day : 20/10/2020 10 results

Tonight’s pandemic-related toplines:

NEWEST KING COUNTY NUMBERS: Now, here’s today’s daily summary from Public Health – the cumulative totals:

*25,367 people have tested positive, 98 more than yesterday’s total

*785 people have died, unchanged since Saturday

*2,508 people have been hospitalized, 10 more than yesterday’s total

*510,947 people have been tested, 3,281 more than yesterday’s total

One week ago, the totals were 24,330/779/2,458/486,967.

STATEWIDE NUMBERS: See them here.

NATIONAL/WORLDWIDE NUMBERS: 40.7 million cases worldwide, 8.2 million of them in the U.S. – see other nation-by-nation stats by going here.

‘FALL SURGE’: The state Health Department warns that this is starting, and action is needed to reverse the trend. Case numbers in Western Washington are of particular concern. In short, the state says, this is no time to let up on protective measures.

GOVERNOR’S BRIEFING: At his media briefing this afternoon, Gov. Inslee announced new safety rules to try to stop the outbreaks reported at college campuses. You can watch the briefing video here.

BRIEFING TOMORROW: State health officials’ weekly briefing is Wednesday at 2 pm; you can watch the livestream (or, later, the archived video) here.

GOT SOMETHING TO REPORT? westseattleblog@gmail.com or 206-293-6302, text/voice – thank you!

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WEST SEATTLE WEATHER: First freezing forecast

October 20, 2020 8:05 pm

| 3 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | West Seattle weather

(Alki Lighthouse – photo by David Hutchinson)

One month into fall, a hint of winter is on the way. The forecast for this weekend brings the first low-30s lows, and even a mention of frost Sunday morning.

(Lincoln Park – photo by Susan Romanenghi)

The big cooldown starts tomorrow – highs might not get out of the 40s again until next Tuesday. Last October, we didn’t get to freezing, but we got close – a 33-degree low on October 30th.

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From eight-digit repair to ten-digit tunnel: Here’s the West Seattle Bridge Cost-Benefit Analysis

October 20, 2020 4:20 pm

| 73 COMMENTS

| West Seattle Bridge Safety Project | West Seattle news

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

Just released by SDOT, here’s the Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) meant to help inform the city’s decision of what to do about the seven-months-closed West Seattle Bridge:

(It’s also on the city website. Added 10/26: Here’s a link to the 628 pages of appendices.)

Though it looks at six options for repairing or replacing the bridge, the renderings and costs are NOT by any means the final set of options – they’re what was roughed out for comparison purposes. It should also be noted that the CBA does NOT address the newly emerged option that some have nicknamed “rapid replacement” – though that will be explained at tomorrow’s West Seattle Bridge Community Task Force meeting, along with the CBA. But if you just want to skip ahead to the bottom line, those estimates are on page 68 of the 89-page document, with basic up-front construction cost rough estimates from $47 million for repairs to $1.9 billion for an immersed-tube tunnel.

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WEST SEATTLE CRIME WATCH: Stolen white Passat (update: found)

October 20, 2020 2:44 pm

| 2 COMMENTS

| Crime | West Seattle news

Stolen in North Admiral, on 42nd Avenue SW between Ferry and Walker: 2000 white Passat, license plate number BVZ3761, police have been notified; please call Nicole at 720-635-1604 if you find or see it – after you report it to 911.

UPDATE: Found – see comment.

(Reminder – you’re invited to bring community crime/safety concerns to tonight’s West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meeting, 7 pm online – here’s the link (via Teams) to attend.)

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New sport court after Lowman Beach seawall removal? See the concepts

October 20, 2020 12:33 pm

| 10 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | West Seattle parks | WS & Sports

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

Once the Lowman Beach Park seawall and tennis court are removed, will a new sport court be installed elsewhere in the park?

More than 50 people attended last night’s online community meeting, the next step in the process. They saw four “concepts” – a full-size court that could accommodate tennis and more, two versions of a “medium-size” court, and a court-less option with “amenities.”

The community group advocating for a new court, the Seattle Sports Complex Foundation, obtained a city grant for planning and schematic design, but funding would have to be found beyond that to actually install something. With that in mind, the project team – led by HBB Landscape Architecture – is on track to complete a schematic design by year’s end.

For the meeting, on hand from the project team were Aaron Luoma and Rachel Dotson from HBB, as well as Pamela Kliment from Parks and Lisa Uemoto from the Department of Neighborhoods.

Luoma recapped the plan that’s leading to the removal of the existing tennis court – the removal of the failing seawall and transform the area into something more natural, with an expanded beach and daylighted Pelly Creek. It’s going out to bid soon. With that and other existing features including underground utilities led to the designation of an “opportunity area” in the southeast part of the park for this potential project.

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WEST SEATTLE BRIDGE: CBA today, meeting tomorrow, and 2 other notes

October 20, 2020 11:11 am

| 1 COMMENT

| West Seattle Bridge Safety Project | West Seattle news

(Early-morning photo by Tony Welch)

West Seattle Bridge notes, three days shy of 7 months since the bridge was closed:

AWAITING THE COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS: This much-awaited document, prepared to play a key role in the repair-or-replace dedision, was supposed to be made public Monday; SDOT sent it to Community Task Force members late last night and is expected to release it more widely later today. We’ll publish a separate report once it’s out.

TASK FORCE MEETING TOMORROW: As previously reported here, the original plan for Mayor Jenny Durkan to announce her repair-or-replace decision to the CTF tomorrow is now off (no new date yet) – the task force will instead be discussing the CBA when they meet online at noon Wednesday (October 21st). They’re also going to hear more details on the “rapid replacement” proposal that suddenly emerged earlier this month. Here’s the draft agenda; here’s the link (UPDATED) for the YouTube stream of the meeting. If you have questions, the email address remains WestSeattleBridge@seattle.gov.

STABILIZATION WORK: SDOT’s weekly update says the release of the stuck bearing on Pier 18 could happen by the end of this week.

PORT COMMISSION CHAIR’S COMMENTS: During a media briefing this morning on monthly cargo volumes, Seattle Port Commission chair Peter Steinbrueck – who’s also one of the elected officials on the CTF – spoke briefly about the impending repair-or-replace decision. He said he feels there’s not enough information yet for the port to support one option or the other, so both pathways should continue to be studied. The port’s biggest stake in the game is low-bridge accessibility, with the low bridge under extra strain because of the high-bridge closure.

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TRAFFIC ALERT: Stuck truck under West Seattle Bridge

October 20, 2020 10:39 am

| 13 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | West Seattle traffic alerts

Thanks to John for the photo and tip: That truck got stuck trying to U-turn under the West Seattle Bridge and is now blocking part of Spokane St. just east of Harbor/Avalon. Avoid that area for a while.

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TODAY/TONIGHT: West Seattle Crime Prevention Council & 4 more options

October 20, 2020 8:59 am

| 3 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | WS miscellaneous

(Today’s sunrise, photographed by Carolyn Newman)

Notes for the day/night ahead:

CITY COUNCIL BUDGET CHANGES: The council is now in the “issue identification” round, which means talking about ways they might change the mayor’s plan. They’ll be meeting all day, in sessions starting at 9:30 am and 2 pm. They’re looking at the Parks and SDOT budgets in the morning, SPD in the afternoon. There’s a public-comment period at the start of the morning meeting. Info on how to sign up to comment, and how to watch the meeting, is all on the agenda.

DEMONSTRATION: Scott‘s twice-weekly events continue into the fall:

Black Lives Matter sign waving

Tuesday Oct 20, 4 to 6 pm, corner of 16th SW and SW Holden

Thursday, Oct 22, 4 to 6 p,, 16th and Holden

Come show support for BLM and ending systemic racism. Hold signs, meet neighbors, and stand for racial justice. Scott at PR Cohousing, endorsed by Hate-Free Delridge. Signs available.

SEATTLE LUTHERAN HIGH SCHOOL INFO NIGHT/VIRTUAL TOUR: 6 pm, prospective families are invited to learn more about West Seattle’s only independent high school. Email dmeyer@seattlelutheran.org to get the link. (Preview video here.)

WEST SEATTLE CRIME PREVENTION COUNCIL: ~~7 pm~~ 6:30 pm online, hear from and talk with local police – crime trends, neighborhood concerns. All welcome. Here’s the link (via Teams) to attend. (Note: Apologies for the inaccurate time – this meeting has been at 7 pm for years but apparently has now changed.)

TENANT-RIGHTS BOOTCAMP: ~~7 pm~~ 4 pm online, presented by Be:Seattle, co-sponsored by the South Park Neighborhood Association, “a neighborhood-by-neighborhood series teaching renters how to to assert their rights, find solutions to various issues, and fight for more renter protections.” Register here to get the participation info.

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ROAD WORK, TRANSIT, TRAFFIC: Tuesday 10/20 watch

October 20, 2020 6:21 am

| Comments Off on ROAD WORK, TRANSIT, TRAFFIC: Tuesday 10/20 watch

| West Seattle news | West Seattle traffic alerts

6:21 AM: Welcome to Tuesday – the 211th morning without the West Seattle Bridge.

ROAD WORK, ETC.

*Delridge project: Here are the weekly highlights.

*Tunnel closure: Friday night-Saturday morning (October 23-24), the Highway 99 tunnel will close both ways for maintenance, 10 pm-6 am.

CHECK THE TRAFFIC BEFORE YOU GO

Here’s the 5-way intersection camera (Spokane/West Marginal/Delridge/Chelan):

Here’s the restricted-daytime-access (open to all 9 pm-5 am) low bridge:

The main detour route across the Duwamish River is the 1st Avenue South Bridge (map) . Here are two cameras:

The other major bridge across the river is the South Park Bridge (map). Here’s the nearest camera:

Going through South Park? Don’t speed.

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 – Fare collection has resumed.

Water Taxi – Also no longer free.

Trouble on the roads/paths/water? Let us know – text (but not if you’re driving!) 206-293-6302.

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UPDATE: Driver damages bus stop in Upper Alki

October 20, 2020 12:09 am

| 11 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | WS breaking news

12:09 AM: A driver crashed at 59th/Admiral less than an hour ago, damaging the bus stop. Thanks to Paul for the photo; he reports that after hearing the crash, he found a woman who said her boyfriend had been driving and fled the scene; then, he says, she left the scene. Police at last report were still trying to sort it all out.

10:01 AM: Checked with SPD media relations. The full report isn’t in but ‘notes on the call” indicate that police did eventually find and talk with the people who were in the car. Information on whether the driver was cited is not yet available.

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