Update on Park(ing) Day: West Seattle plan in the works
(Providence, RI, Park(ing) Day photo by Laurencia Strauss and Kate Field)
In our coverage of the last Alki Community Council meeting, we mentioned that a Feet First rep had previewed the upcoming Park(ing) Day, which the Seattle Parks Foundation describes on this webpage as “a one-day, global event to highlight the need for more urban open space, rethink the way green space can happen, and improve the quality of urban human habitat.” Specifically, regular old parking spaces – like the one in the photo above – are turned into temporary parks for a day; this year, that day is Friday, 9/19. We’ve been waiting to hear about a specific West Seattle plan; looks like one’s in the formative stages now, and reaching out to you – here’s what we hear from Todd Burley at SPF:
… we are working with the West Seattle Junction Association to create a “park” at the Alaska Junction because of our partnership with them to create Junction Plaza Park. We’d love to raise awareness about
this opportunity for folks in West Seattle and see if anyone is interested in creating other “parks” at the Junction …
Right now, Burley says, SPF will team with WSJA to convert one parking space, but: “If we can do more, we just might. Ideally we’d like to get multiple groups from W. Seattle together to create many parks at the Alaska Junction under one street-use permit (which makes it cheaper).” If you want to get involved, this page at the SPF site explains how; a training session is coming up next week for interested participants, but the SPF would love to hear from you sooner.
august 13th
West Seattle air alert: “Smog Watch” in effect
The Puget Sound Clean Air Agency has just called a “smog watch” for all of King, Kitsap, Pierce, and Snohomish counties, because the air is stagnating and hotter weather’s on the way. It’s expected to last until at least Wednesday evening. Here’s what the agency suggests you can be doing to help lessen the severity:
-Driving your most fuel-efficient car, and combining errands into one trip.
-Skipping gasoline-powered yard work and gas-fueled recreation.
-Carpooling or riding the bus to work, events and outings.
-Refueling your car in the cooler evening hours
Full details on this PSCAA page. (And you can check the current air quality here!)
Alki Car-Free Day report #2: Activity ideas, plus a city request
That video is from our chat with Abby Suplizio, who leads the West Seattle chapter of CoolMom — the group that got first word of the September 7th Alki “Car-Free Day” (as reported here last Friday). We talked about their potential ideas for the big day, right after it was officially announced today at a beachfront news conference along Alki. Our first report from this morning has full details, including a map of the Harbor/California Way-to-Alki/63rd closure zone (direct map link here). Suplizio’s group members are not the only ones now brainstorming plans for ways to make the six-hour event (noon-6 pm) special — so are Coastal owners Christy Pudduck and Sarah Steere; at the news conference, Steere said they’re hoping not only to see new customers, but to entice West Seattle locals to really come enjoy the beach area:
Coastal, in fact, had a sandbox event out front of its Alki store back on May 31st to celebrate the 5th anniversary of their business (WSB photos here). So what about the operational specifics of the fact that that the September 7th “Car-Free Day” will not be entirely “car-free” along Harbor/Alki? Just ahead, what SDOT director Grace Crunican — who, like the mayor, lives in West Seattle — told us, plus a city request for help:Read More
Two more ways recycling is going beyond the bin out back
First: The demolition work at the ex-Hancock/Schuck’s/future Fauntleroy Place site at Alaska/39th/Fauntleroy is in its second week, and as we’ve mentioned, it’s proceeded more slowly than many such jobs because so much of the old building is being recycled. This morning, en route back to WSB HQ from the Alki Car-Free Day announcement (report #1 here; report #2 in the works), we caught that photo of a grinder helping take care of the biggest pile, the wood debris. Second: We have word from Amy Lee Derenthal at The Kenney that: “We’re the first retirement community to join the Seattle Climate Partnership — the city’s arm to help employers reduce pollution that harms the planet.” She sends this photo:
That’s The Kenney’s facilities director Daniel Casey with Eva Nieto from the Dining Services staff. Food-waste recycling is part of what The Kenney is doing as part of its “greening,” along with using paper towels made from recycled fiber, switching to compact fluorescent light bulbs, and implementing energy-conservation measures such as turning off computer equipment at night. Casey is using a special database to track The Kenney’s “carbon footprint”; he also says the facility is looking at possibly installing solar-power features on the roofs of new buildings in the redevelopment project that’s coming up within the next few years (potentially doubling residential capacity, which is now at 180).
Report #1: Alki Car-Free Day confirmed for noon-6 Sept. 7th
What we reported here last Friday night is now officially confirmed: Alki’s “Car-Free Day” is set for noon-6 pm Sunday, September 7th. According to the official information handed out at the announcement event that just concluded at Alki/Bonair with Mayor Nickels and SDOT director Grace Crunican (pictured above) — both West Seattleites — plus City Councilmember Jan Drago and others, the closure will be from Harbor Ave/California Way SW to Alki Ave/63rd. Here’s a map (the hikers mark the western and eastern ends of the closure):
View Larger Map
Here’s video of the mayor explaining how he got into the spirit of the announcement while on the way there:
As we also had reported, the “Car-Free Day” won’t be entirely vehicle-free — there will be a lane for the Water Taxi shuttle and for residents who can’t get to Alki homes any other way; that’ll be the curb lane. Many more details and video to come in report #2; the mayor was joined at the announcement by West Seattleites including Christy Pudduck and Sarah Steere, the entrepreneurs who run Coastal on Alki — you’ll hear from them in report #2, along with Abby Suplizio, who leads the West Seattle chapter of CoolMom, the group that got first word of the impending announcement. Car-Free Days also were announced for Capitol Hill and Rainier Valley areas; read ahead for the official city news release:Read More
Today/tonight: Alki to Delridge to The Junction, and beyond
Starting with “beyond” — offshore, in this case:
ELLIOTT BAY: The Seafair fleet is expected to arrive in the bay around 1 pm, parading past Pier 66, docking at Pier 90, so there should be West Seattle viewing opportunities. More info here on Thursday-Sunday touring opportunities. According to the Coast Guard Local Notice for Mariners, the vessels expected include USS Princeton, USS Germantown, USCGC Steadfast, and three Canadian ships – HMCS Yellowknife, HMCS Saskatoon, and HMCS Raven.
ALKI: As previously mentioned, we’ll be there this morning for the mayor’s announcement of upcoming Car-Free Days, including one for Alki (you heard it here first last Friday; 9/7 is the expected day). We’ll send out first word of the official announcement as it happens via Twitter (check the aqua box halfway down the sidebar on all WSB pages).
DELRIDGE: First community meeting for the skatepark (which as reported here will be designed by a West Seattle firm), Delridge Community Center, 7:30 pm.
JUNCTION: Ginomai (SW corner of 42nd/Genesee) is the scene of the next “Project Runway” party to cheer for Hotwire Coffee (WSB sponsor) barista Blayne, doors open 8 pm, show on the big-screen TV at 9, bring a nonalcoholic beverage and small dessert to share.
Dozens more West Seattle events, from today on into 2009, all listed here.
Update: “Car-Free Day” announcement set for Alki tomorrow
We reported here late Friday night that Mayor Nickels was expected to announce this week that Alki will indeed have a “Car-Free Day” before summer’s out (a source told us it’ll be September 7th). And now it’s confirmed that the mayor is making an announcement at Alki tomorrow morning, though it’s described only as an event where he “will announce the dates and the streets chosen for the city’s Car-Free Days. As part of the city’s ‘Give Your Car the Summer Off’ campaign to combat global warming, selected roadways will be open to only pedestrians and bicyclists on designated summer Sundays.” We’ll be there to bring you the official word as soon as it’s announced.
Bag fee vote tomorrow – looking for bag-buying suggestions tonight
Tomorrow afternoon at its 2 pm meeting, the City Council is expected to vote on the bag-fee and foam-ban proposal — you can read the full details here. If it’s approved as currently written, it’ll kick in the first of next year, and you’ll pay 20 cents for every nonreusable shopping bag you get at the store. So you may be in the market for reusable bags if you don’t have them already. No shortage of places to buy them – got one to recommend? (In addition to every supermarket imaginable, we know of at least two other places: WSB sponsor Click! Design That Fits sells Envirosax for $9.50; PB&J Textiles told us a few months back about bags they were selling for $4 at the time – haven’t checked lately if the price/availability has changed.)
Bulletin: Alki “Car-Free Day” to be announced next week
WSB has learned tonight that the mayor plans to announce next week that there will definitely be a “Car-Free Day” at Alki this summer. This information comes from CoolMom, whose leaders are helping organize part of the event on Alki next week at which details will be announced. We were first to report that a day like this was expected to be included in the city’s “Give Your Car The Summer Off” campaign (here’s our report from June 12th), but when last we checked with SDOT, it wasn’t a done deal – till now. We don’t have the exact date, but CoolMom’s been told that it will be for six hours, on a Sunday. One other important note: Apparently it won’t be 100% vehicle-free — a lane reportedly will remain open for the Water Taxi shuttle and for local residents on the stretch of Alki SW whose homes (particularly the condo buildings) cannot be reached any other way. More info on the Alki “Car-Free Day” as we get it. (CoolMom, by the way, is a moms’ group founded to support lifestyles with lower ecological impact; we told you in April about its West Seattle chapter, which meets monthly; contact info is here.) 11:57 PM ADDITION: Since we first published this, we’ve learned the Alki “Car-Free Day” date is expected to be Sunday, September 7th.
Wednesday afternoon links and notes
MERCURY FROM CEMENT PLANTS: They’re not in West Seattle but they (and other Duwamish-area industrial operations) affect the air quality here (and come up in discussions such as this recent WSB comment thread about a “mystery smell”). Today the Times reports an environmental group says the emissions from Lafarge and Ash Grove cement plants include up to 91 pounds of mercury a year. The Times story (at this moment, anyway) doesn’t link to the group’s report, but we found it here.
SHE’S A CHAMP: Think people tend to get weaker with age? 48-year-old Tamela Thomas of West Seattle is among those who can disabuse you of that notion. The Weekly writes about her historic martial-arts win.
MORE TIME TO ORDER ROTARY BLUEBERRIES: Another harvest delay is changing the Rotary Club of West Seattle blueberry pickup date – which means more time to order if you haven’t done so already – now pickups are projected for August 8-9. Raspberries will be here this weekend as scheduled, however. You can order blueberries from the Rotary website till August 5th; notes Rotary member Josh Sutton of the West Seattle Family YMCA (WSB sponsor), “These sales support our annual Holiday Kids Shopping Spree, where we take about 100 kids to Sears and buy them new clothes, shoes and winter coats each December. And the berries are yummy.”
INTERESTED IN GOING TO INDIA OR FRANCE? This too comes from the Rotarians, but it’s a citywide announcement – “young businesspeople” who are NOT Rotary Club members are invited to apply for an exchange program to spend a month in India or France. Find out all about it here.
Postmortem on the 45th/Trenton tree: It was there first
We went back a little while ago to check on the 45th/Trenton (map) tree, finally taken down today (WSB coverage from this morning, including links to previous reports, here) after years of conflict with power lines and trimming work related to those lines. Looking at the circumference of its remains, we realized the tree obviously was there long before the power lines – how long, you ask?
Nearby resident Elise, who provided photos for this morning’s story, sent that one, and the one below, with the report that a neighbor had decided to estimate the tree’s age. On its rings, he marked a timeline:
Final estimate: About 140 years, dating back to about 1868, only 17 years after the Denny Party got here. One notable West Seattle event in 1868, according to HistoryLink: Doc Maynard sold his 320-acre farm on Alki Point for $450. The first electric service in Seattle was still 18 years away, according to Seattle City Light‘s history webpage.
Another “demolition”: 45th/Trenton “sad tree” coming down
The Schuck’s/Hancock building (Fauntleroy Place) isn’t all that’s coming down today. Elise sent the shown-above photo of the tree on the southwest corner of 45th/Trenton — known at her house, she says, as “the sad tree” — posted last month for removal (June WSB coverage here) after utility-related tree trimming in the area (May WSB coverage here) left it in somewhat unsustainable shape:
City Light had told WSB that its owner agreed to have it removed (at city expense), with two “power-line-appropriate” trees to be planted in the spot. From one of our previous stories, Jenny had sent this photo of how what she called the “candelabra tree” once looked:
Though City Light said the work on this tree was done appropriately, and its demise can instead be blamed on the unfortunate fact it grew under power lines, the utility also told us in May that the trimming on another tree nearby was botched badly enough that the crew that did it was removed from the contract.
Reader reports: Potential “red tide” @ Lincoln Park
Michale Farrar sent that photo along with one of two WSB reader reports we have received today about this unusual coloration along the northern Lincoln Park shoreline. (Thanks also to Amy for e-mailing about it.) The state Health Department‘s biotoxin page doesn’t include any new “red tide” alerts, nor does its hotline; we’ll let you know if we find out anything from anyone else. UPDATE: In comments, JanS notes a tv story last night about the same thing at Seahurst Park in Burien, and says that report described it as a nontoxic algae bloom.
Reader report: Another mystery smell
From time to time, someone will e-mail or call about a disturbing/unexplained smell of some type, somewhere. Someone who talked with us at Summer Fest even asked about something he’d noticed repeatedly. We don’t always publish these reports – we’ve referred people directly to the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency – but now we’re thinking “crowdsourcing” just might help solve the mystery, so here’s one that just came in from Heather:
I’m not sure whether this is the sort of thing that justifies a request for information from the readers, but this morning there’s a terrible, noxious, plasticky smell over our neighborhood (west side of 35th and Holden) [map], and I wonder if anyone else notices it, and whether anyone knows what it is. This is maybe the third time I’ve noticed this, and it worries me. It reminds me of the smell of pesticides sprayed by crop dusters.
Our first line of advice was to complain to PSCAA so they at least have a record of it. Here’s how to do that.
Update: Fauntleroy ferry-idling signs are on the way
The Fauntleroy Community Association sends word from FCA members Sherry and Ron Richardson that City Council President Richard Conlin liked their suggestion of “please turn off your engine” signs for the Fauntleroy ferry-queueing zone (first reported here a month ago), and asked SDOT to make it so. So we checked with SDOT communications boss Rick Sheridan today regarding a timetable, and here’s what we heard back:
SDOT did receive the request from Council President Conlin. Following the mayor’s lead on climate change, SDOT is very supportive of reducing vehicle emissions whenever possible. We recently installed signs reminding drivers to turn off engines while waiting for city bridges along the Ship Canal.
SDOT will install signs along Fauntleroy Way SW, near the Fauntleroy ferry terminal. (Though the signs will only be informational as there is no authority provided by the Seattle Municipal Code to force compliance.) We are working on the language and siting for them now, and expect that roadway users should see them within the next month.
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