West Seattle, Washington
12 Monday
With one sanctioned encampment in our area, and two areas swept nearby, you might be wondering about the city’s newest stats on its homelessness-related effort. Above is the slide deck used when city staffers briefed the City Council’s Human Services and Public Health Committee this afternoon (here’s the PDF version). It included many West Seattle datapoints, so after taking notes while monitoring the briefing via Seattle Channel, we requested the deck to share with you. (Added – here’s the video; the briefing starts at 46 minutes in.)
Of interest:
*Camp Second Chance at the Myers Way Parcels has 33 residents now, four weeks after it was officially sanctioned – that’s about twice what we were told when we visited for this story last month, and about half its ultimate current capacity.
*The Navigation Team has contacted 291 people in the past 8 weeks, and 116 accepted housing/shelter options – a higher percentage than the city had been noting previously.
*In the Spokane Street area that’s being swept this week, the team made 38 total contacts, and eight have moved to indoor shelter or authorized outdoor encampments in the past two days – others got repair assistance or other help in getting their vehicles running, and “1 person accepted entry into a longterm inpatient substance abuse treatment program.” Others who have not accepted shelter/housing did accept other services such as case management.
*The council briefing also talked about encampment-clearing protocols and about other services available, such as sharps pickup and showers (751 unsheltered people have been served by the availability of showers at Delridge Community Center, the presentation noted), as well as trash service.
Meantime, we went over to the Spokane/East Marginal area late this afternoon, and it appeared to be about three-fourths cleared.
Back when we were talking about crumbling 35th SW, Sarah sent that photo from similarly pockmarked Delridge, saying, “This is the southbound 120 bus stop at Delridge and Juneau. It has actually gotten worse since i first reported it a month ago. The road is literally washing away under the concrete.” We had been saving it for a Delridge-specific story – and then on Tuesday, noticed this crew fixing it:
Now, SDOT has just announced a road-repair campaign it’s calling “Pothole Palooza“:
Seattle is kicking off Pothole Palooza on Monday, April 17, a campaign to aggressively repair potholes across the city. Beginning today, the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) is asking community members to report neighborhood potholes so we can map them out as our Pothole Rangers move throughout the city.
There are three ways to report potholes:
*Calling our Pothole and Street Repair hotline, 206-386-1218
*Using the Find It Fix It App
*Filling out our online Pothole Report formDuring the campaign, SDOT crews will be assigned to specific districts around the city. SDOT Crews will be joined by crews from Seattle Parks and Recreation, who will assist with these efforts.
“We recognize that residents have been patient through a tough winter that’s resulted in an increased number of potholes and we want them to know that we’re listening when they report them,” said SDOT Director Scott Kubly. “You’ve told us where they are, and we are marshaling our resources to fill them.”
Potholes occur when street pavement cracks and breaks because of water and vehicle traffic. During winter months, water can cause the material under the pavement to erode, freeze and expand, and then thaw and contract causing the pavement to sink down and break. Many streets, particularly in the outer areas of the city, have a very poor underlying structure, or sub base, which reacts poorly to these conditions. This freeze/thaw cycle can cause the pavement to crack so that it deteriorates quickly under the weight of traffic, and then streets can seem to break out in potholes overnight.
Guess that’s a new way to describe us, an “outer area of the city.” Anyway, the map of potholes the city shows as filled, and waiting, can be seen here.
Just tweeted by Seattle Police: The photo at right of Paul D. Story. We first reported one week ago today that Story had been charged in connection with the March 22nd boathouse burglary along the Duwamish River, and that a $100,000 warrant was out for his arrest. As you might recall, he was taken into custody after jumping into the river, swimming under the boathouse, and being pulled out of the water on the brink of hypothermia. He went to the hospital, then to jail, but was released on his own recognizance when charges weren’t filed in time to keep him in. When arrested, he gave an Admiral address at which his family says he lives with them “on and off.” If you see him or know where he might be, call 911.
As we do every year, we’ve continued to update our seasonal-events-and-services West Seattle Easter & More page as info comes in, and the list keeps getting longer as the weekend approaches – egg hunts on both Saturday and Sunday, and religious services all week through Sunday. If you have something coming up tomorrow through Sunday, it’s not too late for us to add it – just e-mail the information to editor@westseattleblog.com – thanks! (The page is here as well as linked from our main navigation bar/menu.)
(UPDATED 3:06 PM with SDOT response on details of parking-change notification and sign installation)
Parking restrictions along a mile of southbound Fauntleroy Way, mostly alongside Lincoln Park, are expanding. We found out about that at last night’s Fauntleroy Community Association board meeting – but NOT because of any official briefing or other involvement; members, in fact, voiced displeasure with the idea.
Instead, the notification arrived as it had for some other area residents – via an SDOT-sent postal-mail postcard. (We asked SDOT this morning for a digital version – [added] see the PDF version here.) The postcard says that what is currently a 3-7 pm weekday prohibition on parking in the ferry-waiting zone, between SW Fontanelle and the terminal, will expand to 2-7 pm, and new signs will be installed soon.
(ADDED 3:06 PM: SDOT spokesperson Sue Romero tells WSB, “These mailers went out last Thursday and Friday (4/6 and 4/7) and were mailed to residents along Fauntleroy Way SW from SW Fontanelle to SW Barton St, and 1-2 blocks west. Sign installation is scheduled to begin tomorrow.”)
Many have asked about the disappearance of the longtime zipline/cable ride by Lincoln Park‘s south-end play area. Apparently it vanished, unexplained; we asked Seattle Parks if it was coming back, and spokesperson Christina Hirsch says no:
We’ve installed a new cable ride at the new Lincoln Park north end play area, near the wading pool. The south-end cable ride has been permanently removed. It did not meet current safety standards and was no longer maintainable.
The south-end play area will be renovated within the next five years.
The renovated North Play Area opened last October.
P.S. Somehow we can’t find a photo of the now-gone zipline/cable ride in our archives. YouTube, however, has immortalized many rides … here’s one clip from 2007 that clearly shows the entire installation.
(Black-capped chickadee harvesting nesting material, photographed by Trileigh Tucker)
We’ve made it to midweek! Here are highlights of what’s happening:
HOLY WEEK SERVICES & MORE: Check the list for today/tonight here.
OFFICE JUNCTION TOUR, MEETUP: 11 am, West Seattle’s only coworking center, WS Office Junction (WSB sponsor), welcomes you to stop by for a tour. 12-1:15 pm, it’s the weekly local-biz meetup. All welcome! (6040 California SW)
BABY STORY TIME: 11:30 am at High Point Library – stories, songs, rhymes, fun and free. (35th SW/SW Raymond)
GAME ON! 2-4:30 pm at High Point Library – “Spring Break special edition of board games and open play on the Kinect and Wii.” (35th SW/SW Raymond)
ADMISSIONS WORKSHOP: 3-4:30 pm at South Seattle College (WSB sponsor) library, get help with the admission/enrollment process. Full details in our calendar listing. (6000 16th SW)
BOSTON MARATHON SUPPORT RUN: Join the free group run from West Seattle Runner (WSB sponsor) tonight at 6:15 pm, as a sendoff for locals who are headed to the Boston Marathon. (2743 California SW)
CITY COUNCIL POSITION 8 CANDIDATES: See all 10 of them at tonight’s 34th District Democrats meeting, which also is scheduled for an appearance by U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal. 6:30 pm social time, 7 pm program, The Hall at Fauntleroy – full agenda in our calendar listing. (9131 California SW)
THE BILLY JOE SHOW: 8-11 pm at Parliament Tavern – “Honky tonk for the soul with Billy Joe Huels of The Dusty 45s, featuring Robin Cady, Kohen Burrill, and guitar legend Rod Cook.” 21+. No cover. (4210 SW Admiral Way)
TALARICO’S TRIVIA: The famous weekly 8:30 pm trivia hosted by Phil Tavel. Prizes! (4718 California SW)
AND THERE’S MUCH MORE … on our complete-calendar page.
FIRST REPORT, 8:51 AM: Our apologies for failing to cover today’s 3:40 am fire call in real time. Several people have asked about it, and this is what we have found out so far this morning: While Seattle Fire sent a “full response” to this house on 16th SW near Cloverdale, it was an “exterior fire that extended into the home,” quickly extinguished, according to SFD spokesperson Lt. Harold Webb. Everybody got out before the SFD units arrived, he says; no one was hurt. Lt. Webb is awaiting the investigator’s report on the cause, and we’ll add that information here when it’s available.
3:58 PM: Just in from Lt. Webb – the fire was ruled accidental, sparked by “hot ashes in a trash receptacle” that “ignited next to the house and extended into the house.” Damage is estimated at $70,000.
Thanks to the texter who sent word of a late-night double coyote sighting: Two in the 5600 block of 35th SW [map]. They wanted to be sure people in the area knew about it before letting their pets roam outdoors; researchers say coyotes’ diets actually includes more wild small animals – rodents, in particular – than domesticated ones. The sightings reports we’ve received over the years are archived here; state experts’ advice on coexisting with coyotes is here.
(SDOT MAP with travel times/video links; is the ‘low bridge’ closed? LOOK HERE)
6:57 AM: No incidents in/from West Seattle so far; the rain is the biggest factor affecting this morning’s commute.
WORK DELAYED: The paving work scheduled for today on surface Spokane St. at Harbor Island has been postponed because of the rain.
IN THE STADIUM ZONE: The Mariners‘ first home stand continues with another 7:10 pm game vs. the Astros.
7:33 AM: If you’re heading to southbound I-5 from the West Seattle Bridge, things will be a little clogged right at the exit, where WSDOT says a crash is blocking the HOV lane.
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