Bridging the Gap funds. This year we have been asked to rank the projects that weren’t done in ’07 in importance to the neighbors today. This ranking will be sent to the Delridge District Council which will rank all the projects in it’s own area. That ranking will be sent on from there.

  So, please, if you want to influence projects in your area participate in your neighborhood groups and the district councils.

  You can subscribe to the NDNC email list here: NorthDelridge-subscribe@googlegroups.com.

• sam November 5, 2009 (9:43 am)

  TR- thank you for the follow up- yes, the pigeon pt council is very active. I see the signs up all the time prior to meetings. the puget ridge council has met in the past, but haven’t heard of many meetings lately.

  there is a P.R. email list that is used for work party scheduling, lost cats, free wood chips and plants, and song circles, etc, but haven’t seen meeting schedules or discussions.

  Per Ron A., there are P.R. representatives at the Delridge District Council meetings, but I haven’t seen reports of those meetings or topic discussions forwarded via the neighborhood email list.
  I should follow up anyhow

• Holli November 5, 2009 (10:00 am)

  I’m happy to see such interest in the neighborhood!

  @Sam: The NDNC serves the North Delridge Neighborhood, as such the projects proposed serve that region of Delridge (According to Article IV of our Bylaws, Boundaries:
  Elliot Bay/Duwamish to the North, Myrtle Street to the South, the tops of the ridges to the East and West. Areas also known as Cottage Grove and Youngstown).

  As already mentioned, Pigeon Point does indeed have a Neighborhood Council. You can review their meeting calendar and contact them by visiting their site: http://pigeonpoint.org/NextMeeting.html – get involved!

  @Marty/Aim/Sam: Anyone is welcome to attend our open meetings (First Wednesdays of the month at 6:30pm located at the Delridge Library). The WS Blog mentioned on Oct. 7th our walking tour of the projects on Oct. 24th to review them and get a sense of need level. Everyone was welcome to attend that as well. I think this is a great example of neighbors needing to pay attention and get involved in the process. In short, this is a “Wish List” since there is a long process before anything happens. You can read about the process and view a comprehensive list of those under consideration for the 2010 budget: http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/btg_nsf_2010.htm

  @NGKL – the median would be in places where the turn lane is not needed – I’m certain that the city has specific measurements for allowing enough room to merge into the turn lane to use it.

  If you’d like to join our NDNC mailing list, please email northdelridge@gmail.com and you will be added.

  The next level of the neighborhood council organization is the Delridge District Council which is meeting on Nov. 18th at Youngstown from 7-8pm.

  Thanks,
  Holli
  NDNC Co-Secretary

• Nancy F, November 5, 2009 (10:02 am)

  Thanks @WSB. The NDNC covers Youngstown and Cottage Grove neighborhoods. But neighborhoods are informal and overlap. For example, our informal area overlaps with Pigeon Pt. That makes sense, to me, since we have some critical issues in common, such as traffic along Delridge Wy.

  Anyway, from the NDNC bylaws:

  Article III Membership
  All persons living or working within the boundaries, any interested persons,
  or owning a business or property located within the boundaries shall be members
  of the NDNC.

  Article IV Boundaries
  Elliot Bay/Duwamish to the North, Myrtle Street to the South, the tops of the
  ridges to the East and West. Areas also known as Cottage Grove and
  Youngstown.

• Nancy F, November 5, 2009 (10:13 am)

  Follow up links…
  Read about the process here:
  http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/btg_nsf.htm

  Read about the projects under consideration here:
  http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/btg_nsf_2010.htm

  Read about the top ranked Delridge project here:
  http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/docs/nsf2010/TC392-MM_PD_MM_PD_JW_PD.doc.

  @NGKL: Be assured city engineers do design and build the projects. They have veto power over projects that are either too expensive, or are not feasible. From the project info page, for ex. “Median location will have to be coordinated with Fire Department to determine appropriate locations for medians to maintain emergency vehicle access.Median location may also have to be modified to maintain access to individual properties.”

  @Sam: Many people share your concern about sidewalks. Please be sure to attend the Delridge District Council meetings (3rd Wed, 7pm @ Youngstown Cultural Arts Center, 4408 Delridge Way SW) to make your opinion known.

• Kathy November 5, 2009 (11:56 am)

  I also think Delridge needs repaving more than traffic calming (although people do fly through that intersection). Delridge is awful largely because of all the new construction punching holes in the road and then patching. I wonder if developers have to pay into a fund to cover damage they do to roadways? Delridge is dangerous to cars, pedestrians and especially bicyclists in its current state.

  Since I live at the corner of 26th and Hudson, I definitely support a sidewalk on Hudson. I see a lot of people including kids walking along this 2 block section of road to get to buses on Delridge in the mornings and afternoons. In the dark winter months this is dangerous as people tend to veer off Delridge to 26th to avoid backups caused by slowing on the bridge. These people are almost always going way too fast.

  I also think the sidewalk up Brandon is a good idea. Just last night I passed a pedestrian walking on Brandon in the dark in dark clothing. Not too smart, but there isn’t another good option at this point since the trail gets muddy. People also are using Brandon as a “highway” and going way too fast, so this is a definite hazard.

• Mark November 5, 2009 (2:27 pm)

  I think a large problem on Delridge is the high rate of speed the vehicles are traveling at in addition to the large trucks the barrel down the road. Not to mention the potholes, I have now blown out two tires which I am told is a normal thing for Delridge and West Seattle in general. If I could put my vote in for anything though it would be to add more crosswalks with lights, as most of us in the new town houses have to walk at least ½ mile north or south to cross Delridge safely. This could very well prevent the commuter traffic traveling into South Seattle and cause them to use the I-5 and an access point rather than Delridge.

• Mark November 5, 2009 (2:38 pm)

  Oh not to really make people mad but police check speed in all Puget Sound cities but not really in Seattle. If they started doing this on Delridge I am sure they could make us enough money in a year for new roads, schools, bike paths and hire more police officers.

• Karrie November 5, 2009 (5:07 pm)

  Some form of traffic calming along Delridge seems critical if we want to make our neighborhood more walkable and feel more like a neighborhood along Delridge Way instead of a street that takes you somewhere else. I live a block off Delridge and avoid it for both walking and driving because it’s so hectic.

  I believe we’ll have a better chance at attracting more restaurants, shops, a much-needed grocer, etc. to our neighborhood if the area is more walkable for people to get to those businesses. I like Mark’s idea for more traffic lights and cross walks. Too bad this was not one of the proposed projects. We could only vote on the projects that were already proposed and cost estimates provided by SDOT.

  A lot of people felt this project would affect the largest number of people and would have a positive impact on the entire community. The other projects as well as the potholes mentioned above are also important, and wouldn’t it be great if we could have all of them done! But we had to vote on what project of the ones already under consideration was the priority.

  It’s great to hear everyone’s opinions. I want to reiterate the how important it is to attend your neighborhood meetings and get involved. If you wait until decisions are made, it’s often too late to make a difference. I really enjoy the NDNC meetings as it’s a chance to get to know my neighbors, keep up on the issues and even help form the issues that get sent on to higher levels. Great to see so many faces last night at the NDNC meeting!

• sam November 6, 2009 (8:34 am)

  thanks for all the input and links- very helpful!

  in the first go-around- there was a public meeting at Youngstown.

  see link:
  https://westseattleblog.com/blog/?p=3270
  I, along with someone else on my street, recruited neighbors to come and vote for the project that is very critical for our area. we also got some neighbors to vote on line or in paper form.

  since it seems like they are considering more projects again,
  has there been another forum of this kind? I didn’t see anything when looking this time on the BTG website

  I hope to make to more meetings. there are so many evening meetings that I’d like to attend, but it is hard due to childcare issues.
  thanks!

• sam November 6, 2009 (8:58 am)

  all we need for traffic calming on Delridge is a little rain !
  :)

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