West Seattle, Washington
27 Sunday
Teja is looking for help finding the hit-run driver who killed their dog:
On Friday (23rd) at 9.45 pm, a red car traveling pretty fast hit and killed our little dog and did not stop.
Not much of an image, however, I was able to screen shot this from our neighbors’ CCTV. It’s all I was able to find unfortunately. Anyone with CCTV on Delridge Way SW (near the Chevron and the other two gas stations down the road), would most certainly have captured something as I’m sure the car would have travelled up the road. Car was going south along Delridge Way SW (toward the Chevron gas station) and actual point of the road where the hit happened was outside of 6527 Delridge Way SW.
If you have any information – and/or video – that might help, the SPD incident number is 24-238482.
Trivia is big in West Seattle. Every week we feature a dozen or so regular events in our calendar and daily highlights list. So what happens when the various venues’ regulars go head to head? That’s what the West Seattle Trivia Championship is about – and we were asked to share this call for hosts/teams to sign up:
Last year, players from around West Seattle participated in the first annual peninsula-wide trivia championship. As co-host of the 2023 championship and host of the winning team, The Good Society and host Will Drewry have been putting together the 2024 Trivia Championship! Last year was a huge success, and last year’s winners look forward to taking on all contenders. If your team is interested in participating in this year’s event, talk to your local trivia host and have them message Will (willdrewry@gmail.com) to sign up!
Two more traffic notes:
ADMIRAL WAY BRIDGE HALF-CLOSURE BEGINS: Thanks to Mark for the photo. As reported here (with a reminder last night), SDOT planned to close the north half of the Admiral Way Bridge “as soon as today” for the next phase of work on the earthquake-strengthening project, and indeed, the closure started this morning. The south side of the bridge is temporarily handling both directions of traffic – one lane each way – until crews are ready to switch to that side (when the north side will handle both directions).
SIGNAL FIXED: A few people messaged us Sunday about a signal problem at the Delridge/Chelan/Spokane/etc. intersection; signal problems tend to be fairly quick fixes, so we didn’t write about it, but once we got a phone call early this afternoon saying it was still malfunctioning, we contacted SDOT to see why it wasn’t fixed yet and whether they had an ETA. They said a crew was on scene working on it. We just got word it should be OK now “but people may see signal crews return over the next few days to monitor and test the signal and ensure it is running smoothly.” Signal problems can be reported to SDOT during weekday business hours at 206-684-ROAD; weekends and nights, the SDOT dispatch number is 206-386-1218.
As promised, we checked in with Spokane Street Viaduct resurfacing project spokesperson Dr. Matthew Howard to see about this week’s closure schedule. Short answer: No closures. Long version:
I’ve confirmed with the project team that no work will be going on this week or weekend (August 26 – September 2, 2024). … The reason we aren’t performing work is due to small chances of rain in the forecast for today and tomorrow. We can’t chance the moisture getting into the overlay or ground-down viaduct at the moment, especially after such a wet weekend. The deck would need to dry for 24 hours with dry weather before we’d be able to confidently perform work. After that, the holiday travel restrictions for Labor Day weekend for WSDOT make it not worthwhile to get back out there, lest we not be as productive with the work. I’ll have an updated schedule for next week by end of this week, hopefully.
We’re also still awaiting an update sometime soon on overall progress and timeline update. It’s been four weeks since the project’s first lane closures; at that time, the work was expected to continue into early October, but the August rain has gotten in the way of some planned closures.
Just a little over a week remains in summer break – and one local school community would love your help with a cleanup tomorrow! Here’s the invitation:
Please come join the Madison PTSA and A Cleaner Alki as they spruce-up the Madison Middle School campus to prepare for the new school year this Tuesday, August 27 from 9:30-11:30 AM. All are welcome to volunteer! We are happy to sign student’s volunteer hour sheets. More details can be found here.
Thank you and we hope to see you there.
First day of classes for Seattle Public Schools is a week from Wednesday – on September 4.
11:35 AM: Thanks for the tip — texter says a flipped-car crash on California south of Brandon is blocking northbound traffic. Avoid the area. At least one person is hurt – SFD has just upgraded this to a medic response.
11:42 AM: Thanks to Marie for the photos. She says firefighters were able to get the vehicle’s occupant out via the hatch.
1:32 PM: The scene has cleared. SFD tells us the 31-year-old man they treated at the scene was in stable condition when taken to a hospital.
Thanks to Carol Ann Joyce for the photo of Sunday’s sunset; as noted in this morning’s traffic/weather roundup, tonight brings our last 8 pm sunset until next April, so enjoy it if you can! Here’s what else is happening in the hours ahead, mostly from the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar:
BABY STORY TIME: Bring little ones up to 2 years old to Southwest Library (9010 35th SW), noon-12:30 pm, for story time!
COLMAN POOL: The outdoor heated-salt-water pool on the shore at Lincoln Park (8011 Fauntleroy Way SW) is open to the public today, noon-7 pm, starting its final week of the season – session times are on the Colman Pool webpage.
LINCOLN PARK WADING POOL: Elsewhere at Lincoln Park, it’s also the start of the final week of the season for this city wading pool, noon-7 pm, in the central upper part of the park near the north play area.
SOUTHWEST POOL CLOSED: West Seattle’s city-run indoor pool is closed for maintenance and repairs until after Labor Day.
NO CITY COUNCIL BRIEFING MEETING: The council is on its two-week end-of-summer break.
GET CRAFTY: 6-10 pm, Monday brings “Crafting and Creativity Night” at The Missing Piece (9456 35th SW), info here.
D&D: Weekly D&D at 6:30 pm at Meeples Games (3727 California SW). All welcome, first-time players too.
MONDAY NIGHT TRIVIA! Four places to play tonight – music quiz at Easy Street Records (4559 California SW), 6:30 pm and 7:30 pm … 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)
MEDITATION IN FAUNTLEROY: All welcome at free weekly Zen sitting/meditation in the chapel at Fauntleroy UCC (9140 California SW), 7 pm-8:30 pm.
MEDITATION IN ALKI: The Alki Dharma Community hosts meditation at Alki UCC (6115 SW Hinds), 7-8:30 pm.
MUSIC AT THE ALLEY: The Alley in back of Bonjour Vietnam is open – tonight you can listen to live music from The Westside Trio, 8 pm at The Alley (behind 4509 California SW), 21+, no cover.
SING TONIGHT! 9 pm start for Monday night karaoke at Talarico’s Pizzeria (4718 California SW).
If you have a West Seattle/White Center event to add to our calendar, please send the info to westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!
We learned last week, via a post in the WSB Community Forums, that a longtime reader had died suddenly. That was a fitting place for the original announcement, as Mike Stahl contributed so much to discussions there back in the forums’ early (pre-social-media) days. He enhanced many news-comment discussions too. But his story went beyond discussion participation, as noted by the friends who announced his passing, as they provided this proper obituary to say goodbye:
Mike Stahl (miws to many of us) was a (mostly) lifetime resident of West Seattle.
He lived in many of West Seattle’s neighborhoods including South Admiral, Morgan Junction, and Highland Park. Mike graduated from Chief Sealth HS in 1976, and was a cashier for McLendon Hardware.
Although Mike was a self-described introvert, he remained active in his communities both online and off. Known as “miws” on the West Seattle Blog, he remained engaged with local happenings, commenting on posts until a couple of days before he died.
He was also a longtime volunteer for the local animal welfare nonprofit Furry Faces Foundation. He could be found as a greeter and cashier for the annual gift-wrap fundraiser at Beveridge Place, and table host during West Seattle Summer Fest.
Mike was an advocate for the homeless, having experienced homelessness himself and spending time living in a tent in the original Nickelsville encampment, as well as trying to navigate the system of local shelters when he got too sick to stay in a tent. He stayed active in the Facebook group “Facing Homelessness,” where he offered encouragement and hope to others dealing with the challenges that come with being unhoused.
When anyone talks about Mike, they remark on his “cheerful attitude,” or kindness, or resiliency. This despite his many years, particularly as an adult, of varying life-altering illnesses and their lifelong effects.
Since July of 2023, Mike was a resident of Park Place Senior Housing in the NewHolly neighborhood. He was happy there because he was able to maintain his independence in his own apartment, and able to get a helping hand whenever he needed it. The facility’s front desk host noted, “He was one of the few people who would lift his head and say ‘hello’ whenever he walked by.”
A remembrance in Mike’s honor will be planned and announced on the Blog.
We were lucky to have met Mike in person; when we tabled at local summer events, he would almost always stop by and say hi. But we knew him best online – as “miws,” our archives show, he posted more than 4,000 comments. (His first one, in March 2007, was so typical of his helpful nature, offering detour advice in a road-work discussion.)
6:00 AM: Good morning! It’s Monday, August 26 – one week to Labor Day.
WEATHER + SUNRISE/SUNSET TIMES
Partly sunny, chance of pm rain, high in mid-70s. Today’s sunrise will be at 6:20 am, while sunset will be at 8 pm. (After tonight, our next 8 pm sunset will be in mid-April.)
SPOKANE ST. VIADUCT AND OTHER ROAD WORK
*Later today, we expect to find out this week’s closure plan for the Spokane Street Viaduct resurfacing project.
*The Admiral Way Bridge seismic project is in progress. Fairmount Avenue is closed under the bridge. And as soon as today,the north half of the bridge will close, so the south half will carry traffic both ways temporarily. (Added: A reader called to say that the closure HAS begun.)
*The Delridge pedestrian-bridge earthquake-safety project also continues, with narrowing at Delridge/Oregon.
*The East Marginal Way S. project continues, with a temporary routing change for bicycle riders (explained at that link).
*Beach Drive: Gas-pipeline work continues at spots along the southern stretch. Watch for no-parking zones and steel plates (many on northbound side right now), plus flaggers.
TRANSIT NOTES
Water Taxi today – Regular schedule for both routes.
Metro buses today – Regular schedules; check for advisories here.
Washington State Ferries today – 2 boats on the Triangle Route, and the unscheduled third boat may be available. Check that link before you sail.
SPOTLIGHT TRAFFIC CAMERAS
High Bridge – Here’s the main camera:
High Bridge – The Fauntleroy-end camera:
Spokane Street Viaduct – This view looks westward, with eastbound lanes at left and westbound lanes at right:
Low bridge: Here’s the main view:
1st Avenue South Bridge:
South Park Bridge – Looking east:
Delridge cameras: Besides the one below (Delridge/Genesee), cameras are also at Delridge/Juneau, Delridge/Henderson, Delridge/Oregon, and video-only (so you have to go to the map), Delridge/Holden and Delridge/Thistle.
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 open 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!
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