By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
The Alki Community Council‘s been lamenting low meeting turnout for some time now. Not tonight. The room at Alki UCC was full, and the online turnout hit double digits too.
Last weekend’s trouble at the beach, including a deadly shooting, was the main motivation, judging by the discussion, so Southwest Precinct commander Capt. Martin Rivera was the guest who drew the most questions.
(WSB photo, Saturday evening)
ALKI MURDER: No arrests yet in the shooting that killed 25-year-old Davonté Sanchez near Whale Tail Park on Saturday evening. But Capt. Rivera said detectives are getting ready to “put something out to the community” making another plea for information and video in the case. He also revealed one new piece of information – the crowd on Alki were there because of an “event on TikTok” that police got “late word of” via a Parking Enforcement officer. He said SPD was mobilizing to address the situation when shots were heard, “and you know the rest.” He said the “follow-up units” are still actively working the case.
Beyond that, attendees wanted to know about plans for dealing with disorder, especially reckless driving.
Capt. Rivera said Alki “emphasis” will start this weekend and continue most Fridays-Sundays through Labor Day and that they’ll get the mobile precinct there when they can. “All depends on what’s going on in the whole precinct at the time.” Would a petition for more staffing help? “We’re in a little bit of a staffing crunch,” and the “emphasis” patrols are already made up of people on overtime, Rivera said, so there’s really no place else from which to draw “more staffing.” He also noted that shifts do have some overlaps. But if big events – like last night’s two Delridge gunfire incidents – happen elsewhere, the officers have to go there, regardless of how busy the beach is.
He also noted that they do what they can – the traffic-calming measures took a while but finally got implemented – “it’s hard to move those things along” but can be done, especially with community partnership.
One attendee observed that “car culture” overlaps with violence and wondered if SPD is working with SDOT on more calming. Short answer, yes, but budget challenges have kept them from expanding those measures beyond where they are now.
At that point, City Council D-1 candidate Rob Saka stood up and said to attendees, “My heart hurts for you” regarding the shooting by Whale Tail Park, saying his kids were playing there just a few hours before the murder. “We need anti-cruising emphasis patrols, anti-gun violence … I would like to see police be able to be more proactive and less reactive.” Capt. Rivera said he agreed that “we need more officers.” (Saka was the only candidate in attendance, though someone in the gallery identified themselves as Phil Tavel‘s campaign manager.)
The support for more traffic calming was strong; one attendee suggested crowdfunding if money is what it takes; talk to SDOT, Rivera suggested. What about paid parking on the beach to raise money? asked another attendee, or charging people to visit the beaches? Capt. Rivera said that hasn’t caught traction because it would inequitably affect community members.
Another attendee said he wanted to ensure that the early closing time starting Memorial Day weekend stretches all the way to Don Armeni, the entirety of the shore, not just the beach itself.
Two other guests from the city spoke relatively briefly.
SDOT SHARED-MICROMOBILITY PROGRAM: Kim Pearson from SDOT was the guest. She focuses on scooter and bike share. Four companies offer five device types – three scooters, two bikes. \\
In 2022, more than 3.7 million trips were taken, more than a million-trip gain from the previous year. Each trip averages 11+ minutes. Pearson talked about various related programs including free helmets available from city customer-service centers (including Southwest).
Here’s how to report problems:
PUMP STATION 38: Valerie Tokumoto from Seattle Public Utilities said PS 38 – the under-renovation station in the 1400 block of Alki SW – is one of 70 pump stations in the city’s system ‘and we have plans for all of them.” Landscaping will stretch 50 feet on both sides of the pump station. She wanted to ensure people knew how to surface questions and concerns, and recommended Find It Fix It for the latter. (The project’s webpage is here.)
NEXT MEETING: ACC president Tony Fragada and vice president Randie Stone expressed hope that the first-timers would be back next month. The group’s meetings are usually at 7 pm third Thursdays at Alki UCC (6115 SW Hinds).
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