West Seattle, Washington
22 Friday
On the second day of 2018 City Council meetings, the Planning, Land Use, and Zoning Committee will take on the “neighborhood parking reform” proposal. We first wrote about it in mid-November, when the proposed changes to parking policy were released by the office of then-Mayor Tim Burgess. Wednesday’s 9:30 am committee meeting will bring the first official briefing for, and discussion by, councilmembers, according to the agenda circulated today, which includes this map:
The map (also viewable here, in PDF) shows areas of the city where the proposal would lead to reduction or elimination of parking requirements (see the legend at the bottom of the map, explaining the color coding). The proposal enables this by expanding the definition of “frequent transit service” to cover more areas. You can read a relatively short summary in this agenda attachment, or the long version in the “director’s report” here. Along with the change in parking requirements, it also lays out the rules for “flexible-use” and “shared” parking, intended to increase usage of what the city says is underutilized offstreet parking that already exists, or will be built, and it would require rental properties’ owners to “unbundle” parking so that renters who don’t want it aren’t required to pay for it. There are also some changes in requirements/allowances for car-sharing and bicycle parking, and also a provision to close a loophole that some said was leading to parking stalls that were too small to use – it would “require that non-required parking for residential and live-work uses meet the existing minimum size standards for parking spaces” (currently, the standards only apply to required parking). The full 138-page bill is here.
HOW TO COMMENT: This meeting isn’t scheduled to include a vote. But you can comment on this, or any other, proposed legislation by e-mailing and/or calling councilmembers – this page includes all that information, as well as details of which councilmembers are on which committees – our area’s Councilmember Lisa Herbold is a member of the PLUZ committee that will start this proposal’s review Wednesday.
FRIDAY NIGHT: Those Seattle Parks vehicles are the only hint you’ll see in the 1300 block of Alki Avenue SW that there’s a slide behind one of the residential buildings across the street. We got a tip tonight (thank you!) about the slide. The Parks crews explained that it’s on a city-owned slope, and they are trying to access it to assess what’s happened. (The tipster said it was affecting one building’s rear entry but we weren’t able to get a look.) Parks says it’s the same area as a past slide; our archives show one in the same block in November of last year.
SATURDAY AFTERNOON: By daylight, here’s how the slide aftermath looks from a nearby building’s driveway:
Family and friends are mourning a beloved member of the West Seattle community. We’ve learned that Dotty Hughes died on Tuesday.
Many knew her as the longtime manager of the Washington Federal branch north of The Junction. She had been with the company for more than 20 years; her staff at the branch told us she had been planning to retire soon.
Ms. Hughes was also long active in the community, including involvement with organizations including the Rotary Club of West Seattle and the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce. And a longtime friend who contacted us about Ms. Hughes’ passing remembers her as “one of the most thoughtful, kind, and loving souls I knew.”
We hope to have more information soon, including memorial details; we are told that arrangements are being handled through Dignity Memorial.
You’ll soon see that poster around West Seattle – it’s the official poster for the West Seattle Art Walk first-quarter dates (first Thursdays as usual – January 11, February 8, March 8), featuring art by George Perrou. Every quarter, there’s also a venue map/list, of retailers, galleries, restaurants, etc. that agree to be open late that night while hosting an artist and/or offering food/drink specials to make it a more-memorable night for folks out exploring West Seattle. Wherever you are on the peninsula, there’s still time to get on that list for the first-quarter Art Walk nights if you do it here no later than New Year’s Eve (Sunday)!
The photo and report are from West Seattle High School boys-basketball head coach Keffrey Fazio, whose team is celebrating a tournament championship:
The West Seattle HS boys basketball team won the 2017 Sterling Holiday Basketball Tournament yesterday with a 56-40 win over the Squalicum Storm. The tournament was a three-day event, and all games were played at Kennedy HS [Burien].
Tuesday, December 26th, in the first round of the tourney, the Wildcats beat Lindbergh (Renton) 76-24. Junior forward Abdullahi Mohamed powered the Cats with 16 points and 11 rebounds.
Wednesday, the second round game, the opponent was the Woodinville Falcons. WSHS came away with another win, 64-40. Senior guard Elijah Nnanabu and sophomore point guard Marcus Collins both scored double figures.
Thursday, the tournament final, as mentioned above, WSHS over Squalicum. Senior guard Simon Harris scored 13 points, and tournament MVP Elijah Nnanabu scored 15 points.
The Wildcats record now sits at 7-3 overall, and 3-2 in league play. Next game for WSHS is a home contest vs. Franklin (8-0) on Tuesday, January 2 at 7:30 pm.
Do those books look familiar? Lost? Stolen and dumped? Or? Joy sent the photo, noting, “These books were in Bay 2 shelter at Junction” when she was there late this morning. We just drove by a few minutes ago and they are still there, on the bench in the covered shelter on the south side of SW Alaska just west of California SW.
(WSB photo from Wednesday)
If you were traveling along the SW Genesee hill between Avalon and Delridge earlier this week, you might have noticed that startling sight – two flipped cars alongside a residential building on the north side of the street. Several who missed our original coverage have asked what happened. We published this story late Christmas Eve about the first crash there, after several hours of snow; about two hours later, the second crash happened, as reported by commenters – including the second car’s driver. No injuries, so no SFD callout for the second crash; the owner of that car told us today that their insurance company arranged for its removal last night. As of less than an hour ago, though, the first car is still there.
One month after the final election results certified West Seattleite Mitzi Johanknecht‘s election as the next King County Sheriff, she will take the oath of office next Tuesday. Today’s advisory from the Sheriff’s Office says the public is welcome to attend the ceremony, 11 am Tuesday (January 2nd) in room E-942 at the King County Courthouse downtown (516 3rd Avenue). As noted in the announcement:
Johanknecht is a 32-year veteran of the Sheriff’s Office. Throughout her career, she served in various leadership positions in every division throughout the Sheriff’s Office. Johanknecht rose to the rank of Major and was the first woman to command the department’s SWAT Team.
In the final vote count, Sheriff-elect Johanknecht defeated incumbent Sheriff John Urquhart with 56.8 percent (283,745 votes) to his 43.2 percent (216,214). Photo: May 2017, White Center Now coverage of North Highline Unincorporated Area Council
You might recall seeing that photo of a Canada goose and gosling here on WSB last April – one of many beautiful bird (and sometimes other wildlife) photos contributed by Mark Wangerin. In case you missed it, this photo drew a special honor from a showcase elsewhere – chosen as one of the 2017 top ten Seattle Times Reader Photos of the Year. Mark photographed the geese along Harbor Avenue SW. It was honored in the Northwest Flora and Fauna category. (Thanks to Gary Jones – who also contributes memorable images here – for pointing out Mark’s recognition.)
Looks like a windy night ahead, according to a National Weather Service alert issued this morning – a Wind Advisory for sustained wind up to 30 mph and gusts up to 45 mph, expected between 6 pm tonight and 4 am tomorrow. So make sure everything’s charged. And check around outside for anything in danger of getting blown around.
(SDOT MAP with travel times/video links; is the ‘low bridge’ closed? LOOK HERE)
7:39 AM: Good morning! It’s the final weekday morning of 2017. No incidents reported in/from West Seattle.
Looking ahead to the next weekday – New Year’s Day on Monday – Metro will be on a Sunday schedule; Sound Transit’s West Seattle-serving Route 560 will be out of service; so will the Water Taxi. Washington State Ferries’ Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth route will be on a regular weekday schedule.
But before we get there – remember that Metro buses will be FREE on New Year’s Eve (Sunday), as announced last week, from 4 am Sunday to 4 am Monday.
8:30 AM: Trouble downtown. A crash is blocking 2 lanes of NB I-5 at the Convention Center.
8:56 AM: Crash scene has cleared to the right and the lanes have reopened.
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