Thanks to “Diver Laura” James for the tip – the Beach Drive/Constellation Park speed bumps are in, a week and a half after we spotted the SDOT markings, which in turn was shortly after City Councilmember Lisa Herbold announced they were in the works. Neighbors had long been seeking traffic calming along this stretch, because of problems like this:
(May 2016 racing video)
The three bumps are installed on Beach Drive between the stormwater-treatment plant and 63rd SW.
No big stretch to imagine some rich folks along the waterfront made some calls to their friends in high places. Not saying it’s not warranted, but pretty low on the list of street and pothole repair needed elsewhere. Or, the mayor could have just put up 20 MPH signs. That would have done it, right? Hint: more cops (street, patrol, horseback, bike) are really the best answer for this kind of crap, all while reducing break-ins and the like. Just my two pennies.
I think the cheaper solution was putting in speed bumps over cops waiting on the street most nights.
if you want to talk about ROI, I believe the admiral update is one with low ROI over funding the lander street project. I’m not saying the update is worst but just a low return.
I’d chalk it up to ‘some rich folks’ actually taking time to send in complaints with details and video vs. just complaining on WSB about rich folks. This actually is important and benefits everyone that enjoys Alki. Part of the reason I live in West Seattle is easy access to all the great things we have here, Alki being one. Over the years it seems people from outside have decided to take over and make it their dumping ground for parties, drug deals and racing. Has it existed for longer than I’ve lived here in West Seattle (13 years), yes. Has it gotten far worse, hell yes. It’s about time we had some measures put in to cut down on the crap that goes on. I do agree that street repairs in general are needed more and more, but this is still a positive improvement.
Very good points. Check the woman in the provided video. What if she was further down the sidewalk 100feet and one of those cars lost control? That’s not an entirely unreasonable scenario. And there are kids don that side walk ALL THE TIME. You can imagine the horrible scene just by these kids being idiots in their cars. Anything to help prevent this, I’m for.
As reported here back in spring, they went through the same grant-application process that scores of other community groups have gone through.
They also went to their City Councilmember for help, as have many others in the less-than-a-year since she’s been in office. CM Herbold, as linked above, explained in her online update that she wrote a letter to SDOT asking if this could be accelerated, so to speak, given the threat to public safety.
http://herbold.seattle.gov/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Beach-Drive-letter-to-SDOT.pdf
These new speedbumps are great. Very easy to drive over and smooth as silk if you aren’t speeding. However, the new speedbumps at the Roxbury Safeway are TERRIBLE. Drivers are going around them and creating a bigger hazard by driving across vacant parking spaces.
I assume that’d be because that’s a private company putting them with very little regard or care about what they’re doing or why.
instead of useing money for theses speed bumps maybe the city could donate the money to keep air 1 in the air saving lives
What about speed bumps all along Alki and Harbor Ave as well as Don Armeni park….I guess it will take someone getting hurt or killed.
It doesn’t just take someone getting hurt or killed. It takes people willing to do the hard work of initiating and managing these projects through the system over time. Anyone can do it. Whining that someone should do something is not equivalent to action.
Happy to see the speed bumps. Can we get some on California near Hamilton viewpoint? Motorcycles and cars speed and race each other on in that area year round. Just Monday night a few motorcycles raced, causing a few car alarms to go off. Would be nice to get one of those speed readers that was set up near the junction this week, cars go 40-50mph on that straight stretch before heading down to Alki…
Has this been brought to the Admiral Neighborhood Association? Not to offload it on another volunteer community group but this is the way the various neighborhoods working for changes, grants, etc., marshal support. I haven’t heard Hamilton Viewpoint-area problems discussed at ANA (which meets second Tuesdays, 7 pm, Sanctuary at Admiral) in a long time.
Also: http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/ntcp_arterial.htm
I’m not sure – I have honestly never been to a meeting. I’m not very comfortable with public speaking. I’ll check out the link you sent. I should start taking video but it’s hard to get outside quick enough. I often hear them gaining speed a few blocks away and eventually zipping by, you can tell when someone is traveling too fast. Not all motorcyclists are bad, I’m an enthusiast myself, however some are just going way too fast, it’s especially dangerous given how few cars actually stop at the stop signs before entering onto California. I’m shocked no one has been hurt yet. I’ve seen groups of motorcycles doing wheelies up and down California from Hamilton to Hill, speeding and racing each other, passing cars. They’ll come to a complete stop and shoot off north/south on California. All year long, worse in the summer of course.
Nice improvement and the speed bumps are smooth. There are always cops sitting in there car at this spot so its not about adding police.
I would love to see speed bumps on Harbor Ave right where the active space building is and going north from there. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been woken up out of a dead sleep at 2-3am due to racing fart cars down that stretch. An accident is going to happen one day.
Just let the roads get worse, that will slow everyone down.
It’s to the point I cannot even ride my road bike on Beach Drive without fear of bending a rim or at the least getting a flat. Guess I’ll have to get my mountain bike tuned up.
Please,please,please may we have some speed bumps on Alki? Will it take some horrible accident or someone killed at a crosswalk before this is considered?
Yeah, we need speedbumps on Alki. Sadly speeders have already killed pedestrians, and have been killed here. I’m surprised that many, many more haven’t died.
It will be easy to get footage of drag races, and sportbike motorcycles doing wheelies/speeding at 100+mph/riders standing up and ‘surfing’. Maybe that will prompt the city to act?
Hey- everyone writing in who are asking for more speed bumps- please don’t just use your voice on the ( great) WSB- use at neighborhood meetings, email city council, etc. The more voices the better!
+1 for this. Stop complaining on the blog and take the example that the Beach Drive folks have now demonstrated for you. Organize, agitate, advocate, and make it happen. It takes just as much time to write to the Mayor or Council as it does to post on the blog. And then follow it up.
As a cyclist, I would have hoped for non-continuous speed bumps. I have not ridden on them yet so I don’t know how jarring they may be for a bike rider.
The pair of speed bumps on Beach Drive south of Me-Kwa-Mooks Park are ideal in that they slow traffic but still allow cyclists to avoid the bumps altogether.
I rode them this morning on my bike. They have a flatter curve so they work great for cyclist. no issues at any speed.
Looks like our speeders down here at Linciln Park are movibg up. Please how about some kind of enforcemt down here?
Everyone asking for speed bumps in their area now, start calling the city. The squeaky wheel gets the grease. If you have better ideas on where to spend money, take pictures, video, put together a document and keep being a squeaky wheel. It works. It really does.
Speed cushions were put on my street too – and unless the speed is enforced – the cars still speed – only now they thud over the cushions and rattle the house – so not only do they still speed which I could not really hear in the house – now it sounds like the recycle truck is on the street 20 times an hour – once they speed cushions are in – they will not take them out -and getting the police to enforce the speed limit is near impossible – so good luck – I hope you have a better out come than we did on the new 21st Ave SW greenway.
According to signs post around town…
Sign states “Racing is Prohibited from 9pm to 5am”.
These “signs” imply it’s legal to street race after 5am and before 9pm
You might have moved the minute ricer’s to another street..,but you created another problem. Large truck driving over these bump with the loud thud that follows…and thats going away.
There’s no reason for large trucks to drive that stretch of Beach Drive unless they’re lost. 63rd runs parallel and gets you to all the same destinations. Most of the stretch is fronted by the wastewater-treatment plant, with a few mostly multi-family residences north and some single-family houses south.
I don’t know if they are a deterrent or encouragement. Those smooth speed bumps could encourage those idiots todo some Fast and Furious-style jumps while street racing.
@ WSB…I don’t think large trucks just pertain to Semi’s aren’t UPS and FED EX trucks considered large? I’ve seen them make a good bit of noise going up our residential street and we have no speed bumps!
In regards to Space Dust’s comment about large trucks and WSB saying there is no need for large trucks on Beach Drive…aren’t UPS and Fed Ex trucks considered large trucks and SD is just not talking about Semi truck and trailers? So yes those large trucks (UPS/FEDEX) will travel on Beach Drive and yes when going over those new speed bumps they will make a “thud”
I would love to see something done to control the speeding that takes place on Beach Drive – from Lincoln Park to Me Kwa Mooks. And it’s not just the kids… it’s people driving to and from work or where ever they’re going… NO regard for the speed limit and most just opt to swerve to the middle of road at the speed bumps in this section. It’s not unusual to see drivers pass other drivers who are driving the speed limit.
This area is a “scenic drive” filled with walkers, strollers, joggers and bicyclist… it’s no place for speeders.
Sorry, comment time is over.
| 33 COMMENTS