West Seattle, Washington
25 Thursday
One week after word that another “remediation” is planned for the Andover RV encampment, it’s getting more advance attention.
West Seattle/South Park Councilmember Lisa Herbold and citywide Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda – a North Delridge resident – visited the encampment today with other officials, including King County Regional Homelessness Authority CEO Marc Dones, and local volunteers. We learned this when Herbold mentioned it to her colleagues during the council’s weekly Monday afternoon “briefing” meeting.
Herbold said she also has a meeting ahead with the mayor’s office about what the encampment residents need as the city gets ready to enforce the 72-hour parking rule. After the council meeting, we asked her via email for more on what the encampment visit was about. Her reply:
I organized a visit to the Andover site for the Regional Homelessness Authority director Marc Dones and some of their staff, along with REACH outreach workers and St. Vincent De Paul outreach workers who regularly serve the residents, as well as members of West Seattle Mutual Aid (neighbors in the area who volunteer their time to help the residents). Councilmember Mosqueda also joined us. A resident in one of the RVs has been in touch with my office and I also have regular contact with the outreach workers who have been working with the residents there already for several months if not longer. I wanted the KCRHA to hear directly from the people living in their RVs at Andover as they consider how to develop the RV Safe Lot program. I also want to be able to share some of what I could learn from both outreach workers and RV residents when I and CEO Dones meet with the Mayor’s Office again this week to discuss planned enforcement of the 72-hour parking rule at this location.
Residents need free or low-cost repairs for vehicles that are inoperable, dumpsters, as well as case management to help residents with stolen IDs and accessing services.
The Regional Homelessness Authority is now the agency responsible for addressing homelessness, rather than a patchwork of city and county departments, though government entities provide funding.
The upcoming remediation was mentioned by Southwest Precinct commander Capt. Martin Rivera during his guest appearance at last Thursday’s Alki Community Council meeting. When the Andover encampment came up, he assured attendees, “They’re going to start moving those RVs out of there.” He later broadened his comments to other (albeit unspecified) encampments in the area, saying that “our whole purpose lately has been to get those encampments moved, and four or five of them are going to be acted on.” We noticed this afternoon that some of the RVs on Harbor Avenue have been orange-tagged; we had heard a parking-enforcement officer radio in a few days ago about being out on that detail. The RVs there come and go more often than the ones on Andover, where there’s been a steady presence going back six-plus years.
P.S. This is likely to be one of many topics Mayor Bruce Harrell is asked about during his virtual visit to the District 1 Community Network‘s June meeting, 7 pm Wednesday, June 1st. (Watch our calendar for the link.)
In case you didn’t get to watch it on Friday afternoon, that video shows the two-hour workshop held for the Sound Transit Board‘s System Extension Committee, looking ahead to July’s decisions on the West Seattle/Ballard expansion project. We watched it in real time; it was mostly an overview of the potential routing and station locations studied in the Draft Environmental Impact Statement, as well as a brief mention of the possible cost-saving measures recently presented to the Community Advisory Groups. (Here’s the slide deck.)
We heard one noteworthy point during the workshop – when the topic of rising costs arose, particularly real estate, Sound Transit staff noted that they’re likely to propose “early property acquisition” after the board locks in on a “preferred alternative” in July. We immediately asked ST a followup question for more details on that, and finally got an answer this evening:
Potential early acquisitions would be reviewed and considered following the Board’s action to confirm or modify a preferred alternative later this year. There are a number of factors that the Board would consider before authorizing early acquisitions and potential acquisitions would likely be limited to a small subset of critical properties. Sound Transit would also require approval from the Federal Transit Administration prior to pursuing early acquisitions and would be required to follow all standard procedures.
The aforementioned board action is expected to happen at their July 28th meeting, but that’s still not the final decision on what will be built – the timeframe for that is now described as “late 2023,” after the final EIS is out. Key things to watch for before the July meeting include a summary of the 5,000+ public comments received on the DEIS; board members were told to look for that in June. Also, Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell – an ST Board member – said at Friday’s meeting that the city soon will finalize its position on the preferred alternative (City Councilmember Alex Pedersen, who chairs the council’s Transportation Committee, said today that could come to his committee in early June).
… a new reminder of where you are, when you’re at 21st/Andover. The photo was sent by longtime Pigeon Point community advocate Pete Spalding. It’s just uphill from where Pigeon Point has sported many signs over the years, like the one in this story.
Three reports in this West Seattle Crime Watch roundup:
ANOTHER BLUE PICKUP TRUCK STOLEN: The photo and report are from Sara:
Our 2004 blue Chevy Silverado was stolen, May 12th, midnight-1 AM in front of our house, (5000 block of) 25th Ave SW. Plate #B31166W. Police report #22-119715.
STOLEN MAILBOX: From Mike:
Discovered that my US mailbox was stolen sometime Friday night or early Saturday morning. The black, locked box was stolen from a stand of several boxes just off Admiral Way SW on SW Hanford St. No other boxes were stolen. If anyone spots it, please let me know. Box is marked “3033” on front door.
EMPTY-HANDED CATALYTIC-CONVERTER THIEF: The report and photo are from Karen:
So, this happened last week. I figured when I turned on my 2003 Honda CR-V and got a horrible sound that I’d been cat-burgled.
Not knowing for sure, I took it to mechanic shop. Hearing me drive up, nice Ray told me, yep, they got you. He got under the car to take a picture and his reaction seemed surprised. One side was severed but the other only halfway with a saw blade stuck in it.
The good news: they didn’t make any money on me.
The bad news: it’ll still cost me $1897 to fix and it’s debatable if it is worth it being so old, not insured, and could happen again.
Just thought I’d share their costly fail for both of us. I feel a tiny bit of “win” under the circumstances.
The theft attempt happened near 48th/Andover.
That’s the “memory wall” at Illusions Hair Design, which will close permanently after this Thursday (May 26th), as first reported here in February. The final hours for the salon will be a celebration, open house-style, and in case you’re not on the Illusions mailing list, here’s the invitation:
Come help us celebrate our 44 years in business with our GOODBYE OPEN HOUSE on Thursday, May 26th from 1-6 pm. We won’t guarantee to have enough Champagne to last the entire event (we will try!), but we can guarantee there will be cheers, MANY tears, and and abundance of THANK YOUs and fond farewells from us!
If you haven’t seen our memory wall yet, (photos spanning decades, salon memorabilia, and more!), our OPEN HOUSE DAY will be your LAST CHANCE to view it.
If you wanted one last chance to see us before we go, this day is it! We can share stories and memories together one final time. We will have some special guests from years past this day too! (Yes… SUE, LINDA, NANCY & CHARLET plan to be here!)
To everyone who has already said their goodbyes, sent cards, flowers, and gifts… THANK YOU SO MUCH!
Illusions (5619 California SW) has also announced plans for a fixture, décor, and more sale 10 am-4 pm (corrected) June 18th. It’s closing down because after 40+ years, proprietor and co-founder Sue Lindblom is retiring, and her staff all decided to leave the salon business too.
In our every-Sunday reports on local COVID trends, we include an update on testing-site hours. Earlier this month, we noticed that Curative was no longer listing hours for its testing van at Summit Atlas in Arbor Heights. Today a company spokesperson confirmed to WSB that the site has permanently closed. Curative continues offering testing at Don Armeni Boat Ramp (1222 Harbor SW), 9 am-3 pm weekdays, and the city’s test site (in partnership with UW Medicine) continues operating at Nino Cantu Southwest Athletic Complex (2801 SW Thistle) 9 am-5:30 pm Mondays-Saturdays.
As discussed in comments following this morning’s traffic watch, the traffic camera that’s long shown West Marginal and Highland Park Way suddenly moved to another part of the city. Responding to our inquiry, SDOT explained that the move is part of an upgrade – that was a long-in-place portable camera, but now the permanent ones are activated, explains spokesperson Ethan Bergerson:
We have installed four new permanent traffic cameras in this general area (two intersections, each with two camera viewing angles). All of these cameras will now have the option for live video streams. We’re in the process of updating the Traveler’s Map (at this moment the view from the University District is still appearing in addition to the correct camera feeds, and you can use the “prev” and “next” buttons to switch to the correct cameras.).
Here are the locations:
W Marginal Way SW & Highland Pk Way SW (two camera angles):
2nd Ave SW & Highland Pk Way SW (two camera angles):
(To get the video feeds, you have to access the cameras via the SDOT map; the cameras and where they point are controlled by SDOT’s traffic center.) We’ll be adding these cameras to the WSB Traffic Cameras page too.
Thanks to Nico for sending the photo Sunday after spotting that flyby off West Seattle – American White Pelicans. They’re rarely seen in this area, though we did get a flyby photo last spring too. (The last sighting report before that was in 2013.)
Three reader reports:
STOLEN TRUCK: From Jonathan:
Sometime late at night on Sunday 5/22 or early this morning 5/23, our blue 1993 Dodge Ram 250 pickup truck was stolen from 25th Ave SW near the Delridge P-Patch Garden. It is lifted, huge, 2-door. It has silver paneling around the base and says DODGE in huge letters over a silver/blue/red tailgate. It also has a sticker that reads “82nd Airborne” on the bumper. The truck is huge, can’t miss it!
We’ll add the plate and incident numbers when we get them.
EVENING UPDATE: Jonathan says the truck has been found: “3 blocks away on 26th and Dakota. Neighbors said it didn’t show up until Late afternoon. They stole an extra battery but left the Willie Nelson CDs!”
Now, two kids’ bicycles from the “dumped-and-likely-stolen” file:
KIDS’ BICYCLE #1: A texter reports this was left in their alley southeast of The Junction:
Yours? Let us know and we’ll connect you with the finder.
KIDS’ BICYCLE #2: Wyatt found this bike abandoned near the Charlestown water standpipe:
It’s an Avigo Splash 16” bike. In this case, too, let us know if it’s yours and we’ll connect you.
Congratulations to the HSA Select G07 soccer team, the Washington State U15 Division 1 President’s Cup champions this year, which means they’re heading to Arizona to compete in regionals – with community assistance. The photo and information are from parent Krista McInerney, who explains:
This is kind of a rare occurrence, as they were competing against premier-level teams in a division they’d never experienced before. Click through to their GoFundMe page to read more about their road to the 6/15-6/19 Far West Regionals. The team is made up of players who live in West Seattle, White Center, Burien, and Normandy Park. Players on this team attend Madison MS, West Seattle High School, Chief Sealth International High School, Summit Atlas, Vashon High School, and Highline schools. We would love to put the call out for community support.
Champions at the Arizona tournament move on to national competition in North Carolina in July.
6:01 AM: Good morning; welcome to Monday, May 23rd.
WEATHER
After one blissfully springlike day, today’s forecast, is for clouds and a high in the low-to-mid-60s.
BUSES, WATER TAXI, FERRIES
Metro is on its regular weekday schedule, but watch @kcmetroalerts for word of reroutes/trip cancellations.
The West Seattle Water Taxi is back to its full schedule.
Ferries: WSF continues on the two-boat schedule for Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth. Check here for alerts/updates.
BRIDGES AND DETOUR ROUTES
791st morning without the West Seattle Bridge.
Low Bridge: Automated enforcement cameras remain in use; restrictions are in effect 5 am-9 pm daily – except weekends; the bridge is open to all until 8 am Saturday and Sunday mornings. (Access applications are available here for some categories of drivers.)
1st Avenue South Bridge:
South Park Bridge:
West Marginal Way at Highland Park Way (may be experiencing trouble):
Highland Park Way/Holden (may be experiencing trouble):
The 5-way intersection (Spokane/West Marginal/Delridge/Chelan):
Are movable city bridges opening for vessels? Check the @SDOTBridges Twitter feed; 1st Ave. S. Bridge openings are tweeted by @wsdot_traffic.
All city traffic cams can be seen here; West Seattle and vicinity-relevant cameras are also on this WSB page
Trouble on the roads/paths/water? Text or call us (when you can do so safely) – 206-293-6302.
Joshua hopes you will keep an eye out for this stolen motorcycle:
Gray café racer motorcycle, plate number 2J2518, was stolen Saturday morning around 5 am from SW Avalon Way. A report has been filed with local police.
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