West Seattle, Washington
27 Saturday
19 weeks ago tonight, King County announced its first confirmed coronavirus case. We start tonight’s roundup with the numbers:
NEWEST KING COUNTY NUMBERS: From the Public Health daily summary:
*11,632 people have tested positive, 146 more than yesterday
*603 people have died, 1 more than yesterday
*1,674 people have been hospitalized, 12 more than yesterday
*201,745 people have been tested, 3,035 more than yesterday
One week ago, those totals were 10,719/590/1,610/179,644.
STATEWIDE NUMBERS: See them here.
WORLDWIDE NUMBERS: 12.4 million cases, 560,000+ deaths – see the nation-by-nation numbers here.
SANITIZER CONTAMINATION: The state wants to be sure you’re aware of this FDA alert about some hand sanitizers.
PICKUP MARKET: If you want to shop the West Seattle Farmers’ Market without visiting multiple booths, the new online-ordering system for one pickup point is offered again this week. Midnight tonight is the deadline for orders to be picked up this Sunday (July 12th).
NEED FOOD? West Side Presbyterian Church (3601 California SW) is serving free bag lunches (“turkey, ham or beef sandwiches plus other goodies”) from 12-1 pm tomorrow, all welcome.
FREE BUS RIDES: Noticed in a Metro advisory tonight that “fares will remain suspended through the month of August,”
GOT INFO OR PHOTOS? westseattleblog@gmail.com or text/voice 206-293-6302 – thank you!
(SDOT “live” camera showing work zone on S. Michigan)
Last month, an SDOT announcement about various road projects included news of two weekend closures for S. Michigan between E. Marginal and 4th Ave. S., just off the north end of the 1st Avenue South Bridge. The first one started a short time ago and could continue until 5 am Monday. This is for road restoration related to the King County stormwater-facility project, and it’s scheduled to be repeated next weekend (the night of July 17th through the early morning of July 20th).
(WSB photo, Southwest Precinct sign at Delridge/Webster)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
If the Seattle Police Department‘s budget is cut in half immediately, closing the Southwest Precinct would be one way to save money.
So says SPD Chief Carmen Best in a letter to Mayor Jenny Durkan, shared with WSB by the mayor’s office late today as the battle heats up over cuts the City Council might consider this month. Here’s the chief’s letter:
From the letter:
The Delridge Way road repaving/rebuilding project, literally paving the way for the RapidRide H Line conversion, continues. Here are the highlights of SDOT‘s preview for next week:
Throughout July, we will continue demolishing existing roadway and pouring new concrete panels, installing new curb ramps, and installing storm and water line pipework throughout the corridor in the three work zones listed below. We will also remove and trim trees as needed.
What to expect the week of July 13
We will work in all three zones at the same time, from north to south on Delridge Way SW. No Parking signs will be posted on both sides of the street in each phase of work to shift traffic around the work zones. As each zone progresses, parking will be restored.
In each of the three work zones, travel lanes will be reduced to one lane in each direction with restricted turns. Please follow posted traffic signs.
Upcoming closures
Temporary driveway closures near SW Juneau St
Expect intermittent delays to driveway access. Driveways will be covered with a steel plate when work is not occurring. Please contact us if you have concerns about accessibility during this work.
Waterline improvements at SW Hudson St
SW Hudson St will be closed on the east and west side of Delridge Way SW as we complete this work.Water may be shut off temporarily during this work. Please contact Seattle Public Utilities for information on impacts.
For people biking along the corridor, please dismount your bikes at the intersection of Delridge Way SW and SW Juneau St where the greenway crosses. There is a traffic control officer to help bikers safely navigate around the large equipment and construction activities.
Work by zone
Zone A (West Seattle Bridge to SW Findlay St)
Demolition work from SW Charlestown St to SW Dakota St
We have begun moving to the east side of Delridge Way SW to demolish curb ramps at SW Andover St. We will then pour and install new curb ramps. Lanes will be shifted around the work zone
Demolition work from SW Alaska St to SW Genesee St
We are demolishing road on the west side of Delridge Way SW from SW Alaska St to SW Genesee St
Waterline improvements at SW Genesee St, SW Edmunds St and SW Hudson St
We are making improvements to the waterline at SW Genesee St. This work is expected to last through late July. Late next week we will begin making improvements to the waterline at SW Edmunds St. This work is expected to last through July.
Concrete work for bus pads throughout Zone A
We will begin installing bus pads and completing electrical work to prepare for the arrival of RapidRide on the corridor. This work will include demolishing and pouring concrete in the roadway, as well as some electrical work, at bus stop locations.
Zone B (SW Findlay St to north of SW Orchard St)
SW Findlay St to SW Juneau St
We will continue installing utility pipes. Please expect traffic to be shifted to one side of Delridge Way SW.
Zone C (North of SW Orchard St to White Center)
We will continue with the installation of the utility storm mainline and connecting catch basins throughout this zone.
If yo have water trouble during construction, please alert SPU at the 24/7 line, 206-386-1800.
(Comet seen from ISS, from NASA Photo of the Day)
With a clear sky forecast from tonight, you might be interested in trying to get a look at Comet NEOWISE. West Seattle sky-watcher/educator Alice Enevoldsen has published a post on exactly how to do that from here. You’ll have to be up REALLY early, though, and you might need to try a non-West Seattle vantage point. Or, wait a couple days and it’ll be visible earlier – after sunset. (Monday’s weather looks promising.)
(Google Maps’ Street View image of site)
Two years after a development proposal at 7617 35th SW stalled in Design Review, with the property put back up for sale, a new, bigger proposal has just appeared in city files. This time, the proposed redevelopment site spans 35th frontage from Ida to Holden – 3507 SW Ida, 7603 and 7617 35th SW, per the early-stage site plan. That includes the former Howden-Kennedy Funeral Home building as well as the Complete Auto Repair site. The proposal is for a five-story apartment building with underground parking, which would have an entry off SW Holden; the city website shows 124 apartments are proposed, with 60 vehicle-parking spaces and 140 bicycle-parking spaces. The city site also lists LDG Architects as working on the project; they were also architects of record for the previous proposal, which had envisioned up to 50 apartments. Property records show the owner of the Complete Auto Repair site bought the other two parcels last October for $1.4 million total. Since this is an early-stage proposal, it’s not at the public-comment stage yet, but we’ll be watching for that. (Thanks to John for the tip.)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
One month after its first public mention of Reconnect West Seattle as an umbrella label for dealing with post-bridge-closure mobility issues, SDOT has just gone public with the tools for you to help shape it.
RWS has two goals – “to restore travel across the Duwamish to similar levels seen before the West Seattle High-Rise Bridge closure and reduce the impact of detour traffic in Duwamish Valley neighborhoods such as Highland Park and South Park.”
Toward the first goal, there’s a survey for everyone on the peninsula – more than 30 questions, from your commute/travel habits pre-bridge/pre-pandemic, to what you would need to try a different mode of travel – as shown in the graphics above (displayed at recent briefings), something they hope thousands of people will do.
Answer the peninsula-wide survey here.
The information will help SDOT and its partners – other transportation agencies such as Metro, primarily – figure out what they’re going to have to do to avoid total gridlock once people get back to cross-Duwamish commuting in much larger numbers. The questions all have opportunities for you to explain your answers if you want to, so give yourself some time – it’s not one of those quick one-pager types.
The other Reconnect West Seattle component that’s going public today: The Neighborhood Prioritization Process. Potential-project lists have been created for four areas that have been hit the hardest by bridge-detour traffic – Highland Park/Riverview/South Delridge/Roxhill, South Park, Georgetown, and SODO. People who live, work, and/or study in any or all of those areas are asked to review the lists – compiled from a slew of suggestions already made – and pick up to ten they think would help. (If you have a suggestion that’s not on the list, there’s a chance to suggest it.) Note that these aren’t all traffic-moving suggestions – the idea is to address the effects of the detour traffic.
Direct links to the survey-format prioritization lists:
Highland Park/Riverview/South Delridge/Roxhill
South Park
Georgetown
SODO
Both the all-WS survey and the neighborhood prioritization process are open until the end of the month. SDOT says it’s trying hard to be sure as many people as possible. If you know someone who would rather have a paper “ballot” for prioritization, here are PDF versions you can print: Highland Park/Riverview/South Delridge/Roxhill, South Park, Georgetown, SODO. (Each has instructions nn how to send it in.) Also, you can request paper ballots by calling 206-400-7511 or emailing westseattlebridge@seattle.gov.
Other languages? The ballots are available in seven languages – Chinese Traditional, Somali, Spanish, Vietnamese, Khmer, Korean, Oromo; the links will be available via a Reconnect West Seattle webpage that should be live soon. (11:48 AM: Here it is.) The city also is sending a postcard about all this via postal mail to every household in West Seattle – look for that in about a week.
So what happens after you’ve sent in your answers? The West Seattle Bridge Community Task Force will be involved in reviewing the results in August, at its August 5th and 19th meetings. A plan will be shaped from there, with action to follow. All the while, SDOT is also in discussions with those partner agencies – and your feedback can shape the path of those discussions too.
(Part of the response. Photo by Erica, in comments)
9:52 AM: Avoid the 4000 block of Delridge Way SW – a major Seattle Fire response is arriving to help deal wth a gas leak at the road-construction site. Puget Sound Energy is there too.
9:57 AM: According to radio communication, three households have been evacuated.
10 AM: Also per a radio report to dispatchers, this will take some time to fix as repair crews have to excavate around the line. .. Traffic will be blocked to the north at Delridge/Spokane.
10:36 AM: Rough estimate: At least another hour. Meantime, some of the SFD units are being dismissed.
10:46 AM: The 5-way intersection camera, which was down for days, is back up.. Here’s what it’s showing for Delridge/Spokane.
10:56 AM: The leaking line has been shut down, dispatch was just told.
11:12 AM: The 5-way camera shows SB traffic is being allowed onto Delridge again. Per radio, they’re “opening everything up.”
(Seen in 4500 block of 40th SW)
Another Delridge overpass vigil later today. From organizer Nancy:
With the release of the transcripts from Mr. Floyd’s murder and the news he said he couldn’t breathe more than 20 times, it’s critical we continue to show up to stand up against racism.
Please join us to show support for our Black friends, family, and neighbors, to #SayTheirNames, and remind each other that people are still suffering injustice.
What: #SayTheirNames
When: Friday, July 10th, from 5:30-6:30 pm
Where: Pedestrian overpass on Delridge at the Delridge Community Center/Youngstown Cultural Arts Center
.
Please remember to wear your masks!We stand with Hate-Free Delridge and encourage you to join them on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 4:30 to 6:30 pm at Delridge/Orchard
6:07 AM: It’s Friday, the 109th morning without the high-rise West Seattle Bridge.
ROAD WORK
Major work continues on Delridge Way, with lane reductions, as the RapidRide H Line conversion project continues – here’s what crews are working on this week; look for next week’s preview later today.
TRAFFIC
Here’s the camera for the restricted-daytime-access low bridge:
The main detour route across the Duwamish River is the 1st Avenue South Bridge (map) – which has up to 14 overnight closures planned to start mid-July. Meanwhile, here’s that camera:
The other major bridge across the river is the South Park Bridge (map) – this camera shows the SP-side approach:
Going through South Park? Don’t speed.
P.S. Check the @SDOTBridges Twitter feed for info about any of those bridges opening for marine traffic.
You can see all local traffic cams here; locally relevant cameras are also shown on this WSB page.
TRANSIT
Metro – Still reduced service and distancing – details here.
Water Taxi – Back to its “winter” schedule, plus the 773 and 775 shuttles – see the schedule here.
Trouble on the roads/paths/water? Let us know – text (but not if you’re driving!) 206-293-6302.
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