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Looking for preschool in West Seattle? Westside School is re-launching theirs
April 25, 2017 12:53 pm
|      1 COMMENT
 |   Arbor Heights | West Seattle news | West Seattle schools

Just announced by Westside School (WSB sponsor) in Arbor Heights:

Westside School will once again open its doors to three- and four-year-olds for a half- and full-day preschool program for the fall of 2017. Expanding upon our current pre-kindergarten program, we will offer emergent curriculum focused on experiential learning and inspired by a variety of teaching practices. Preschool students will have access to many of our specialists, such as visual art, performing arts, physical education, and world languages.

Great early-childhood education has been a hallmark of Westside School since its founding in 1981 and we are thrilled to announce the return of our preschool after a several-year hiatus. We encourage families to join us for our Preschool Preview or a tour.

Westside School is now accepting applications for preschool and other grades (depending on availability) for the fall 2017. For more information, please contact Ted Holmes in our Office of Admission, tedh@westsideschool.org or 206.932.2511.

Important Dates:

Tuesday, May 9: Preschool Preview, 10:00 to 11:00 am. Meet the preschool teachers and learn about the program in detail. Parents and guardians only, please.

Tuesday, May 23, Student Observation, 10:00 to 11:00 am. We will meet prospective students in a short observation session.

Tours for all grades: Available upon request: 206.932.2511

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Southwest Design Review Board doubleheader, report #2: 4220 SW 100th gets OK to move to next phase
April 20, 2017 11:40 pm
|      6 COMMENTS
 |   Arbor Heights | Development | West Seattle news


(4220 SW 100th massing rendering by Lemons Architecture)

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

“We changed a lot.”

That’s how architect Jonathan Lemons described what’s happened since the first meeting for the second project that went before the Southwest Design Review Board tonight – a nine-unit proposal for the ex-church site at 4220 SW 100th in Arbor Heights,

SWDRB members present for this hearing were chair Matt Zinski, Don Caffrey, Alexandra Moravec, and fill-in Robin Murphy (a former board member). The project’s assigned city planner, Tami Garrett, was on hand too.

You can see the design packet prepared for tonight’s meeting here, and/or embedded below:

This was a second round of Early Design Guidance, as ordered at the conclusion of the project’s first review back in January (WSB coverage here). That means it’s the phase where the focus is on massing – size, shape, placement on the site – rather than appearance details.

Architect Lemons opened the meeting, per the standard format:

Read More

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UPDATE: Two crashes in Arbor Heights
April 18, 2017 3:32 pm
|      24 COMMENTS
 |   Arbor Heights | West Seattle news | WS breaking news


(35th/108th crash – photo by Brent Lindblom)

3:32 PM: Big Seattle Fire “heavy rescue” response is on the way to 35th SW/SW 108th in Arbor Heights. More to come.

3:36 PM: Per scanner, the person in the vehicle is OK and the response is being downsized.

3:48 PM: SFD is also at the scene of another Arbor Heights crash, 39th/98th, and we’ll have our crew check on that one too.

4 PM: Thanks to Brent Lindblom for sending a photo from 35th/108th, added above. (He talked to the driver before authorities arrived and says, “He apparently had a dizzy spell and hit the light post.”) Our crew also has briefly stopped there and verified that the driver was not hurt; the road will be clear once the truck is towed. We’re on the way now to the other crash scene.

4:10 PM: Two cars collided at 39th/98th, and a woman had to be extricated from the Toyota in the photo above, we’ve been told at the scene. She was taken to a hospital by private ambulance.

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DELRIDGE RAPIDRIDE H LINE: Westwood-Roxhill-Arbor Heights Community Council discussion Tuesday
April 2, 2017 11:57 pm
|      1 COMMENT
 |   Arbor Heights | Highland Park | Transportation | West Seattle news | Westwood

While the transformation of Metro Route 120 into the RapidRide H Line is three years away, major decisions are being made now, and this is the time to bring up concerns to SDOT and Metro, both leading the project because city dollars are helping pay for it. Since the new planning phase revved up last month, the West Seattle Transportation Coalition (WSB coverage here) and Delridge Neighborhoods District Council (WSB coverage here) have hosted discussions/briefings. And this week, it’s the centerpiece of the Westwood-Roxhill-Arbor Heights Community Council agenda (6:15 pm Tuesday, Southwest Library). The WWRHAH agenda says the discussion with SDOT/Metro reps will include “mobility issues surrounding the Westwood Village ‘transit hub’ and the Westwood/Highland Park Urban Village.” All are welcome; the library’s on the southeast corner of 35th SW and SW Henderson.

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SIDEWALKS ON THE WAY: 3 projects in West Seattle this year
March 20, 2017 5:16 pm
|      14 COMMENTS
 |   Arbor Heights | Delridge | Safety | Transportation | West Seattle news

Three stretches of West Seattle streets are due for new sidewalks this year, as shown on the map above, made public as Mayor Murray spotlighted the city’s updated Pedestrian Master Plan today.

*35th SW in Arbor Heights between 100th and 106th adds to the sidewalks built north of there 5 years ago

*Arbor Heights also will get a block of sidewalk along SW 104th between 35th and 36th, just east of AH Elementary

*In Delridge, sidewalks are on the way to SW Orchard between Myrtle and Dumar

Today’s full announcement says the mayor is sending the plan to City Council later this week. If you’d like to look into the future to see where future work might be focused, the “priority investment network” map for our area starts on page 60 of the full Pedestrian Master Plan.

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West Seattle development: 4220 SW 100th, 4754 Fauntleroy Way go back to Design Review Board on April 20th
March 14, 2017 5:08 pm
|      5 COMMENTS
 |   Arbor Heights | Development | Triangle | West Seattle news

While the official notices are not yet out, the city has penciled in a date for the Southwest Design Review Board‘s next look at two local projects of note. Both are now on the SWDRB calendar for Thursday, April 20th:

4754 FAUNTLEROY WAY SW: This Triangle project on the site of a former pawn shop (and the parking lot to its north) is proposed for 108 apartments, 10 live-work units, and 107 offstreet-parking spaces. The review set for 6:30 pm on April 20th is the second and potentially final one for this project; here’s our report on the first one last August.

4220 SW 100TH: This Arbor Heights project proposing 9 three-story live-work units and 8 offstreet-parking spaces on the site of a former church is set for the 8 pm spot on April 20th. After the board took its first look at the project in January (WSB coverage here), it ordered a second round of Early Design Guidance – the stage in which size/shape comprise much of the discussion – so that’s what’ll be happening.

The “design packets” for these reviews – both happening at the Senior Center of West Seattle, the SWDRB’s regular venue in recent years – aren’t out yet; we’ll publish followups when they are.

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@ Westwood-Roxhill-Arbor Heights CC: Concerns for councilmember; crimefighting progress; more
March 9, 2017 12:33 am
|      3 COMMENTS
 |   Arbor Heights | West Seattle news | Westwood

(Southwestern side of Roxhill Bog – WSB photo from March 2014)

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

It’s been three years since the then-fledgling Westwood-Roxhill-Arbor Heights Community Council put out a call for help with the issues threatening Roxhill Bog, historic headwaters for Longfellow Creek. The bog had been a community concern for years before that, and underwent some restoration, but needs help beyond what community stewardship and work parties can offer. That was one of the topics brought up at WWRHAH’s meeting last night when City Councilmember Lisa Herbold – in her second year in office – sat down for a conversation, the centerpiece of a meeting that touched on other topics too: Read More

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Question/comment for your city councilmember? Lisa Herbold at WWRHAH Community Council next Tuesday
February 28, 2017 5:31 pm
|      5 COMMENTS
 |   Arbor Heights | Neighborhoods | West Seattle news | Westwood

As announced at this month’s Westwood-Roxhill-Arbor Heights Community Council meeting (WSB coverage here), West Seattle/South Park City Councilmember Lisa Herbold will be the guest at March’s meeting, the just-released agenda confirms. All are welcome at the meeting, which is one week from tonight – Tuesday, March 7th, 6:15 pm at Southwest Library (35th SW/SW Henderson).

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@ Westwood-Roxhill-Arbor Heights Community Council: HALA, crime/safety, cooking…
February 8, 2017 8:49 pm
|    Comments Off on @ Westwood-Roxhill-Arbor Heights Community Council: HALA, crime/safety, cooking…
 |   Arbor Heights | Neighborhoods | West Seattle news | Westwood

Tuesday night was not much of a night for meeting-going, with slush and ice still on the roads, but hardy executive-board members Amanda Kay Helmick, Eric Iwamoto, and Kim Barnes were at the Southwest Library for February’s meeting of the Westwood-Roxhill-Arbor Heights Community Council, as were guests Lt. Ron Smith of the Southwest Precinct and Jordan Lowe from startup Josephine.com. Over the course of an hour, here are the toplines of what they talked about:

SOUTHWEST PRECINCT UPDATES: Lt. Smith said the Parks Department was cutting more vegetation by the Roxhill Park bus stop earlier in the day, to increase visibility to reduce crime and other problems. (Helmick mentioned that Metro is getting close to permits for the long-requested lighting alongside the park and is now projecting installation in March.) Businesses in the area are contacting police more often about problems. Then, area crime stats – “a huge increase in vehicle thefts” lately, especially Arbor Heights, Lt. Smith said. Six more than the area had seen by this time last year. But they’ve been making arrests, too. And car prowls are down, as are residential burglaries and robberies. So far this year, there’s been one non-residential burglary in the area, compared to none last year.

HALA REZONING: Barnes has been birddogging this and says that because turnout was low for November’s little-publicized Housing Affordability and Livability Agenda-related Community Design Workshop for the Westwood-Highland Park Urban Village meeting was so anemic, the city Office of Planning and Community Development has offered to have another meeting for this area. It’ll be March 1st at Highland Park Improvement Club, start time TBA. They’ll go over notes from the November meeting and get into more details about how to provide community feedback on the proposed rezoning.

JOSEPHINE.COM: Jordan Lowe from Mount Baker was an invited guest to talk about this startup, which “allows home cooks to sell food to their neighbors.” He is one of those cooks and said he uses it as supplementary income. “I pick what I want to cook, how much I want to charge, put it on the website, people come and pick it up. … Over the last couple months we’ve been growing a lot in Seattle.” All cooks need to have a food handler’s permit, he said, and the company pays for it if necessary; they also check out the cooks’ kitchens. He went into some of the details. So far, West Seattle has “three or four people” who are going through the application process. Yes, there’s a catch – “we operate in a gray area,” as Lowe put it when we asked – the meals have to technically be considered “events” by health authorities rather than people making and selling food for purchase. The company started in California and expanded to Portland and Seattle.

NEXT WWRHAH MEETING: Councilmember Lisa Herbold is scheduled to be at the March WWRHAH meeting. The discussion of the group’s direction also has been moved to that meeting (6:15 pm, Tuesday, March 7th, Southwest Library, 35th SW/SW Henderson).

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Ceremonial groundbreaking for West Seattle charter school Summit Atlas
February 2, 2017 11:56 pm
|      56 COMMENTS
 |   Arbor Heights | West Seattle news | West Seattle schools

charter1
(WSB photos by Patrick Sand)

Tonight’s ceremonial “groundbreaking” for West Seattle’s first charter school, Summit Atlas, happened indoors. That’s where the first phase of work to convert the former church/supermarket site at 9601 35th SW will happen – starting next week, according to Summit officials.

It’s been two years since we broke the news that this school was on the way, after discovering an early-stage plan in city files. Tonight, Summit displayed renderings of how the campus will look once they’ve added Phase II, an addition so there’s eventually room for full sixth through 12th grades:

charterdrawings

Right now, they have about 125 applicants, split between the sixth and ninth grades with which Summit Atlas will be launched in August, Summit officials told us tonight. They’re accepting applications through March 10th, with a lottery set for the next day if they have more applicants than spaces (they had told us last summer they expected to launch with about 100 students in each of those two grades). The school’s executive director (principal) is Katie Bubalo:

charterkatie

We introduced you to Bubalo in this story last August, when the school year began at Summit Sierra in the ID, one of the two schools Summit (based in California) has already opened in Western Washington. Summit told us that the changes made to their building there are similar to what they plan here. A Summit Sierra 9th grader, Jayla Foster, spoke at tonight’s event:

charterfoster

She said she hopes to become a doctor, and appreciates the “personal attention” the school offers.

Summit Atlas originally was slated to open in fall of last year, but was pushed back a year amid the battle over state funding for charter schools. While a bill passed to provide money from a lottery-related source, charter opponents went to court again and that suit hasn’t been resolved yet. Charters also have support from donors such as those funding the organization that bought and is fixing up the 35th/Roxbury site for Summit Atlas.

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YOU CAN HELP! Arbor Heights Elementary PTA invites you to ‘Mission: Possible’
January 31, 2017 6:14 pm
|      3 COMMENTS
 |   Arbor Heights | How to help | West Seattle news | West Seattle schools

The heart of the season for student-benefiting dinner/auctions is approaching, and Arbor Heights Elementary PTA asked us to share their invitation for you to help by attending “Mission: Possible” – 5:30-10 pm Friday, March 10th, at The Hall at Fauntleroy. Tickets are available now – buy yours here; find out more about the event here. Their message: “Please accept this mission and support our community!”

(Have a benefit, PTA meeting, or other event coming up? We can include it in our calendar if you e-mail the info to editor@westseattleblog.com – thank you!)

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WEST SEATTLE CRIME WATCH: 1 arrested after Arbor Heights car prowl leads to search
January 23, 2017 1:21 pm
|      15 COMMENTS
 |   Arbor Heights | Crime | West Seattle news

For everyone who asked about the Arbor Heights police search early this morning – officers were gone by the time we got there in search of information, but we’ve just obtained details from the report, via SPD media relations. Around 6 am, a call about a car prowl in progress brought officers to the 3500 block of SW 112th. “Two car prowlers were said to have been chased off by one of the two victims,” Det. Mark Jamieson tells us. A K-9 team tracked the suspects to a nearby driveway, hiding “inbetween cars.” One got away; the other, a 28-year-old man, was arrested for investigation of car prowling and trespass.

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UPDATE: Fire response in Arbor Heights
January 22, 2017 4:57 pm
|      2 COMMENTS
 |   Arbor Heights | West Seattle fires | West Seattle news

IMG_1310
(WSB photo)

4:57 PM: A sizable Seattle Fire Department response is arriving in the 10200 block of 38th SW [map] in Arbor Heights for a possible house fire. First crews are not seeing anything, though. We’re on our way and will be updating.

5 PM: SFD crews have radioed that this was a kitchen fire and is now out, so many of the units are being canceled.

5:06 PM: Our crew on scene confirms this. Firefighters say it was a grease fire and the resident(s) extinguished it. No significant damage, no injuries.

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INAUGURATION DAY: Westside School walkout
January 20, 2017 9:58 am
|      37 COMMENTS
 |   Arbor Heights | West Seattle news | West Seattle schools

westsidekids

9:58 AM: Though much of the discussion of possible Inauguration Day student walkouts has focused on Seattle Public Schools, the first walkout of the day turned out to be from an independent school. A tip from a parent (thank you!) led us to Westside School (WSB sponsor) in Arbor Heights, where some of the preK-8 school’s older students walked out at 9 am, heading along 35th SW to SW Roxbury, then east for a bit and back to the school. More photos later.

ADDED 11:59 AM: Two more photos:

westsidekids3

westsidekids2

According to a letter sent to Westside families (shared with us by parents), middle-school students approached teachers and administrators yesterday with their plan for a demonstration. Here is an image of the letter – we are asking the school for a copy:

Also see comments below for explanations from students.

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If you have brown water in east Arbor Heights …
January 11, 2017 9:19 pm
|    Comments Off on If you have brown water in east Arbor Heights …
 |   Arbor Heights | Utilities | West Seattle news

No, it’s not a water break. Your neighbor Joe Szilagyi already inquired with Seattle Public Utilities and shares what he found out:

We had SPU out in the mid block the past two days on 32nd between 97th and 100th cleaning sewers and they had to tap the fire hydrant heavily today to finish the job — all the water is very brown SPU told us approximately from 97th to 100th on 32nd, *maybe* adjacent blocks. It should be fine tomorrow morning sometime if no one uses the water, more usage slows the sediment settling. They said if it’s still brown tomorrow for people to call SPU.

The number to call would be the one we’ve published many times – the one Joe used, too – 206-386-1800.

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Design Review doubleheader, report #1: Second round of Early Design Guidance ordered for 4220 SW 100th
January 5, 2017 8:24 pm
|      52 COMMENTS
 |   Arbor Heights | Development | West Seattle news

designreviewrendering4220

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

For the first time in months, the Southwest Design Review Board had a full house – this time for the first look (aka “Early Design Guidance”) at nine live-work units proposed at 4220 SW 100th in Arbor Heights.

crowdah

At meeting’s end, they told the project team to come back for a second round of Early Design Guidance, after an intense hour and a half of comments, questions, and concerns.

The project’s assigned city planner Tami Garrett asked if anyone had questions before the meeting – and they did. About parking, and even about who the board members were and how they were appointed. (Like the city’s other DRBs, they are volunteers, appointed by the City Council. When there’s an opening, it’s announced publicly, with a call for applications.)

Three were present – Matt Zinski as chair, with Robin Murphy (a fill-in and former member) and Alexandra Moravec.

Here’s how the meeting unfolded: Read More

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FOLLOWUP: Comment time for land-use application at Arbor Heights charter-school site
January 5, 2017 10:35 am
|      20 COMMENTS
 |   Arbor Heights | West Seattle news | West Seattle schools

img_1109
(WSB photo from last week)

Last week, we brought you an update on the plans for remodeling and addition work at the ex-church/ex-supermarket at 9601 35th SW that is set to become charter school Summit Atlas this fall. As mentioned in our update, the formal land-use-permit application is now on file with the city, and that meant a new public-comment period would soon begin. Today’s Land Use Information Bulletin brought the official notice – see it here. If you’re interested in commenting, here’s how. The permit is required for the second phase of the project, involving a two-story addition to make more space for the school; work is expected to start soon on the first phase, which mostly involves interior remodeling of the existing building. (Our report from last August included a look at a building elsewhere in the city that the charter company already has remodeled, telling us the plan for use of the Arbor Heights space is similar.) Deadline for comments, meantime, is January 18th.

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CHARTER SCHOOL: Work about to start at Arbor Heights site of Summit Atlas
December 29, 2016 9:03 pm
|      62 COMMENTS
 |   Arbor Heights | West Seattle news | West Seattle schools

img_1109

Almost exactly two years after we broke the news of West Seattle’s first charter school planned in an ex-church/ex-supermarket in Arbor Heights, site work is about to start. The middle/high school to be called Summit Atlas is planning to open with sixth- and ninth-grade classes in fall of 2017, one year later than originally planned, after charters lost and then regained state funding. James Heugas of Washington Charter School Development, which purchased the site in 2015 for $4.75 million, tells WSB that they expect to start work by mid-January on the first phase, interior remodeling for the first phase. They also have “submitted drawings” in the land-use-permit process for the second phase, which will involve a two-story addition – that’s why the new notification signs (including the one in our photo) are up. A formal city notice will likely be out soon, opening a comment period for that application. (See the “preliminary site plan” here.)

We asked what neighbors will see on the sprawling site once the remodeling work begins; Heugas says it depends on whether they will be able to keep the building’s existing roof, which they are currently discussing with the contractor. Because there’s so much room on the site, he expects that the crews and materials will be largely kept within its confines, minimizing disruption to neighbors. (For more on what’s planned at the Arbor Heights site, see our August report.)

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About that Arbor Heights water break
December 19, 2016 9:57 pm
|    Comments Off on About that Arbor Heights water break
 |   Arbor Heights | Utilities | West Seattle news

From the “just in case you were wondering” file: After hearing about a water problem in south Arbor Heights late today, we checked with Seattle Public Utilities. Spokesperson Andy Ryan tells WSB,”We had a 4-inch water main break this afternoon (in the 10800 block of) 37th Ave. SW. Water was back on at 5:15.” Just a reminder – if you have a water problem, the SPU number to call to report it is 206-386-1800. (And then let us know! Unlike electricity outages, water outages don’t have an online map.)

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TOMORROW: Live/work in Westwood, Roxhill, Arbor Heights? Check out what’s your community council is up to
November 6, 2016 1:12 pm
|    Comments Off on TOMORROW: Live/work in Westwood, Roxhill, Arbor Heights? Check out what’s your community council is up to
 |   Arbor Heights | Neighborhoods | West Seattle news | Westwood

Tomorrow (Monday) night, the Westwood-Roxhill-Arbor Heights Community Council meets, and you’re invited. We have added the full agenda to the meeting’s listing on the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar; major items include another update on the action plan resulting from July’s Find It, Fix It Walk, and a look ahead to Green Seattle Day volunteering on November 12th. The meeting starts at 6:15 pm, upstairs at Southwest Library (35th SW/SW Henderson).

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@ Westwood-Roxhill-Arbor Heights Community Council: Find It, Fix It followup & more
October 5, 2016 1:40 pm
|      2 COMMENTS
 |   Arbor Heights | West Seattle news | Westwood

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

Two months after the Westwood-Roxhill Find It, Fix It Walk with Mayor Murray and a platoon of city employees, has anything been “fixed”? That was the biggest item – and the final one – on the agenda for this month’s Westwood-Roxhill-Arbor Heights Community Council meeting.

FIND IT, FIX IT FOLLOWUP: Lemmis Stephens and Laura Jenkins, working with the city via AmeriCorps, came to WWRHAH for the followup. Here’s the report they brought:

Jenkins pointed out that pages 7-9 show which projects were awarded grants – one of the neighbor groups, at 22nd and Henderson, will have one more work party this Saturday, and, as reported here a week and a half ago, have been paid a visit by overgrowth-munching goats: Read More

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TOMORROW: In Arbor Heights? Westwood? Roxhill? Your community council beckons
October 2, 2016 2:30 pm
|    Comments Off on TOMORROW: In Arbor Heights? Westwood? Roxhill? Your community council beckons
 |   Arbor Heights | West Seattle news | Westwood

Want to see change in your neighborhood? One easy way is to jump in with the people who are already working on it – but can’t do it alone – your all-volunteer community council. Next West Seattle group to meet is the Westwood-Roxhill-Arbor Heights Community Council, 6:15 pm tomorrow (Monday, October 3rd), at Southwest Library (35th/Henderson). Agenda items include following up on July’s Find It, Fix It Walk (WSB coverage here) and information about the new Westside Neighbors Network. See the full agenda preview in our calendar listing – and if the issue that interests you isn’t featured, show up and speak up!

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ROAD-WORK ALERT: Paving on 35th SW in Arbor Heights tomorrow
September 30, 2016 3:47 pm
|      5 COMMENTS
 |   Arbor Heights | West Seattle news | West Seattle traffic alerts

More SDOT paving work on 35th SW – this time, tomorrow in Arbor Heights. Just out of the inbox:

The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) advises travelers that crews will be repaving the intersection of 35th Ave SW and SW 100th on Saturday, October 1. This work is weather dependent.

From 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, October 1, travelers can expect the following:

· Crews will be excavating and repaving the intersection of 35th Ave SW and SW 100th.

· Traffic on 35th Ave SW at the intersection will be down to one lane. Flaggers will direct traffic.

· There will be no parking in the work zone.

· Travelers may enter and exit nearby driveways, but may have to wait up to 15 minutes for equipment to clear.

This project is part of SDOT’s 2016 Arterial Major Maintenance (AMM) program. The AMM program maintains our busiest streets by making strategic small scale investments at key locations on city streets.

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