day : 01/04/2024 10 results

East Marginal Way Corridor Project update and transportation-levy process preview @ West Seattle Transportation Coalition’s meeting

Tomorrow (Tuesday) morning, Mayor Bruce Harrell will lead a ceremonial groundbreaking for the many-years-in-the-making East Marginal Way Corridor project. It’s just east of West Seattle, but important to many people on the peninsula because it’s a key route to/from downtown, particularly for bicycle riders. Work on the north section of the three-phase project has actually already begun, and SDOT’s project manager attended last Thursday’s online meeting of the West Seattle Transportation Coalitionwith an overview and Q&A opportunity.

Project manager Joey Aitken said the north-section construction is starting with water-line work, but will include full reconstruction of the street in concrete, from South Massachusetts to South Spokane, as well as the long-anticipated two-way protected bicycle lane from Spokane to the “port trail” connection, plus pedestrian- and freight-geared improvements. All that will take about two years, Aitken said. Here are the key points he presented:

One of the factors in the long planning period has been “working with railroads,” and that’s not complete yet, Aitken explained, while saying the railroads have “agreed to relocate some tracks.” In addition to the current detours related to the water work, the full northern stretch between Massachusetts and Spokane will be closed to through traffic during the entire two years of work. “We should be done before the World Cup,” he said. You can get project updates by email (register on the project webpage), or by text – to sign up, text eastmarginal to 206-222-0105.

The WSTC’s other guest was Heather Marx, the West Seattleite who serves as policy adviser to District 1 City Councilmember Rob Saka, who chairs the Transportation Committee. Major issues coming up for the committee include continued consideration of the Seattle Transportation Plan, for which amendments will be considered when the committee meets tomorrow at 9:30 am (linked from the agenda), with a possible vote two weeks after that. The committee soon will start its consideration of the proposed transportation levy renewal, too. Marx said they’re expecting the mayor to share a draft this week, with the legislation continuing its actual verbiage likely to be out by month’s end. The first discussion will be in early May, and the levy proposal – expected to span eight years (compared to the expiring levy‘s nine years) – is likely to be the focus of five committee meetings. An evening public hearing is expected too. One other quote of note – Councilmember’s oft-repeated quest to be the “king of potholes” isn’t just about potholes, she verified. He intends it to encompass all maintenance matters (among other things).

NEXT MEETING: The WSTC continues meeting every other month, 6:30 pm, usually fourth Thursdays, but watch for the announcements. And if you’re interested in joining the board, it’s got another opening. info@westseattletc.org to find out more.

FOLLOWUP: Highland Park ex-substation now officially open for ‘affordable homeownership’ proposals. Here’s what that means

Want to build commercial space and ~16 for-sale homes in Highland Park? As previewed last week, the city Office of Housing is now officially seeking prospective developers for the former Dumar Substation at 16th/Holden.

About a decade has passed since Seattle City Light declared it “surplus,” and now it’s finally on the pathway to something besides sitting vacant and fenced. Community advocates campaigned for it to be rezoned so that a mixed-use project would be possible, and it’s now zoned “neighborhood commercial” for up to four stories. Most recently, the city moved to transfer it from SCL to the Office of Housing, which is now in charge of finding an affordable-homeownership developer for the site.

The documents comprising the newly posted Request for Proposals describe the site and a project already planned for its periphery:

The site is rectangular, relatively level, and is estimated to be 9,425 square feet. In 2025, Seattle Public Utilities will construct a natural drainage system in the property’s frontage and within the public right-of-way. The natural drainage system will be located between existing sidewalks and the new edge of the roadway on SW Holden Street between 16th Avenue SW and 17th Avenue SW. The new system will help improve water quality in nearby Longfellow Creek, diversify landscaping in the neighborhood, and provide roadway and pedestrian safety by adding/updating ADA curb ramps. Proposals will need to include a plan to preserve this infrastructure.

The Office of Housing transferred $424,000 – the property’s current valuation as determined by the King County Assessor – to City Light, using funding from Mandatory Housing Affordability fees paid by developers instead of building affordable housing in their own projects. The documents say the Office of Housing will expect the developer to reimburse some of that, since it’s only supposed to go toward housing, and this project will include some commercial space. However, they also mention that the developer may apply for city subsidy funding to cover part of the costs of building. Other points of interest from the Request for Proposals – here’s how “affordable homeownership” is defined:

Affordability Level: The proposed sales prices must be affordable to households with incomes at or below 80% of Area Median Income (AMI) for the Seattle area as published on OH’s website. For the purposes of this Request for Proposals (RFP), affordable is defined as a 5% down payment, a monthly payment for housing costs (mortgage principal, interest, taxes, insurance, and other dues) of not more than 35% of income, a household size of one more person than number of bedrooms and a realistic mortgage interest rate. Proposals may not contain any market rate housing, even if proceeds from market rate housing would subsidize the cost of the affordable homes.

Affordability Duration: The proposal must be for the development of ownership housing with agreements that maintain affordability for a minimum of 50 years.

The developer also will be expected to involve community groups in figuring out how to use the ground-floor commercial space, the documents say:

Community-Informed Development of Commercial Space: Competitive proposals will include thoughtful plans to engage the community on potential uses for the commercial space and include plans for outreach to potential occupants with a focus on small, locally and/or Black, Indigenous, or other person of color owned businesses that will help to activate the neighborhood and encourage walkability. Local organizations serving Highland Park and its neighboring communities, such as the Highland Park Action Coalition, the Delridge Neighborhood Development Association, the White Center Community Development Association, the Cultural Space Agency, and Nepantla Cultural Arts Gallery, should be included in this outreach effort. Projects that propose selling the commercial space will score higher than those proposing to lease it.

Prospective developers have until May 24 to get their proposals in.

This site was one of six former substations in West Seattle that were authorized in 2015 to go up for sale. Only one has been developed into housing, the former Andover substation site on Pigeon Point; another is now Delridge Wetlands Park, while the other three sites remain vacant.

PHOTOS: Evening orca sighting!

6:16 PM: Just in from Kersti Muul: “Large group of transient orcas has been southbound and some are now south of West Point – just east of mid-channel.” That means they’re passing through the entrance to Elliott Bay. Let us know if you see them!

(Added: Photos by David Hutchinson)

6:20 PM: Update from Kersti – orcas are now heading into the bay.

6:40 PM: See comments for updates.

10:06 PM: Added two photos above, courtesy of David Hutchinson, who says they were “taken near the west end of the Alki promenade and from Constellation Park.”

ADDED TUESDAY: Photo from James Tilley:

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UPDATE: About the water at the bottom of Admiral Way hill

April 1, 2024 4:09 pm
|    Comments Off on UPDATE: About the water at the bottom of Admiral Way hill
 |   Utilities | West Seattle news

4:09 PM: We’ve received several reports today about a significant amount of water in the street today at the bottom of the Admiral Way hill, just before the bridge. One person who called Seattle Public Utilities (206-386-1800, 24/7) says they were told “they’re doing some work around there”; the SPU water-incident map shows “planned work” today a short distance uphill.

5:33 PM: SPU’s Sabrina Register confirms this is related to the mapped work at Spokane/Fauntleroy: “Water crews should wrap up their planned work involving a valve later this evening, which should fix the issue.”

CRIME WATCH FOLLOWUP: Stolen business van found

On Friday, we published a report from Angela at Budget Blinds-West Seattle (WSB sponsor) about someone stealing one of their company vans and the sample books inside, some of which turned up in Seaview. Today, she emailed to say the van was found in Sunrise Heights: “The van and a lot of missing books have been recovered. … It was the WSB post that a police officer read and realized the van he saw down on 34th and Holden was the stolen one.” Thanks to everyone who watched for it (and those who’ve helped find past stolen vehicles, too).

Ready to sign up your sale? Registration now open for West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day 2024!

Saturday, May 11, 2024, is the 18th almost-annual West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day – and as of right now, registration is open!

This is one day with many sales of many sizes, all around the peninsula, open at least 9 am-3 pm on sale day (earlier and/or later if you want to, but that’s up to you). It’s not the only neighborhood sale day in Seattle, but it’s the biggest; the people who founded it in 2005 (three years before handing the baton to us at WSB) were particularly inspired by PhinneyWood Garage Sale Day in the north end. Registration for WSCGSD gets your sale onto the map and listings guide that are made available one week before sale day, which we promote regionally – we’ve heard of people who come from as far away as Eastern Washington!

If you’re planning a sale, here’s where to go to register – any time you’re ready (signups will continue for three and a half weeks; we’ll set the exact end date when we get closer). Same classifications and fees we’ve had for all the years we’ve been coordinating this. And before you register, be ready with your up-to-20-word sale listing – think about what you’re selling that’s popular and/or unusual, for example. Any questions, email westseattleblog@gmail.com or call/text our hotline at 206-293-6302. Updates to come (including any multi-seller sites that offer space for people who have small sales/no place to host a sale – if your venue is planning to do that, please tell us ASAP)!

BIZNOTE: Café Verde on the way to Sunrise Heights

“You wouldn’t buy specialty bread baked a month ago … we don’t think you should have to drink coffee roasted a month ago.”

That’s the philosophy behind Café Verde, a West Seattle couple’s enterprise, currently roasting coffee in Auburn and shipping the same day – and soon, if all goes well, roasting, brewing, and serving in Sunrise Heights.

We happened onto the early permit application for Café Verde to move into 7354 35th SW, most recently a pop-up clothing shop (and briefly proposed for a mini-mart, but that fell through). We subsequently connected via email with co-proprietor K.C.

As you can see on the Cafe Verde website, K.C. and spouse Tatiana have a rich background in coffee roasting – they did it for more than a decade in Peru. “We’ll be replicating what we did in Lima,” a combination roastery and coffee shop. But the former will remain the focus: “We’re a coffee roaster first, coffee shop second.”

So what’s different about the way they roast? K.C. explains that most of the industry applies the light-roasting style to a variety of beans, but they have more differentiation – for one. And there’s that freshness thing – as little time as possible between roasting and serving. “Fresh-roasted coffee always tastes better.”

They’re excited about the space, which KC happened to see posted as “For Lease” while on a family errand. They’re in the very early stages of the permit process, so he’s aware it may take “many months.” They’re still working out other details of the future operation, like hours and what else they’ll serve, but K.C. expects traditional coffee-shop fare – like pastries (made in-house) – will be part of it.

The list for your West Seattle Monday

April 1, 2024 9:49 am
|    Comments Off on The list for your West Seattle Monday
 |   Fauntleroy | West Seattle news

(Photo by Thomas Bach)

Here’s the list for today, mostly from the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar:

SCHOLARSHIP DEADLINE: Need college money? Today’s the last day to apply for two scholarships offered by the Rotary Club of West Seattle. Get the details here.

EXPANDED FAUNTLEROY YMCA HOURS: Starting today, the Fauntleroy YMCA (WSB sponsor) is soft-opening its newly expanded hours – 9 am to noon and 4 pm to 7 pm.

TONY’S MARKET OPENS: Today is the day the new owners of Tony’s Market (35th/Roxbury) were expecting to open for the season, 10 am-6 pm.

BABY STORY TIME: Bring wee ones up to 2 years old to Southwest Library (9010 35th SW), noon-12:30 pm, for story time!

CITY COUNCIL BRIEFING MEETING: 2 pm at City Hall, the weekly meeting in which councilmembers talk about their plans for the week ahead. Here’s the agenda. Watch live via Seattle Channel.

GET CRAFTY: 6-10 pm, Monday brings “Crafting and Creativity Night” at The Missing Piece (9456 35th SW), info here.

D&D: Open D&D starts at 6:30 pm at Meeples Games (3727 California SW), all welcome, first-time players too. $5.

MONDAY NIGHT TRIVIA! Three places to play tonight – 7 pm at The Good Society (California/Lander); 7 and 8 pm Sporcle Pub Quiz at Three 9 Lounge (4505 39th SW); 7:30 pm with QuizFix at The Skylark (3803 Delridge Way SW)

HIGH-SCHOOL BASEBALL: One home game on the schedule – West Seattle HS hosts Roosevelt, 7 pm, Nino Cantu Southwest Athletic Complex (2801 SW Thistle).

MEDITATION IN FAUNTLEROY: All welcome to join free weekly Zen sitting/meditation at the chapel at Fauntleroy UCC (9140 California SW), 7 pm-8:30 pm.

MEDITATION ON ALKI: The Alki Dharma Community welcomes you to Alki UCC (6115 SW Hinds) for meditation. 7 pm.

MUSIC AT THE ALLEY: Live music with The Westside Trio, 8 pm at The Alley (behind 4509 California SW), 21+, no cover.

KARAOKE: 9 pm is the start time for Monday night karaoke at Talarico’s Pizzeria (4718 California SW).

Have a West Seattle/White Center event to add to our calendar and/or Holiday Guide? Please send info to westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!

YOU CAN HELP: Donate diapers and more for WestSide Baby at Starbucks Morgan Junction

April 1, 2024 9:00 am
|    Comments Off on YOU CAN HELP: Donate diapers and more for WestSide Baby at Starbucks Morgan Junction
 |   How to help | West Seattle news

Today is the first day of WestSide Baby‘s biggest annual diaper donation drive, once known as Stuff the Bus, now From the Bottom Up. Supporters will be collecting diapers and other items for WS Baby all month – and we’ve already heard from one: Morgan Junction Starbucks is hosting a donation drive from today through April 21st:

They’re collecting not only diapers but also pull-ups, diaper cream, wipes, shampoo and conditioner, and diaper wash. The shop is at California/Fauntleroy (see hours here). P.S. Want to host your own drive too? Here’s how.

TRAFFIC, TRANSIT, WEATHER: April begins

April 1, 2024 6:01 am
|    Comments Off on TRAFFIC, TRANSIT, WEATHER: April begins
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle traffic alerts

6:01 AM: Good morning. It’s Monday, April 1 – spring break this week for some schools (including Holy Rosary, Our Lady of Guadalupe, Holy Family, and the Highline district).

WEATHER + SUNRISE/SUNSET TIMES

Sunshine expected today, high in the low 60s. Sunrise will be at 6:46 am, sunset at 7:40 pm.

(Sunday sunset, photographed by Bob Spears)

STADIUM ZONE

Mariners play another home game, 6:40 pm vs. Cleveland.

TRANSIT NOTES

Metro today – Regular schedule; check advisories here. Reminder that this is the first weekday after the twice-yearly “service change” took effect Saturday; here’s our look at West Seattle changes.

Water Taxi today – Back to regular schedule. Check the real-time map if you need to see where the boat is.

Washington State Ferries today – The usual 2 boats on the Triangle Route. Check WSF alerts for changes. Use the real-time map to see where your ferry is.

SPOTLIGHT TRAFFIC CAMERAS

Delridge cameras: Besides the one below (Delridge/Orchard), cameras are also at Delridge/Genesee, Delridge/Juneau, Delridge/Henderson, and Delridge/Oregon.

High Bridge – the main camera:

High Bridge – the view from its southwest end (when SDOT points the 35th/Avalon/Fauntleroy camera that way):

Low Bridge:

1st Ave. S. Bridge:

Highway 99: – northbound side at Lander:

MORE TRAFFIC CAMS: All functioning traffic cams citywide are here; West Seattle and vicinity-relevant cameras are on this WSB page.

BRIDGE INFO: The @SDOTBridges feed on X (ex-Twitter) shows whether the city’s movable bridges are opening for vessel traffic.

If you see a problem on the bridges/streets/paths/water, please text or call our hotline (when you can do that safely, and after you’ve reported to authorities if they’re not already on scene) – 206-293-6302. Thank you!