Most of the time, after publishing the initial announcement of projects that will at least temporarily affect how you get around, our subsequent reminders are in our weekday Traffic/Transit Today updates, first thing Monday-Friday mornings.

Tonight, we’re thinking an extra reminder is in order, because of the big week ahead. So here goes:

TOMORROW (MONDAY 4/25), 26TH SW BETWEEN ROXBURY AND BARTON: The pummeled pavement panels along this stretch of southbound 26th SW, in sorry shape after the past few years of dramatically increased bus traffic, will be replaced over the next week. The work will start on the south half, between Cambridge and Roxbury, as SDOT’s advisory says, southbound 26th will be closed to all traffic. There are no bus-stop changes, because the southbound side has no stops, but the rerouting to get around it will add a few minutes to trips, Metro says.

ALSO MONDAY: Delays are possible for Fauntleroy/Vashon ferry riders, because one of the two slips on Vashon will close during the day for ongoing work, tomorrow through the end of May. Explanation here.

ONE MORE THING FOR MONDAY: Not West Seattle, but some local commuters might be interested: The Highway 520 floating bridge will open to eastbound traffic early Monday morning, and that completes the phasing-in of the new bridge, both ways.

NOT HAPPENING WEDNESDAY AFTER ALL: If you missed our first word of this on Thursday and the city’s reiteration on Friday, SDOT finally decided to postpone the Fauntleroy Expressway seismic-pad-re-replacement work.

(WSB photo by Christopher Boffoli from original Fauntleroy Expressway pad-replacement work in 2012)

It WAS supposed to start this Wednesday, with dozens of overnight closures of the west end of the high bridge as well as some lane closures on surface Spokane St., but has now been pushed back until at least mid-May, mostly because of what starts on …

FRIDAY: At some point between midnight and the start of the morning commute on Friday April 29th), WSDOT will close Highway 99 between the Battery Street Tunnel and the West Seattle Bridge. As of our last check with WSDOT, spokesperson Laura Newborn told us they have 12:01 am penciled in as the start time until they get a more concise time from contractor Seattle Tunnel Partners as to when they expect to start tunneling toward and under the Alaskan Way Viaduct. All week long, we’ll be taking closer looks at the plans for alternative ways to get around during the closure; if you still have questions about it, we’ll do our best to get answers.

Again, the closure is expected to last “about” two weeks, but it all depends on the progress the tunneling machine makes. That progress is set to be updated online at least once a day. Other closure-related info – detour maps, etc. – is here.

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Design Review doubleheader, report #2: 4532 42nd SW gets OK to advance to next phase

April 24, 2016 7:47 pm

| 10 COMMENTS

| Development | West Seattle news

(Renderings from design packet, by Clark Design Group)

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

The tree was off the table.

At the start of the Southwest Design Review Board‘s doubleheader nightcap last Thursday, the third Early Design Guidance review of the mixed-use proposal for 4532 42nd SW, planner Katy Haima made that clear.

She declared that the issue of “tree removal on the site” – referring to what happened after the project’s last meeting in November, with an $11,000 penalty revealed recently – had been “referred to [the city] and had been resolved” and asked participants not to bring it up.

Only one did.

Compared to the lightly attended review at the start of the night (1606 California SW – see our report here), this one had more than a dozen spectators, though most were there to observe and not to comment. All five board members were present for this review – chair Todd Bronk, members Don Caffrey, T. Frick McNamara, Alexandra Moravec, and Matt Zinski.

At meeting’s end, they voted to allow the project to proceed to the second phase of Design Review. Here’s what happened along the way:

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WATER SAFETY: Seattle Public Utilities says test results show NO lead problems, offers online tool for checking what your service line’s made of

April 24, 2016 3:55 pm

| 34 COMMENTS

| Safety | Utilities | West Seattle news

(Screengrab from SPU mapping tool you can use to figure out what kind of “service line” goes to your residence)

3:55 PM: Just out of the WSB inbox:

Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) said today that two days of extensive testing in five Seattle homes confirms the city’s water continues to be safe to drink.

The utility started testing after learning last week that Tacoma Public Utilities had detected high levels of lead in four water samples taken from galvanized steel service lines.

In response to that information, SPU asked Seattle residents to run their water before using it if the water had not been run for a while. SPU then initiated its own tests to see if the problems reported in Tacoma exist here.

The Seattle test results announced today are well below the action level for lead of 15 parts per billion (ppb). The highest level recorded in Seattle’s tests was 1.95 ppb.

Seattle’s water quality experts worked with five homeowners, distributed throughout the city, with galvanized-steel service lines. They sampled water from the main to the tap, after allowing the water to sit overnight in the pipes.

“This sampling protocol was much more extensive than the standard federal test, and should give customers an added sense of confidence in their water,” said SPU Drinking Water Quality Manager Wylie Harper.

“Seattle Public Utilities is in compliance with U.S. Department of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations,” said Derek Pell of the Washington State Department of Health’s (DOH) Office of Drinking Water. Pell added Seattle’s testing protocol is supported by DOH.

If customers are interested in learning what kind of material — copper, plastic or galvanized steel — the service line that supplies their homes with drinking water is made of, they can use a new online Web tool.

You can navigate to the Web tool by clicking here.

SPU said the test results released today mean Seattle water customers can return to using water as they did before Thursday’s announcement. (EPA, DOH and SPU recommend running the water before drinking.)

SPU’s source water, supplied to 1.3 million people in the region, comes from protected mountain watersheds in the Cascades Mountains and is considered to be some of the best water in the nation.

Seattle regularly tests its water for lead and other contaminants, and has met all requirements of the federal Lead and Copper Rule since 2003.

The utility’s state-of-the-art water quality laboratory analyzes over 20,000 microbiological samples each year — more than 50 a day taken throughout the system — and conducts chemical and physical monitoring daily, 365 days per year.

SPU continues to work with key stakeholders and regulators including DOH, Seattle-King County Public Health, EPA and city departments.

A phone line has been set up for customers with questions: 206-684-5800. Customers can call today until 7 p.m., and from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

9:01 PM UPDATE: As discovered and discussed by commenters, there are some spots on the map where you won’t find the water-line information. We asked SPU, whose Andy Ryan replied: “We know there are some ‘blanks’ in the database. Records were not always well kept or complete and some parts of the city were annexed. If your readers have questions — such as, ‘I can’t find information for my address’ — please ask them to call 684-5800, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.”

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UPDATE: Fire call in 3200 block 31st SW

April 24, 2016 2:44 pm

| 9 COMMENTS

| West Seattle fires | West Seattle news | WS breaking news

2:44 PM: Thanks for the text. Seattle Fire has sent a big dispatch to a possible house fire ~~in High Point~~, in the 3200 block of 31st SW.

2:49 PM: Before we arrived, the call’s been closed, meaning the SFD units have all been sent back. So, nothing major.

4:47 PM: WSB’s Christopher Boffoli reports having caught the description via scanner before this call’s quick closeout: A small fire related to a bird’s nest in or around a chimney/heater outlet.

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West Seattle Crime Watch: Suspected gunfire in The Junction; more car break-ins

April 24, 2016 2:30 pm

| 18 COMMENTS

| Crime | West Seattle news

In West Seattle Crime Watch so far today:

SUSPECTED GUNFIRE IN THE JUNCTION: We’ve been checking on this after several inquiries about possible gunshots and arguing heard in the 3:30 am vicinity, near Capco Plaza at 42nd/Alaska in The Junction. No one texted or called when it happened, so we didn’t get to check it out in real time (so much is not on the scanner these days – 206-293-6302 is our 24/7 hotline), and the best we’ve been able to do is process of elimination: There were no medic calls on the Seattle Fire log, which means no one was hurt; no gunfire incidents on the SPD Twitter call log or SPD police-report maps. To go the extra mile in checking on it, we went to the Southwest Precinct to see if someone could check the report for us. The desk officer said he already had just checked on the incident at a caller’s request, and he said there’s nothing in the system about gunfire – which would mean no shell casings, no bullet holes – the final call designation was a noise disturbance related to a “party.” If we find out anything more, we’ll add it, but that’s all we have so far.

CAR BREAK-INS: Reader report from Kami:

Looks like WS was hit by more car prowls last night. Our car was broken into between 10-8am last night (in the 4000 block of) 36th Ave SW. Ping Zing 2 golf clubs were stolen in Bengals golf bag. Police said multiple other cars were prowled on the same block in the alley parking spots and garages. Remind neighbors to watch for cars entering the alleys that are not recognized and report anything suspicious.

Reminder – car prowls/thefts are the spotlight topic Tuesday night at the West Seattle Block Watch Captains Network meeting, all welcome, 6:30 pm, precinct meeting room at 2300 SW Webster.

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HAPPENING NOW: Recycling in the rain

April 24, 2016 10:40 am

| 2 COMMENTS

| Environment | Fauntleroy | West Seattle news

At Fauntleroy Church (9140 California SW), the rain’s not stopping the twice-yearly Recycle Roundup, on until 3 pm today. We stopped by in the first hour and found people dropping off everything from an old TV antenna to an exercise cycle.

There’s no charge to drop off your recyclables as long as they’re on the list; the church’s Green Committee coordinates this every spring and fall with recycler 1 Green Planet and will of course accept donations to cover their expenses, but that’s totally voluntary. They have one request: Please DON’T wait until the end of the day – after 2:30, there can be a long line.

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West Seattle Sunday: Recycle Roundup; bike-commute test rides; Rock Show; ‘Screenagers’; Passover ‘pop-up’; more!

April 24, 2016 6:03 am

| 1 COMMENT

| West Seattle news | WS miscellaneous

(The Brothers, photographed by WSB’s Patrick Sand)

Good morning! Still deciding how to spend your Sunday? From the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar, some possibilities:

BICYCLE-COMMUTE TEST RIDES: Thinking about commuting by bicycle during the impending Alaskan Way Viaduct two-weeks-or-so closure, now just five days away? West Seattle Bike Connections has announced test rides today, from three West Seattle starting points:

*Lowman Beach, 9 am (info here)
*Morgan Junction, 9 am (info here)
*The Junction, 9:20 am (info here)

Important – if it looks like rain, please check those links to see if there are updates with changes/cancellations.

RECYCLE ROUNDUP: Today’s your first of two chances this year to get those non-curbside-type recyclables out of the house and into the hands of recyclers, for free! 9 am-3 pm at the Fauntleroy Church parking lot. The list of what 1 Green Planet will take (with some mentions of what they won’t) is here. (9131 California SW)

‘SCREENAGERS’: 10 am at the Admiral Theater, the Alki Elementary PTA presents a showing of this film looking at the screen time in kids/teens’ lives and what parents really need to know and do. Ticket link’s in our listing. (2343 California SW)

WEST SEATTLE ROCK SHOW: 10 am-5 pm, second and final day of the free, fun 50th annual show, presented by the West Seattle Rock Club at the Alki Masonic Center in The Junction. Here’s our report from day 1. (4736 40th SW)

WEST SEATTLE FARMERS’ MARKET: 10 am-2 pm in The Junction, shop in the street! (California SW between SW Oregon and SW Alaska)

EARTH DAY SERVICE WITH ZARNA JOSHI: The organizer, activist, writer, and storyteller Zarna Joshi speaks during the Earth Day service at 10:30 am at Westside Unitarian Universalist Congregation – all welcome – info here. (7141 California SW)

PLAY GAMES! Eight groups are scheduled at Meeples Games (WSB sponsor) today, noon until night, according to the schedule on the right side of the Meeples home page. Go play! (3727 California SW)

EARTH DAY STORYTELLING: 2-4 pm, free, at the Duwamish Longhouse. You’ll hear from storytellers Johnny Moses (Tulalip), Rebecca Hom from Shelton, and Blake Shelafoe (Duwamish), as well as from James Rasmussen of the Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition, about the healing of the river. (4705 W. Marginal Way SW)

‘LOVE, LOSS, AND WHAT I WORE’: 3 pm matinee at Kenyon Hall, as Twelfth Night Productions‘ Seattle-premiere performance continues. (7904 35th SW)

POP-UP PASSOVER SEDER: 4-7 pm at Delridge Community Center – celebrate with friends and neighbors as Passover continues. Details here. (4501 Delridge Way SW)

MORE! See today’s full list on our complete calendar.

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