FOLLOWUP: Cleanup begins at encampment near 1st Avenue South Bridge

| Environment | Safety | West Seattle news

Streets are blocked off around the area beneath the south end of the 1st Avenue South Bridge, as the encampment cleanup begins. We reported last week that the long-planned cleanup was scheduled for this week, so we went down this morning to see if it had begun. We couldn’t get close because of the closures, but heavy equipment and hauling trucks were in view:

So were State Patrol vehicles (much of the area is WSDOT land):

As for the people who had been living at the encampment, we reported last week that outreach workers said 30 had been connected with shelter/housing. City Councilmember Lisa Herbold had a few more details on this in her weekend newsletter, quoting the Regional Homelessness Authority, which told her:

I’m pleased to share with you that KCRHA and our partners at PDA, WSDOT, and the City have completed the work with individuals at the encampment located at SW Michigan and the 1st Avenue bridge.

As of today, 30 individuals moved into shelter or emergency housing placements. Three individuals who have a shelter match have not been at the location for several days and their whereabouts are unknown. One individual declined services. One individual encountered issues when arriving at their referred shelter location, and that person is not at the program or the encampment.

Sillygoose March 20, 2023 (1:42 pm)

This is long over due!!! But thankful the entities who own this property have been taking notes at the ongoing public meetings concerning this encampment. Seattle citizens are done with living in a city so filthy and crime ridden.

The Earl March 20, 2023 (6:10 pm)

wouldn’t be so bad if this population could keep their business nice and tight.

Joan Lopez March 20, 2023 (6:24 pm)

I live on Meyers Way south of the second chance camp. The camps on the east side of the street are very dangerous. Lots of fires. Loud bangs. Piles of garbage.The Motorhome people moved up here.. I’m going to sell my house in the summer.

Ted Chervich March 21, 2023 (9:05 am)

I appears the campers are running a metal recycling scrapyard.

Stephen March 20, 2023 (7:11 pm)

Thank you!

Jim P. March 21, 2023 (8:42 pm)

Be nice if the people responsible for the mess were required to participate in clean up in order to get the free housing.

If we don’t instill and require a sense of personal responsibility, I’d expect people to just keep thinking the world owes them a living.

Why society at large is expected to keep cleaning up after these folk defeats my understanding.

Gatewood88 March 22, 2023 (9:18 am)

Do we know what WSDOT is planning to do with the land once this is cleaned up? Given that they’ve been fine not utilizing the land for years now – it seems like it would be a really good place to turn back into natural shoreline habitat for actual restoration of the duwamish. The governor talks a big game about restoring salmon/saving orcas etc. – here’s his chance to do something about that with underutilized land that our state allowed to be an ecological disaster zone for years.

Sorry, comment time is over.