West Seattle, Washington
04 Friday
It’s been almost a year and a half since the last West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meeting. It was always an opportunity for West Seattle community members to hear from and talk with Southwest Precinct police, regarding any crime/safety concerns, from specific incidents to general trends/issues. Tomorrow (Monday, September 19th), it’s the first WSCPC meeting since April of 2021 (here’s our coverage of that meeting), and much has changed since then, including precinct leadership – Captain Martin Rivera became SWP commander last November. All are invited to tomorrow’s online meeting. It’ll start at 6 pm; connection/call-in info is in our calendar listing.
A Seattle Fire “scenes of violence” response is arriving in the 8100 block of Delridge Way SW, but it’d reportedly for an incident that occurred elsewhere. The initial dispatch said that the victim was injured in a domestic-violence attack in Tukwila this afternoon. We’ll be following up with SFD and SPD.
The sign has the headline: The West Seattle Bridge is open, as of 21 hours ago, after its 2 1/2-year closure. People started celebrating immediately last night by driving across the bridge, honking their car horns, some even going up on the Andover pedestrian bridge to exuberantly cheer. Today, the celebration continued, with perhaps the biggest party at Ounces Tap Room and Beer Garden, continuing on into the evening.
Yesterday, Ounces had a pre-reopening party with an island theme, marking the last day of West Seattle’s status as an “accidental island.” Then just after 9 pm last night – as seen in video we featured – co-proprietor Laurel Trujillo watched an SDOT worker open the Delridge entrance to the bridge, right across from Ounces. She said they’d been seeing “false alarms” all day and was elated when it opened for real
This afternoon, all smiles, she told us they just felt the community deserved a party, so they threw one all weekend. She isn’t sure how the reopening will affect their business, except for increased visibility – she’s grateful for community support that continued through the closure and the pandemic. (Watch for other businesses’ festivities as the week ahead unfolds.)
Also this afternoon, we talked with SDOT’s West Seattle Bridge program director Heather Marx, who gave a post-reopening media briefing on the northwest corner of 35th and Fauntleroy, suddenly a much busier intersection with the bridge back in business. Wearing a “Reunited” commemorative T-shirt, Marx – a West Seattle resident – said all had gone well so far. Here’s the unedited Q&A, which lasted 15 minutes:
Key points: The West Seattle Bridge has the “most sophisticated monitoring system of any bridge in Seattle’s (city) inventory” so they’re getting info on a “minute-by-minute basis.” Formal inspections will be done every two weeks for the first three months, then once a year, then every two years. They will of course be watching the traffic patterns, since the pandemic has changed where and how people work; they’ll be monitoring feeder streets’ traffic patterns and signals too, and adjusting as necessary. The work of removing detour/closure signs will likely continue for much of the next week; if you see anything left behind, please notify SDOT at 206-684-ROAD. Marx – who hadn’t driven across the bridge yet as of the 1:30 pm briefing – said she was going to go check detour routes herself later in the day. Looking even further into the future, she reiterated that the repairs are expected to facilitate the bridge lasting its originally planned lifespan – almost 40 more years. But if it doesn’t, the replacement discussions that happened early in the closure period have left the city with a 30 percent design with which they could continue working immediately.
There was some talk about people speeding across the bridge last night and today, and Marx said her big request for people on all city streets was to “slow down.” And if anybody’s planning to try some bus-lane cheating, she warned that “Officer Friendly” will be back to watch for that. Speaking of watching, we’ll be chronicling the first post-reopening West Seattle Bridge morning commute starting by 6 am Monday.
(Photo courtesy WSHS Football)
That was the scene as West Seattle High School sophomore Terryus Smith was taken to an ambulance after being injured during Friday night’s game against Cleveland at Nino Cantu Southwest Athletic Complex. Program spokesperson Sarah Lenssen says he is still in the hospital and they’re crowdfunding for his family. Donations are being accepted through this GoFundMe page, which explains:
(Terryus) suffered a major injury to his leg during a football game. He was rushed to the hospital by ambulance and has already had multiple surgeries. He’s expected to be in the hospital for several days before his long recovery begins.
We are still learning more about the family’s needs, but in the meantime, as the West Seattle Wildcat community, we want to show the Smith family our support and help them with whatever needs they have!
Lenssen adds, “Terryus is a very important member of our team and was the JVC MVP as a freshman last year.”
12:18 PM: Thanks for the tip. 74 customers have been without power since about 9 am in a residential North Admiral neighborhood. The Seattle City Light map doesn’t yet show the cause but the resident who tipped us says they heard what sounded like a transformer (or other equipment) explosion right before they lost power.
5:22 PM: Just got a text that the power’s been restored. Map never did indicate a cause, so we’ll follow up with SCL tomorrow.
The report and photo are from Brianna:
ORIGINAL SUNDAY REPORT: Car stolen late Tuesday night: early Wednesday morning (Sept. 13-14) just off 4800 block Fauntleroy Way. Car stolen is a 2004 Subaru Forester XT. Black with gold tire rims and a few gold stickers on the back windows, also has tinted windows. License plate is BIT7898. Police report #: 2022-248136. High value items in the car that we are hoping to recover, including Pierce County fire uniform/gear. Fire Department is aware these items are stolen and keeping an eye out.
Two businesses that are excited about the West Seattle Bridge reopening have just released a unique video in celebration:
The West Seattle bridge is officially back open – and thanks to SDOT, you don’t have to stumble upon a wormhole to get out here! Thunder Road Guitars and The Bass Shop first and foremost want to thank our customers who braved the detour and made the trek out to West Seattle these last few years. We also want to give a massive shout-out to our local West Seattle customers and business community, The West Seattle Blog, and West Seattle Junction Association. It has not been not easy to get in and out of WS without the bridge and we sincerely appreciate all your support. This video was made possible by our in house videographer wizard – Mr. Ryan Cory.
Thunder Road Guitars and The Bass Shop, both WSB sponsors, are at 6400 California SW; (updated) TRG is now open 11 am-5 pm Sundays.
(Refresh to see latest image from newly reactivated SDOT cam on high bridge, or use Traveler’s Map to see live video)
If you missed it last night – the West Seattle Bridge has reopened. Besides getting reacquainted with the bridge, here’s what else is happening on your Sunday, mostly from the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar:
TRAFFIC ALERTS: Reminder that SDOT says crews will still be out removing detour/closure signs and other items related to the now-over bridge closure. Also, “we’ll be replacing concrete panels at the 16th Ave SW and SW Webster St intersection.”
CHURCHES WITH ONLINE SERVICES: We’re continuing to list these – see today’s list here.
UPDATED COVID BOOSTERS: Another Pliable clinic at Neighborhood House High Point (6400 Sylvan Way SW) 8 am-noon today.
FLU & COVID VACCINATIONS: At Madison Middle School (3429 45th SW), flu shots are available 9 am-3 pm and COVID vaccinations 10 am-2 pm, as previewed here.
WEST SEATTLE FARMERS’ MARKET: 10 am-2 pm, the market is open with late-summer produce as well as flowers, cheese, fish, meat, baked goods, condiments, prepared food, and more. Here’s today’s vendor list. California SW between Oregon and Alaska.
WEST SEATTLE MUSIC HISTORY RIDE: Join the Southwest Seattle Historical Society and West Seattle Bike Connections for a fun ride exploring West Seattle music history – preregister ASAP if you’re not already signed up, and meet on the north side of West Seattle High School (3000 California SW) in time to be ready to ride at 10 am.
BRIDGE REOPENING PARTY: Starting with a free workout at 11 am and continuing all day and until at least 7 pm, celebrate the West Seattle Bridge reopening at Ounces (3809 Delridge Way SW) – details here.
‘REUNITED’ COLLABORATION BEER: Ounces is one of five places where you can get it! Full list here.
SPRAYPARK’S LAST DAY: Highland Park Spraypark will be open 11 am-8 pm (1100 SW Cloverdale) and then closed until next year.
SECOND-TIME SALE: 11:30 am-2 pm, it’s the second and final day of Fauntleroy Church‘s big rummage sale, previewed here. (9140 California SW)
LOG HOUSE MUSEUM CLOSED: The Southwest Seattle Historical Society museum on Alki is closed today because of special events.
BYSTANDER INTERVENTION WORKSHOP: Help fight hate. Learn how at today’s free workshop, 1-4 pm at Admiral Church (4320 SW Hill).
MUSIC AT C & P: 3-5 pm, singer/songwriter Jonathan Foster performs at C & P Coffee Company. (5612 California SW; WSB sponsor)
NEED FOOD? White Center Community Dinner Church serves a free meal (take-away available) at 5 pm Sundays at the Salvation Army Center in South Delridge (9050 16th SW).
SUNDAY NIGHT JAZZ: Triangular Jazztet at The Alley (4509 California SW), 8 pm and 9 pm sets.
SUNDAY NIGHT KARAOKE: 9 pm to 1:30 am at Admiral Pub (2306 California SW).
Have an event to list for our calendar? Please email westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!
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