West Seattle, Washington
29 Thursday
(WSB photo – SW Alaska hill west of 45th)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Four crashes in two weeks has led to one resolute neighborhood.
More than 30 people gathered tonight in Ercolini Park on just hours’ notice for an emergency community meeting to talk about the stolen-car crashes at the bottom of the SW Alaska hill west of The Junction, most recently late last night.
The crashes were not accidental, it had finally become clear – when neighbors who’d caught part of the activity on their cameras connected, they realized the cars were unoccupied when they traveled downhill and crashed into trees, a car, a utility pole, and that the “getaway cars” carried one or more people videoing the stunt. As of meeting time, nobody had yet found exactly where on social media this was being shown off, but they were looking.
Standing around a picnic table, where the organizer had brought flyers with a QR code to set up a neighborhood mailing list, residents exchanged information and ideas.
The four crashes had happened on Sunday and Tuesday nights, neighbors noted – might that mean another is being planned for tomorrow night? they wondered. And/or might that be a clue to the culprit(s)?
One attendee said someone she knew was certain they are teenagers. If so, said another attendee identifying himself as a retired police officer, the juvenile-justice system would do nothing to stop them.
That just intensified the discussion of what the neighborhood could do. Someone said that speeding on SW Alaska had long been a concern, but these crashes had increased the “danger level.”
Traffic-calming measures were of interest to many, though they knew city involvement would take years, so some wondered if they could do anything themselves -guerrilla barriers in the street? String crime-scene-type tape across the road? Create a makeshift roundabout with sawhorses? Somehow making the stunt difficult could at least get them to move elsewhere, it was suggested.
Putting pressure on everyone from city officials to police was advocated by more than one. Referring to the saying about “the squeaky wheel gets the grease,” the retired officer suggested, “We can become the squeak.” Creating an email template for contacting Mayor Harrell and City Councilmembers was suggested.
Other types of immediate action were of the most interest. Hire a security guard? Rent trailer-mounted lights that could ruin the video recording? There didn’t seem to be much hope of increased police presence, as some of the attendees said the SPD officers they’d talked to in the crashes’ aftermath appeared uninterested, claiming this happens all over the city.
But when the meeting ended after about 45 minutes, it was clear one thing already had been achieved – neighbors had met and planned to coalesce, which likely will yield benefits even if the string of hill stunts stops at four.
Story by Tracy Record
Photos by Dave Gershgorn
For West Seattle Blog
From the small flags marking veterans’ graves, to the larger one behind the podium, the Stars and Stripes waved in the breeze that swept across Forest Lawn Cemetery during this afternoon’s brief Memorial Day ceremony.
American Legion Post 160 Commander Keith Hughes, an Army veteran, was the featured speaker, presenting what he described as a condensed version of the Legion’s annual message, reminding Americans of “true heroes.” Here’s part of what he said:
He declared that our freedom comes from those who fought for it, not from “the politicians,” and urged everyone to remember that. He concluded with the classic poem “In Flanders Fields” by John McCrae.
Before and after his speech, Lexi Nguyen sang – the National Anthem to begin, “God Bless America” to conclude:
Emcee was Forest Lawn’s GM Greg Carlson, who offered gratitude to the 20+ people who showed up for the observance:
After just 15 minutes, the ceremony ended, while the flags atop veterans’ graves fluttered on:
By Hayden Yu Andersen
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
In an improvement from their debut match, West Seattle Rhodies FC scored a win Sunday against Eugene, Oregon’s Lane United FC, 2-0. The Rhodies’ second match saw good attendance, albeit less than their debut.
Two new additions for Sunday’s match were inflatable cheering sticks and pink, Rhodies-themed color spray, to use when the team scores a goal. “We didn’t get the chance to use it last time, but expect to see a lot more of it in the future,” said chief marketing officer Marissa Villegas.
Lower attendance didn’t diminish the crowd’s enthusiasm as Nicole, a Rhodies self-proclaimed “superfan,” brought along a flag, one of many seen at the match.
The Rhodies’ next two matches, against Olympia FC and a rematch against Lane United, will take them away from their home field at Nino Cantu Southwest Athletic Complex. They’ll be back in West Seattle on June 8th, then returning for their final two matches at home on the 25th and 28th. To learn more about Rhodies FC, and to purchase tickets to future games, go here.
This photo of a West Seattle Memorial Day ceremony is from Chad with Troop 282:
(Photo by E. Caron)
Scouts from Scouting America Troop 282 performed a flag ceremony in honor of Memorial Day for residents of SHAG Arrowhead Gardens this morning.
The troop meets Tuesday evenings from 7:30-9 at shelter 1 in Lincoln Park starting June 3rd. Come join us!
Today’s low-low tide wasn’t just good for wildlife-watching. At Emma Schmitz Memorial Overlook, A Cleaner Alki volunteers worked to remove a huge tire from the beach. Thanks to Kevin Freitas for sending us that photo and others from the West Seattle shore, including his child with an octopus:
West Seattle’s west-facing shore drew a crowd:
Today’s low tide was out to -3.4 feet at 10:50 am, and tomorrow it’s even lower – -4.0 feet at 11:34 am.
By Hayden Yu Andersen
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
SDOT reps continued their series of walking tours this past Wednesday in Highland Park, with the same goal as the previous two: Identify areas where sidewalks or walkways could be built with funding from the 2024 Seattle Transportation Levy.
“We want to hear everything and anything to make this neighborhood safer and better for the community,” said Brian Dougherty, deputy director of the project development division, as the crowd gathered in Highland Park Elementary School for the walking tour. The levy, which was approved last year by voters, allows for over 250 new blocks of sidewalks around the city by 2029.
The goal of a walk-along is to give residents a chance to put the city officials in their shoes, walking them through the neighborhood and pointing out areas that need to be fixed. As with the North Delridge tour earlier this spring, the event was also briefly attended by Seattle City Council District 1 representative Rob Saka, who addressed the crowd.
“It is my honor to represent this neighborhood; this is the kind of work that changes lives and helps keep people safe” Said Saka, “There are certain communities, such as Highland Park and Arbor Heights, which are bearing the brunt of this (lack of support), but now we finally have the political support and the resources to invest in this project.”
As the group walked through Highland Park several key issues were pointed out, such as a lack of speed bumps, according to community member John Murphy. “We’ve been asking for speed bumps since 2004. My car’s been hit, and my boat’s been hit. We’ve basically given up.” He was concerned about 14th/Thistle.
Other key issues include adding a curb ramp to Cloverdale and 14th, addressing the dangerous blind turns at 7th and Cloverdale, and improving safety and security measures at Henderson and 9th.
The latter is a location that several community members including Mike York, and Kay Kirkpatrick, of HPAC and the Highland Park Improvement Club, say often sees unhoused people parking their RVs and other vehicless. Kirkpatrick and York both expressed safety concerns, and said they’d like to reduce the amount of traffic the area gets.
A final concern, one which SDOT addressed early on in the walking tour, was the issue of oversized blocks. The levy approves the construction of blocks, within a certain size limit. Any neighborhood blocks which exceed that limit will be considered as two for the purpose of construction. In Highland Park, many streets far exceed the block size standard, which is roughly 240 feet.
“Aside from a few hiccups, all of this is broadly achievable,” Dougherty said at the end of the walking tour. He said the final report should be released closer to the end of the year, and that it will address the concerns laid out by the community. Find out more about the sidewalk-building program here.
(WSB photo: Flags at Forest Lawn)
Here’s info you might find useful on this Memorial Day Monday:
TRANSIT
Metro: Sunday schedule
West Seattle Water Taxi and its shuttles: Regular weekday schedule
Washington State Ferries: Changes include two-boat weekend schedule for Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth
Sound Transit: Schedule changes here
Other services: See a list here
TRAFFIC CAMERAS
Our page highlighting local cameras is here
SDOT’s map with cameras and alerts from around the city is here
CLOSURES/CHANGES
Seattle Public Library facilities
Schools
Government offices
Banks
No charge for street parking in Seattle neighborhoods with city pay stations
OPEN
Highland Park Spraypark (11 am-8 pm, 1100 SW Cloverdale)
Colman Pool (noon-7 pm, on Lincoln Park shore, session schedule here)
SPECIAL EVENTS
*The traditional Memorial Day ceremony will be held at Forest Lawn (6701 30th SW), 2 pm, all welcome
*Final day for for Art on the Corner art sale to benefit nonprofit work, 8:30 am-3 pm (39th/Holden)
*Low-low tide today, -3.4 feet at 10:50 am. The scaled-back Seattle Aquarium beach naturalist program will be at Constellation Park (63rd/Beach) 9-11:30 am
*Holiday-weekend sale – Moon Room Shop and Wellness is “offering 15-20% off items in store and online” again today. Find Moon Room (a WSB sponsor) online here or in person at 5902 California SW, open 11 am-5 pm today
Anything else we should know/let others know about? Texting’s the best way to reach us today – 206-293-6302 – thank you!
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