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Harbor Avenue, police updates @ Alki Community Council

March 24, 2023 11:54 am
|      8 COMMENTS
 |   Neighborhoods | West Seattle news

This month’s Alki Community Council meeting included updates on two ongoing topics:

HARBOR AVENUE RVs: Since the most-recent city attempt to clear the street, some RVs have returned (we counted three on Thursday afternoon). An outreach worker at the ACC meeting said that area is “a priority” now – as outreach for the 2nd/Michigan encampment was wrapping up at the time of this meeting last week – and that more people “are accepting offers” than used to be the case. SPD Southwest Precinct Operations Lt. Dorothy Kim added that parking-enforcement officers are going through the area twice weekly to tag vehicles: “We’re not letting it be stagnant.”

OTHER POLICE UPDATES: Updating crime trends from SPD data, Lt. Kim said that in the Alki area, property-crime reports are down, except for auto theft, which continues on the rise citywide. Violent crime is unchanged. So far, as of meeting time, the Alki area has had one verified shots-fired incident since the start of the year (at Hamilton Viewpoint Park). The new SPD schedule “seems to be working,” Lt. Kim said, with a three-hour overlap during the first two watches of the day enabling some officers to be spared for “directed patrol” in areas that need more attention. She also mentioned that staffing issues are improving, saying that they “just got two officers back from the vaccine mandate” (which ended recently) and others returning from parental leave or “limited duty” constraints. She also noted that the department has been developing more officers as “field trainers” for new hires, which requires them to go through special training of their own; a new class of trainers is starting up.

GET INVOLVED: If you live/work or have some other interest in the Alki area, the ACC needs more participation – it’s been operating at a bare-bones level for a long time. A little help can make a lot of difference. You can send questions or suggestions via this page on the ACC’s website.

The Alki Community Council meets 7 pm third Thursdays most months, in-person (at Alki UCC, 6115 SW Hinds) and online.,

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8 Replies to "Harbor Avenue, police updates @ Alki Community Council"

  • derek March 24, 2023 (1:57 pm)

    The obsession with Harbor ave and RVs there is getting tiresome. I recommend now caring about it too much and living your life. 

    • Burgerman March 24, 2023 (4:14 pm)

      Do you want focus on the homeless, or don’t you? There are laws about parking in this city, and the RVers are openly flouting them rather than working hard towards a goal of getting themselves housed. Don’t tell us orherwise; the minute they start spreading out their garbage and belongings onto public lands that other people also have the right to use without fear for their safety or possessions, your arguments lose all credibility. Your narrative is STILL closed-minded, and I believe you might also be an idealistic young person without much life experience, and to be honest, only empathy for those who espouse socialism as the answer to all the worlds’ ills. I for one want T.R. to continue reporting on the RVs, their problems and concerns, the problems and concerns of the community they force themselves into the middle of, and solutions for getting them off the streets and into regular housing. Don’t try to control the narrative because you aren’t getting your way, and people are calling you out on your closed-mindedness.

    • Josh March 24, 2023 (4:15 pm)

      Almost as tired as your obsession with normalizing acceptance of letting people wallow in squalor in the name of some faux progressive stance you have.  The harbor avenue complaints are super valid. Just because you are poor doesn’t mean you have to be a terrible neighbor and dump your garbage all over the place. Plenty of house less folks keep a good camp, the harbor Ave types and people living along the roadways are a harm to themselves and anyone who loves this city. 

      • Mike March 24, 2023 (5:23 pm)

        It’s not good, it’s bad for everyone and the surrounding environment.  What’s inhumane is giving people deadly drugs, preventing people from getting the help they need by saying people will accept help when they’re ready. People who think they are alligators and are losing body parts now, Tranq, aren’t able to make sound judgement on when they need help or where to get it.  Enabling this to continue is inhumane.There are many who need permanent housing, there are more who need addiction treatment before getting them into permanent housing.  You can’t fix a drug addiction problem by building housing.

  • StuckinWestSeattle March 24, 2023 (2:27 pm)

    Any chance you know who to tell so they can target the fifth wheel with the dump trunk and two uhauls that are now again by the CC? I actually saw a pickup dumping off a pile of bagged garbage in front of it and everytime they move they leave a ton of garbage. This is one of the ones that go back and forth from the CC to harbor ave. i would love to see new restriction on RV parking at all.

  • W Seattle Res March 24, 2023 (6:38 pm)

    Maybe it’s time that the Seattle city council / mayor pass a “No RV and/or Trailer street parking” law? Any updates on the “RV parking lot” that’s been discussed before to have them move to? Although that’s far from a perfect solution it may help reduce this citywide problem, a designated parking lot to park their RV’s where they can safely dump the waste from the RV and avoid the potential of waste and/or chemicals leaking from these RV’s into our water ways. I don’t think the RV’s alone is the biggest complaint on this issue, it’s the trash that often is surrounding these RV’s and sometimes the criminal behavior of some of the RV residents that’s brought into the neighborhoods. We need laws enforced equally for all and that goes for illegally parking vehicles and RV’s, if I can get a ticket for expired tabs or parking over 72hrs same should go for these RV’s and the residents of them, they must be required to be moved every 72hrs to a different street, just as everyone else is required to do to prevent a pricey parking ticket. 

  • Wseattleite March 25, 2023 (12:43 am)

    Have parking enforcement visit harbor avenue every day, not two times a week, and tow any vehicle that does not move in 72 hours. There, solved it for you. No more legislation or special efforts needed. And Derek, shame on you for being so callous and uncaring as to continue to want people to live like this. Unbelievably cruel. 

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