TRAFFIC/TRANSIT TODAY: Tuesday updates

(SDOT MAP with travel times/video links; is the ‘low bridge’ closed? LOOK HERE)

6:39 AM: Good morning! No incidents reported in/outbound from West Seattle so far. Transportation-related notes:

SPRING BREAK … continues for most parochial schools and some other independent schools. That affects some of the school speed-limit zones, including Holy Family (20th/Roxbury) and Our Lady of Guadalupe (35th/Myrtle).

POTHOLE PATROL: If you see them in West Seattle today, let us know. SDOT told us they were in south and east Seattle yesterday; We spotted one crew pulled over by 35th/Alaska but don’t know if they did anything, as they were gone when we circled back around to check. SDOT has an official “kickoff” event later today with the mayor on Beacon Hill.

I-5 MAINTENANCE PROJECTS: WSDOT has announced that two sections of I-5 will have major maintenance work over the next 2 years, including some near the West Seattle Bridge, though the first project is in south King County.

7:33 AM: From the scanner – report of a vehicle blocking one lane on the eastbound bridge by the Delridge onramp. (Center lane, per subsequent SDOT tweet.)

7:50 AM: SDOT says SPD has cleared the stalled vehicle, and all lanes on the bridge are open again.

9:07 AM: Crash on southbound I-5 near the West Seattle Bridge exit – not sure yet if it’s affecting traffic from the exit but here’s your first heads-up.

Earlybird April 18, 2017 (7:00 am)

Delridge Way between Genessee and Dakota has reopened after about an hour closure for investigation of last night’s gunfire. Busses seem to be back on schedule.

WSB April 18, 2017 (7:09 am)

Thanks. We got one text about reported gunfire and will be seeking the reports from SPD when the media office opens, but re: a road closure, there were no SDOT or Metro alerts on Twitter or text, and no one texted us about a closure … sorry not to have had it but we’re only as good as the info we get (206-293-6302). No medic calls so apparently no one hit; the incident is categorized in SPD auto-tweets as “property destruction.” – TR

Alyca April 18, 2017 (7:38 am)

Yes–there was a whole bunch of gunfire at ~220, and again about an hour later. I live literally 200 feet away from where this all happened (my husband came across the police investigation and lots of bullet casings when he tried to get to the Delridge bus stop between Genessee and Dakota around 450am). The gunfire woke me from sleep, but I figured it was fireworks, because there were never any sirens or people noise either time.

WSB April 18, 2017 (7:49 am)

Thank you. Generally there won’t be sirens unless a victim is reported and there’s a subsequent big SFD callout – police seem to use sirens more if needed to get through traffic (not an issue generally in the middle of the night).

wetone April 18, 2017 (9:07 am)

ALYCA”s husband saw shell casings, multiple people heard what they thought was gunfire and incident is categorized in SPD auto-tweets as “property destruction”. Amazing how SPD categorizes their responses…. sure helps SPD with their statistics. Justifies their statements of “crime is down Seattle”.

WSB April 18, 2017 (9:21 am)

No, it’s not “amazing.” It’s accurate. The descriptions in Twitter (which is limited to 140 characters) are not granular such as “property damage caused by gunfire.” That all is in the reports, and I now have summaries of several reports from overnight, so the story’s coming up. Meantime, if you’re interested in citywide shots-fired reports, check the latest SeaStat slide deck.

https://www.seattle.gov/Documents/Departments/Police/SeaStat/SEASTAT_2017MAR29.pdf

heyalki April 18, 2017 (9:17 am)

SDOT could just throw a rock in any direction from anywhere they’re standing in the entire city and find the pot holes that way.

Sunuva April 18, 2017 (10:14 am)

The backups on Andover at Delridge were once again causing people to drive in the oncoming vehicle lane to get into the Nucor and Delridge Business Park entrance. SDOT has been notified about this by businesses there, and they brashly responded that they will not do anything to fix the timing of the light or anything else to try to mitigate the problem.

Drivers; it shouldn’t have to be explained to you how dangerous it is to go charging down the wrong lane to get around stopped traffic! I’m going to start taking pictures and shaming you. Police need to crack down also, but they’ve only been out there once that I’ve seen.

Sorry, comment time is over.