FOLLOWUP: Delridge Way preschool-vicinity curb won’t be removed after all

| Delridge | Transportation | West Seattle news

(WSB file photo)

Last year, you might recall, District 1 City Councilmember Rob Saka got $2 million included in the city budget for what was described as his “highest priority” – a plan to remove a median curb blocking left turns into the Refugee and Immigrant Family Center Preschool on Delridge Way, where he had been a parent. The plan stirred a continuing uproar; supporters of the curb nicknamed it “Curby” and mounted a “Save Curby” campaign. SDOT hadn’t set a timeline for the work to be done, last we checked. Then moments ago, a news release arrived in the inbox, declaring that Councilmember Saka and Mayor Bruce Harrell have come up with an alternative plan:

Mayor Bruce Harrell and Councilmember Rob Saka (District 1) today announced a community-driven solution to address longstanding roadway safety concerns on Delridge Way SW. In response to concerns from the Refugee and Immigrant Family Center (RIFC) families, staff, and neighbors, three low-cost improvements will enhance safe access to RIFC while maintaining roadway safety for all users.

Last Fall, Councilmember Saka proposed and the Council adopted $2 million in City funding to prioritize safe, equitable access along this critical arterial — including the installation of a Metro bus stop in front of the RIFC building.

Thanks to a collaborative effort with the Mayor’s Office and the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT), the adopted solutions will achieve these goals at a fraction of the original budget. The solutions are estimated to cost approximately $500,000…. The three quick-build, cost-effective improvements include:

Designated Pick-Up/Drop-Off Zones: Install signage for designated pickup/drop off within a short walk of RIFC for families, including areas on Delridge Way SW and SW Willow Street. Passenger load zones can provide a safe, designated space less than 300 feet from RIFC’s entrance (to be completed this summer).

Non-Peak Parking in Bus Lane: Install signage for parking (which is already allowed) in the southbound bus lane during non-PM peak hours (except between 3-7PM) to facilitate RIFC pick-up and drop-off (to be completed this summer).

Southbound Turn-Around (Jug-Handle): A safer proposed turn-around at or near 22nd Ave SW allowing vehicles arriving from the south to head north and loop back south without obstructing traffic (to be completed by end of the year).

Councilmember Saka has an extensive explanation in this newsletter that arrived concurrently with the news release.

Russell McQuarrie June 18, 2025 (10:27 am)

I still think 500,000 is too much for something that he even calls his pet project. But I I love that he finally acknowledged this.

Jake June 18, 2025 (10:51 am)

bullying works

Scrimbl June 18, 2025 (11:31 am)

Hopefully we can bully him further into resigning. That newsletter is absolutely unhinged. Borderline lunatic ranting.
- CC June 18, 2025 (5:47 pm)
  
  “Your gut’s correct” — he’s a bad writer and a worse councilperson.
- Kyle June 19, 2025 (9:54 pm)
  
  I’m pretty sure either he or one of his aides, wrote that with AI. The icons are a tell tale sign of chatgpt to help craft a response. Pretty big swing and a miss for a public office.

divine June 18, 2025 (11:14 am)

McQuarrie, FTW

Erik June 18, 2025 (11:28 am)

500k for a few signs and some poured concrete? Outrageous!

DC June 18, 2025 (11:32 am)

According to Rob, the people against his pet project are anti-car, anti-immigrant and anti-equity. He is incapable of imagining anyone could disagree with him in good faith. Really quite Trumpian to claim anyone who disagrees with him is a divisive partisan. Has he considered he’s the divisive one demonizing anyone who disagrees with him?

JustSarah June 18, 2025 (11:52 am)

I guess he’s decided righteous indignation may work better than the tactics he’s used to date. Today’s newsletter had the same desperate embellishments and mischaracterizations I’ve come to expect from some of Seattle’s obstructionist activists. Seeing it come from our elected representation is just embarrassing. We need to continue to push back on this kind of rhetoric. And you’re correct, it’s very Trump-coded.
- Jake June 18, 2025 (12:26 pm)
  
  Seems also desperate from Harrell side too. Feeling the pressure of Katie Wilson’s surge up the opinion polls.
- Jort June 18, 2025 (9:20 pm)
  
  This guy is constitutionally incapable of “taking the L,” not uncommon with lawyers. There is no argument, no matter how carefully crafted, that will change the fact that every single voter in West Seattle can transparently see this whole charade for what it is: Rob Saka doubling, tripling, quadrupling down to justify using the power of his elected position to satisfy a long-standing personal grudge about an SDOT project built before he was elected. None. There is no argument. That’s why you see these unhinged, frothy newsletter defenses. Because he is literally incapable of backing down from this. The parallels to Trumpian discourse are apt. The difference is that Trump taps into something people truly feel, however dangerous or misguided those feelings might be. Saka, however, is in this for himself and his ego, and he will never back down from this objectively and transparently self-serving argument. It will be his undoing and he will pack up the last box in his office, outraged that people didn’t believe him. Every single one of us sees his disgusting and unseemly co-opting of actual immigrant struggles to backstop and satisfy his own fragile ego. Every. Single. One of us. Sees it.
Jort June 18, 2025 (4:12 pm)

I like to take my little snipes here and there at Rob Saka, who often so richly deserves them, but, after reading this astonishing, breathtakingly bizarre “newsletter” post, I’m beginning to get concerned that he’s spiraling. On its face, this newsletter is so unhinged and flailing that it should raise eyebrows about Saka’s competency to even hold office. It is one of the strangest and most eccentric pieces of writing I have ever seen from a politician. Honestly, fellow clown Donald Trump is likely more coherent than this. Can West Seattle residents trust their elected representative when he’s proudly producing such strange, nearly farcical material like this “newsletter?”
- Canton June 18, 2025 (10:08 pm)
  
  Agree. After reading 4 or 5 paragraphs of the newsletter, had to stop. “Unhinged”, is exactly how it sounded. A bunch of sarcastic narcissism all wrapped up in a digital link…He isn’t built for the pressure of public office. And, thanks for being honest; 😉…
- Lauren June 19, 2025 (4:53 pm)
  
  I thought people must be exaggerating, but then I read the thing and… wow yeah, it IS unhinged.

foop June 18, 2025 (11:47 am)

Rob Saka is a partisan clown. His newsletter is unhinged and inappropriate completely disregarding, falsely labelling and angrily spitting into the wind about a “war on cars” and “equity” over one small house that happens to be child care and support for immigrant families.

First all: Delridge is already entirely car centric. The calling a curb – or advocating for more bus priority (because god forbid the H ever show up on time) is not a ‘war on cars’. Advocating against the city removing a Northbound bike lane on the straighted, flattest arterial to the bridge is anything but a ‘war on cars’. For the last 5+ years we’ve been taking space away from pedestrians and bikes and giving it to cars. The road does nothing to mitigate high speeds on a road where people *live*. There are barely crosswalks and the road in incredibly wide with terrible pedestrian sight lines due to cars parked up to the curb ramps (yes this is illegal, but who’s enforcing it? Rob Saka certainly isnt trying to get SPD on it) – think of what it might involve to park near Hagosas House and cross Delridge to go get some work done in a coffee shop.

He wants to say his constituents are anti-equity? What is he doing to increase density in his neighborhood to make housing more affordable or equitable? What is he doing to increase corner stores or coffee shops along Delridge? I’ve seen him refer to it as a food desert but where was he when the Delridge Co Op was struggling? Where was he when the cornerstore bill died at a state level? I don’t expect him to fix state legislation but we all know how vocal can be over a little curb, why not vocal for things that increase a sense of community, help small (immigrant owned maybe?) businesses get started in his own neck of the woods?The shooting near 26th was not an issue with street lights, Rob Sakas actions directly contributed to that ‘vigil’ and shooting incident. His advocacy against diverters in a *greenway* contributed directly to that group of individuals choosing that park to have their 100 gun salute. Police stated that they chose it because it had easy access and easy getaway egress.

Rob Saka is sacrificing our health and happiness so he can drive to the bridge 30 seconds faster. He is actively fighting against making West Seattle, and Delridge specifically, a wonderful place to live in, and is working hard to make is a place where your main main objective is driving through and out of as fast as possible on your way to other places.

Rob Saka is a failure and a clown.

My two cents June 18, 2025 (12:06 pm)

Herbold … Saka … District 1 s in the midst of a long dry spell.
Aaron June 18, 2025 (12:20 pm)

I hope you sent this to him and his staff. I don’t think it’ll make him change his mind, but maybe 1 or 2 of his staffers could be spurred to resign rather than continue to participate in the low-grade corruption for which their city council office has become known.

BJG June 18, 2025 (11:55 am)

Not the guy we need representing us. He had his chance and will be replaced at the next election. Who needs this self-centered drama?

Unfortunate June 18, 2025 (12:19 pm)

Anyone that voted for this guy has to be completely ashamed at this point, that newsletter is an embarrassment.

WillNeverStopDriving June 18, 2025 (12:59 pm)

“ For the last 5+ years we’ve been taking space away from pedestrians and bikes and giving it to cars. ” FOOP, I’m sorry to disagree here but I would say the total opposite, it’s been nothing but road diets, healthy street initiatives and a certain war on car drivers…It regularly takes FOREVER to get anywhere anymore because we prioritize bus lanes on streets in neighborhoods that are so densely populated no one can get anywhere, let alone a bus. I like driving my car, I like driving any car in general, it’s fun and this city makes it nauseatingly terrible to do. I’d rather drive in LA and that’s saying something.

Nolan June 18, 2025 (3:42 pm)

Sorry we aren’t accommodating your hobby of driving a car everywhere. Maybe it’s time for you to move to LA so you can enjoy it more.
- Foop June 18, 2025 (4:25 pm)
  
  “No one can get anywhere because everyone is driving somewhere “ but sure let’s blame bus lanes and healthy streets.
Foop June 18, 2025 (3:48 pm)

Correction: it takes you longer to get anywhere because you and so many like you refuse to partake in options other than driving your car to commute while you write your reps to make it harder for others who would otherwise choose other forms of transportation to do so.If you truly wanted to get around faster (not that you’re entitled to while endangering others) you would advocate for more bike lanes and transit so your neighbors who would prefer not to drive for every minor trip can feel safe and efficient biking or taking a bus. I’d love to go to Alki by bus but it takes me 50-90 minutes from Delridge. Biking across west Seattle feels incredibly unsafe with the lack of protected infrastructure and the speeds inattentive drivers are going at. The hills aren’t even the main concern if I’m worried about someone killing me on sylvan way.
- Kyle June 19, 2025 (9:52 pm)
  
  Alki is abysmal to get to by bus. It’s why I find the “anti-parking, parking=crime” crowd so obnoxious there. I too would love to visit that beautiful corner of West Seattle, but the lack of transit options and the removal of parking is a double whammy that only serves locals who don’t want outsiders.
WS Res June 18, 2025 (4:56 pm)

“if you’re mad at traffic, remember you are traffic”

KM June 18, 2025 (1:19 pm)

I didn’t think you all were super serious about his newsletter, but read it out of curiosity and my heavens this man should not be in office.

bill June 18, 2025 (1:28 pm)

Let us apply Mark Twain’s advice, “Eschew surplusage,” to Saka’s unhinged rant about Curby’s supporters’ motivations: “Expecting drivers, particularly immigrant, poor, drivers of color, to follow the traffic code is discriminatory. Preventing them from making illegal turns is oppression!”

k June 18, 2025 (1:28 pm)

That newsletter is a completely unhinged embarrassment, and rich coming from the same guy saying we should work with the Trump administration. He has no principles and stands for nothing and no one but Rob Saka. The man has been in a public feud with a traffic safety device for going on four years. He’s disavowing the change to Alki parking that he himself wrote into the budget. He chairs the Transportation committee but has the most dysfunctional relationship with SDOT any councilmember has had with any city department in memory. That’s not leadership, and what’s most pathetic is that he thinks it is.

bill June 18, 2025 (1:29 pm)

A little advice, Rob: Insulting your constituents and twisting their motivations will not get you reelected.

anonyme June 18, 2025 (1:39 pm)

This clown has also apparently forgotten that he represents all of West Seattle and beyond. He is obsessed only with relatively small issues occurring in his own little backyard while ignoring bigger and more important issues facing his constituency as a whole. He would not have been elected at all except for the fact that the pool of candidates keeps getting smaller and more incompetent. Saka presented as the least extreme of all the activists on the ballot, so that just goes to show how poor our options have been.

JustSarah June 18, 2025 (2:09 pm)

I agree with your first two sentences, then you lost me. Why did you thought Saka was the best option on the ballot? A lot of us knew he’d be a disaster and voted for his opponent, Maren Costa. Saka’s weak-minded nature was clear from the earliest candidate debates in that race. None of the primary competitors endorsed him.
- JustSarah June 18, 2025 (2:48 pm)
  
  D’oh, “why did you think”… That’s what I get for editing with 20 seconds on the clock!
- Nolan June 18, 2025 (3:43 pm)
  
  This cannot be overstated. Literally every other candidate on the ballot banded together to send voters the message that Saka was a shill and a clown we could not afford to elect: if you didn’t pay attention, that’s your fault.
  
  @Anonyme: it’s okay to regret your vote for Saka if, and *only* if, you take it as a lesson to pay more attention to those voices for every upcoming election for the rest of your life. Otherwise, it’s just excusing your poor judgment instead of taking responsibility for it.
k June 18, 2025 (3:28 pm)

I think Saka’s maniacal crusade against Curby is the most extreme activism that we’ve seen from a City Councilmember in memory. A crusade doesn’t have to be about a “leftist” cause to be activism. In trying to avoid “activists” you literally put the biggest activist of them all in office. I hope that lesson sticks with you for the next election cycle.
- JustSarah June 18, 2025 (3:38 pm)
  
  Nevermind the fact that he probably seemed “least extreme” because he doesn’t actually have a strong understanding of his district’s problems, and thus ducked and weaved through the election season by saying whatever he believed would get him the most votes in that moment. Those who voted for him really need to interrogate why, and adjust accordingly for the next election.
  - Jort June 18, 2025 (4:16 pm)
    
    “Oooga booga, the homeless people’s RVs are scary” was an extremely effective campaign platform in 2023.
    - anonyme June 19, 2025 (7:11 am)
      
      Jort, I don’t see any mention of RV’s in this thread. However, I am glad that the RV’s on Barton Pl. that were operating an open-air drug market, with people both using drugs (including fentanyl) and doing cash deals right on the sidewalk, blocks from several schools, was removed a couple of weeks ago.
anonyme June 19, 2025 (7:04 am)

Election campaigns may or may not be revealing, but are not crystal balls into the future. I actually do pay a great deal of attention to elections. Hindsight is 20/20, but I believe I did the best I could with the information I had. Those of you who were fans of Maren Costa obviously think that she would have done a good job, but you don’t know that for sure. IMHO, she was a one-note candidate, with no relevant experience aside from trying to shake things up at Amazon. Lack of endorsements from rivals are virtually meaningless, especially if those rivals are not themselves awe-inspiring. Almost as meaningless as condescending personal attacks on the choices of others who fail to possess your omnipotence. Almost.

Ben June 18, 2025 (2:52 pm)

Shootings everyday but hey let’s focus on that annoying curb…. Please resign.

Alex June 18, 2025 (4:20 pm)

Bullets have been raining down on me and my neighbor’s houses in High Point for the last few months. When I’ve personally reached out to Saka’s office, I’ve received no response. I guess it’s because he’s too busy worrying about this stupid curb and writing a really weird defensive newsletter, or holding a pointless meeting where he talks about himself. I’m very disapointed in Saka’s choice in priorities. Nobody in West Seattle can trust him to look out for our needs. He’s in this for himself.

Pete June 18, 2025 (4:59 pm)

You got exactly what you voted for. He is **exactly** as advertised.

CC June 18, 2025 (5:44 pm)

Truly. I still don’t understand why people voted for him.

TreeHouse June 18, 2025 (5:04 pm)

6 months of CONSTANT shootings happening at the exact same parking lot and his “highest priority” is this self-serving project that nobody in West Seattle actually wants? I’m beyond angry.I decided to read his latest newsletter after seeing the other comments, and what a train wreck. Our community leaders should not be pulling Trump-style gaslighting and stoking division. Maybe its time for him to step down and go back to working Fecebook.

Admiral-2009 June 18, 2025 (5:25 pm)

What I do not understand is why the RIFCP did not not bring the access concern up as a part of extensive Seattle process for the Rapid Ride project. The Rapid Ride on Delridge is constructed and the cost of any revisions need to be paid for by the RIFCP not City taxpayers.

jw June 18, 2025 (6:14 pm)

$500k, WOW This needs to go out to bid. SDOT also needs to show us the breakdown for this project. Plus what is happening with the $1.5 million.

Dave June 18, 2025 (7:28 pm)

Curby reminds me of the public toilet SF wanted to build, with costs rocketing to over 1.5 M before citizens said hey, wait, this is nuts. Except Curby is about one guy’s beef, not the public square. I am for all forms of transportation in a growing city. Bikes, buses, rail, cars, etc. No city can rely on one form over another. What really gets me is his use of social justice rhetoric as a defense. That is cynical BS and everyone can see it for what it is. For those who actually care about the issues he brings up its maddening to see him do this. Dump this guy next election or recall him sooner.

Canton June 18, 2025 (9:52 pm)

Agree, “one guy’s beef”… The half a million revision is for daycare only parking, and a U-turn for his benefit. Completely self centered with narcissist reasoning.

That curb is annoying June 18, 2025 (10:22 pm)

I drive this route every day and that divider thing gets pretty annoying. One time we were all waiting 10+ minutes because of a disabled bus and other times cars become disabled in that same spot!! Drives me nuts. No way to go around it

Jort June 18, 2025 (11:36 pm)

If the divider wasn’t there, it would be a double yellow line, which would make it still illegal to pass the bus. Just wait.
TreeHouse June 19, 2025 (7:44 am)

I’m not sure a one-time inconvenience of 10 minutes for a handful of drivers justifies a $2,000,000 price tag let alone a $500,000 one — especially during a time where our city has a major budget shortfall. It’s not a “border wall” that “traumatizes immigrant communities”, its a cement curb to stop people from unsafely and illegally driving into the opposing lane’s oncoming traffic.

Jay June 19, 2025 (7:52 am)

He still represents the average person in West Seattle. There’s still a huge gap between who we are and who we want to be. We’re a NIMBY enclave and he is doing what voters want.

Meeeee June 19, 2025 (8:40 am)

Y’all think his newsletter is unhinged?You should listen to him in council meetings to get the full Saka. Especially when it’s one of the committees he chairs.The man is an ego topped by self-conceit with a mixer of ignorance thrown in for good measure.

JustSarah June 19, 2025 (9:22 am)

Oh, I’ve seen and heard it in multiple venues. Personally I was done after debates KUOW hosted during the campaign. He sounded like an egotistical moron then, and theoretically he should have been on his best behavior to win over voters. He was clearly a bad choice from the beginning.

Recall Saka June 19, 2025 (2:43 pm)

The amount of time and energy wasted on this are only exceeded by the unhinged rant in that newsletter.When do we start collecting signatures for a recall election? Is the initiative already underway? Sign me up.