TRAFFIC ALERT UPDATES: Car/pole crash on Olson curve; 35th SW reopens; Highland Park Way hill closed

7:36 AM: Thanks to Jason for the photo from an early-morning crash on a notoriously tricky stretch of road, the Olson Place curve at the east end of Roxbury. He reports it involved one car, whose driver crashed into a pole. Only one engine was dispatched, no medic unit, so it does not appear to have involved major injuries. It rained most of the night, so take extra care wherever you’re going this morning – we’re off to check on other potential trouble spots, including Highland Park Way, reported still closed at dawn, and the 35th SW/Avalon/Alaska tree situation.

8:31 AM: We’re out on rounds now.

35th SW is open again and the tree is out of the wires, in pieces on the ground (photo above). The sidewalk remains taped off.

(Photo from Margaret)
The Highland Park Way hill remains closed, with cleanup crews visible from the Holden intersection (photo above).

(Added: We also checked on Olson, scene of the crash at the top of this story, and it’s clear.)

Westside45 August 30, 2015 (8:32 am)

If you drive the speed limit and are mindful of your driving there is no problem with this curve. If you feel like driving fast and are not paying attention (rain changes the conditions) this can happen. It is not the road’s fault. When conditions change your driving must also change…if this means driving slower than the posted speed limit that’s what you do. I have driven that stretch of road for 30 years in all possible weather conditions, yet I have never ruined a car.
Pay attention.

Sandal42 August 30, 2015 (12:30 pm)

Westside45 nailed it!! I have driven that road as well in ALL weather conditions, for 26 years. Has never been an issue :)

sam-c August 30, 2015 (8:07 pm)

Any update on when Highland Park way is going to re-open? Surprised they didn’t block off the 2 left turn lanes that turn onto HP Way. Saw lots of confused people making u-turns (back towards 509) in the middle of the intersection this evening.

WSB August 30, 2015 (8:14 pm)

No, there’s no update. And honestly, there’s no use in taking stock in the “estimated restoration time” – having covered outages (and been through them, including 4 days without power in December 2006, and that wasn’t anywhere near the worst duration, some in the region were out for more than a week), while power can be on well before the “estimate,” it can also be well after, and there’s no explanation of how the “estimate” is determined. Still 252 separate outages being worked on citywide. We’ve gone by HP Way hill several times today, as have others (thanks for the photos) and crews have been there continuously. – TR
- WSB August 30, 2015 (8:37 pm)
  
  … also, for what it’s worth, I’m going to open a new story atop the page here shortly regarding this, since it’s now going on almost 24 full hours. Meantime, City Light has some contextual info, no consolation but it shows what they’re up against overall.
  .
  http://powerlines.seattle.gov/2015/08/30/crews-make-progress-on-outage-restorations-focus-on-lake-forest-park-push-for-monday-finish/
  .
  When this all is over, we can seek further info on the vulnerabilities and challenges of this area and if anything can be done about them. For the utility overall, they touted changes and beefed-up storm response after the 2006 storm – I just found this in our archives. https://westseattleblog.com/2007/12/one-year-ago-tonight-windstorm-anniversary
  .
  Speaking of 2006, the current work zone is not far from the semi-famous sign we photographed six days into that outage:
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  https://westseattleblog.com/2006/12/a-cry-in-the-darkness/#comments

sam-c August 30, 2015 (8:54 pm)

So, the HP way closure is related to power outage? sorry, I was only asking about the street, not the power area, so i am only asking cause I am confused- sounds like they have to keep the street closed to do the power work?

It is weird too, we had a power outage from 11:45 pm Saturday to 3 am Sunday, but based on neighborhood emails, some people in my neighborhood aren’t expected to get power back until 10 pm tomorrow. so crazy.

WSB August 30, 2015 (9:16 pm)

SC, the crews working on the hill are Seattle City Light. See the photos in our latest story. And apparently some don’t know the meaning of a STREET CLOSED sign – per scanner, police just had to be re-dispatched to the bottom of HP Way hill after someone apparently moved the sign so they could get around it. Nice.