VIDEO: Secret sidewalk uncovered along Highland Park Way

| Highland Park | Transportation | West Seattle news

Highland Park Way SW – particularly the hill between SW Holden and West Marginal Way SW – is a lot busier since the West Seattle Bridge closed (three months ago today). Part of the hill is a bit more usable, thanks to volunteers. Don Brubeck from West Seattle Bike Connections sent the video, with this explanation:

While we’ve been waiting for SDOT and SDON to reveal a glimpse of their neighborhood traffic plans and engage us in discussions about biking and walking improvements for the neighborhoods most affected by the West Seattle Bridge closure, several people from Highland Park Action Committee, West Duwamish Greenbelt Trails Group and West Seattle Bike Connections have being doing DIY improvements on Highland Park Way. We uncovered a long-buried and forgotten sidewalk that links the West Duwamish Trail to the trails in the greenbelt that go up to South Seattle College and other trailheads.

P.S. As previewed here Monday, HPAC is talking about detour traffic tomorrow night.

B June 23, 2020 (10:23 am)

Great job, neighbors! Thank you!

brizone June 23, 2020 (10:29 am)

Kudos to these community volunteers!This also demonstrates – once again – why SDOT needs BIG changes in leadership throughout the organization. They just don’t seem to have the capacity or interest in managing/maintaining existing infrastructure, much less giving us a rational vision for how citizens should be getting around our city.

Trickycoolj June 23, 2020 (10:35 am)

That used to be visible when I first moved over here 8 years ago. I commute along that route every day to my not-downtown job and have watched all of the pedestrian infrastructure grow in. They mow maybe once a year in Late-July when the grass stops growing and it’s taller than a small passenger car.

beanie June 23, 2020 (10:35 am)

That’s amazing! Thank you Don and the rest of the team for ongoing your work.

Steve June 23, 2020 (10:55 am)

Thank you Don & co. That is a sweet little connector now that riding that short section up HP is out of the question due to the increase in traffic. As you note in the video, people crossing at the intersection do have the right of way but I still like to make eye contact with the first driver turning northbound to make sure they see me before I proceed across the street. towards the newly revealed sidewalk.

Alki Resident June 23, 2020 (10:56 am)

WOW! Great job. I’m so impressed!!!

Dawson June 23, 2020 (11:02 am)

Would be nice if we could put sanctioned bike trails into the greenbelt from there to reach the top and offer families a means of recreating on their bikes without having to drive.

Also John June 23, 2020 (11:12 am)

That is fantastic…and a lot of work. You could tell how much work it was. Her bicep was solid muscle…😀

West Seattle Hipster June 23, 2020 (11:19 am)

Very cool! Thank you for looking out for our community! SDOT, take note.

TM7302 June 23, 2020 (11:44 am)

Agree! I wonder why the city let it go to ruin in the first place. Now all we have to do is keep SDOT maintaining it.

MrsShaw June 23, 2020 (11:26 am)

What an AWESOME JOB. Thank you so much to all who dug in (literally).

Mike June 23, 2020 (11:35 am)

Wow. This really makes a difference.

Jort June 23, 2020 (11:39 am)

Don Brubeck is truly one of West Seattle’s most under-appreciated heroes, as are the brave and dedicated folks who participate in the WSBC.

D Del Rio June 23, 2020 (11:54 am)

Thank you, and what a wonderful job. I used to volunteer with the Nature Consortium and Earthcorps and planted many native conifers and understroy plants there. I knew there was a tiny patch of sidewalk, but never thought there was that much! Thanks so much again.

BJG June 23, 2020 (12:10 pm)

A sidewalk we already had? Who knew? Just everybody who has used that street for decades and watched it disappear from neglect. Thanks citizens from the bottoms of our hearts! Taxes just don’t “work” for us the way we thought they would in the new paradigm.

Kyle June 23, 2020 (12:40 pm)

Thank you so much! This is awesome!

john June 23, 2020 (12:43 pm)

iMap @ King County shows the scofflaws responsible for maintaining the sidewalk is our City Of Seattle DNR. If you click on the aerial photo function of the imap, you can go back 20 years to animate the disappearance of the sidewalk. The DNR has no funds to properly maintain the trees along Highland Park Way’s steep sliding hillsides, with the resulting slides and downed trees regularly blocking the route. Now that it has become a critical arterial, I petition Lisa Herbold to hound Seattle DNR into action before the inevitable.Great job and kudos to the volunteers whose efforts here should not be needed (if the property owner maintained the sidewalks and planting strips as required by Seattle Regulations). Shame on Seattle DNR.

JayDee June 23, 2020 (1:22 pm)

Nice job…considering it was somebody else’s job to do…(ahem, SDOT!).Does anyone know anything about the fella that sweeps and cleans up that intersection? He does a great job and i suspect he is not with SDOT.

West Seattle Hipster June 23, 2020 (1:36 pm)

So cool for you to point him out JayDee. That guys is awesome! He does a great job at that intersection and I always try to give him a few bucks for his effort.

Michele June 23, 2020 (1:48 pm)

Thanks Don and Craig for organizing. We all have to be in this together. SDOT cannot do all the work alone.

bill June 23, 2020 (1:54 pm)

Great job Don and other WSBC volunteers! That private citizens have to do this sort of maintenance is hugely aggravating. On many trails and sidewalks the mere fact that weeds and blackberries grow back every year is something the city cannot seem to plan for. It happens in spring! Every year! Who knew? Getting the city to keep up on basic, predictably repeating work is like nagging a petulant teenager.

TM June 23, 2020 (2:04 pm)

Awesome work! Well done crew, appreciate your contributions

AJP June 23, 2020 (2:36 pm)

For those asking why SDOT didn’t maintain it–perhaps because it’s in a low-foot traffic area and over time no one ever reported it? When I’ve used the Find It Fix It app to report tall grass overgrowing sidewalks it’s been cut down within a week. I’m glad Don and his crew worked on it and hopefully the city does engage with them on making pedestrian and bicycling improvements in that area!

John June 24, 2020 (11:17 am)

Great suggestion, AJP. I just used Find It Fix It app to report Highland Park Way. Let’s see how fast and if anything happens.

ADIM June 23, 2020 (3:06 pm)

For those asking how SDOT can just loose a sidewalk – perhaps it’s because they were too busy maintaining the West Seattle Bridge to ensure that the most used thoroughfare in the city didn’t fall into disrepair. Oh, wait…

Diane Mickelson June 23, 2020 (4:12 pm)

What a great job…. and what a wonderful thing to do for the citizens of the city… thank you.

Darryll June 23, 2020 (6:41 pm)

Wow! Amazing work. Thanks for doing this!

KayK June 23, 2020 (6:45 pm)

This route is so problematic in lots of ways. Two different agencies mow either side of the street. In multiple places landslides and water runoff and completely demolished pedestrian infrastructure [on the uphill side particularly]. Folks need to remember that government is us! They are working in our interest and sometimes need help!

Don Brubeck June 23, 2020 (8:12 pm)

What KayK said. She has street (sidewalk?) cred. Kay was one of the volunteer workers on this project and so many more with HPAC. Thank you all for the positive feedback. It was satisfying to just get out and do something physical to make a little improvement.

TM7302 June 24, 2020 (12:03 pm)

Can they uncover a secret bridge crossing the Duwamish?

john June 24, 2020 (1:45 pm)

I’m having my daughter use Randonautica to locate that secret crossing of the Duwamish. She will soon be sharing its existence on TikTok.