‘Sesame Street’ at Lincoln Park: Setup day & traffic updates
1:25 PM: The trucks in our photo are part of the crew that’s at Lincoln Park setting up for tomorrow’s “Sesame Street” 50th-anniversary event, expected to draw 4,000 people (who had to register in advance) over the course of the day. Inside the park, the baseball field south of the wading pool/play area is the hub of activity:
Here’s the newest update on likely afternoon traffic effects: Washington State Ferries had been told last night that the trucks on Fauntleroy Way would clear out for the afternoon no-parking period (2-7 pm) after all. But then, WSF spokesperson Hadley Rodero told WSB this afternoon, the production company instead said they were trying to hire off-duty police to direct traffic around the trucks this afternoon instead. We’ll be checking back at the scene after 2 pm. (added) Here’s the live traffic cam:
Also note if you’re driving to the park, the staging has also taken over some of the spaces toward the north end of the north lot.
2:59 PM: The camera shows the trucks have since moved out of the staging lane. Heading down the hill to see if anything else remains aside from standard Friday afternoon traffic.
3:40 PM: Verified that nothing remains in the queueing lane. (Saw a private car getting towed, though, with an SPD Parking Enforcement officer right behind.) Just the “usual” Friday afternoon ferry backup, almost to the north edge of Lincoln Park as of about 15 minutes ago.
SATURDAY: Southwest Seattle Historical Society invites you to tour historic Colman House
(Photos courtesy Southwest Seattle Historical Society)
Yet another big event this Saturday – the historic Colman House in Fauntleroy is featured on this year’s Southwest Seattle Historical Society-presented “If These Walls Could Talk” tour. The details from SWSHS:
This historic Colman House tour will bring history alive with stories about Arthur Loveless and the Colman family. James M. Colman, a Scottish immigrant, moved to Seattle in the 1860s and brought the rest of his family over in the 1870s. James made a fortune investing in many enterprises such as Yesler’s mill and the Walla Walla Railroad.
The family bought property in Fauntleroy in 1905 and James’s son Laurence Colman recruited his
friend Arthur Loveless to design a new home for him and his family in 1922.
The Colman family is known today through their impact of their philanthropy. The family donated the land for Camp Colman, Colman Pool, and financially supported the Fauntleroy church, their local YMCA, as well as countless contributions to their community.
The VIP tour is an intimate, behind the scenes look at the history of the Colman home. Enjoy refreshments while taking in the beauty of the home’s immaculately landscaped gardens. The VIP tour includes a talk about the work of Arthur Loveless presented by his great grand-niece, Susan Shorett. Southwest Seattle Historical Society’s curator, Tasia Williams, will show and talk about artifacts from the historical society’s collection which illustrate the history of the Colman family.
General admission participants will get to wander through this amazing house with volunteers that are able to answer questions and give a brief overview.
To purchase tickets and learn more about this tour, please click on this link.
The VIP tour is 12-2 pm, $100/person; general admission 2-4 pm, $10 SWSHS members, $15 nonmembers.
FERRY/TRAFFIC UPDATE: 3rd boat rejoins Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth run; vehicle backup continues
2:50 PM: With the Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth run still down to two boats (Issaquah‘s been out with steering trouble since this morning), and the holiday getaway beginning, there’s a huge vehicle backup headed toward the dock – all the way to California/Fauntleroy, per both police and texters. WSF estimates the wait at 2 1/2 hours. The run is continuing to stay on the 3-boat schedule but all trips that would be the #2 boat are canceled TFN.
3:36 PM: Some good news – the Issaquah has just gone back into service, so the run is back to three boats.
5 PM: For everybody starting to call/text about the helicopter, just a TV chopper checking out the ferry traffic.
SATURDAY: Your chance to set salmon fry free in Fauntleroy Creek
As reported here last week, the fry-release season at Fauntleroy Creek has just wrapped up for Salmon in the Schools participants – but the Fauntleroy Watershed Council is offering community members a special chance to participate, and it’s this Saturday (June 8th), 1-3 pm, at the big bridge in Fauntleroy Park.
Even after 1,800 fry were released by more than 700 students, 100 fry were reserved for the occasion.
It’s free – first-come, first-served.
For a map showing where the bridge is – go here.
FERRY ALERT: Fauntleroy dock work ahead, aimed at noise reduction
(“Live” WSDOT camera view of Fauntleroy dock)
12:46 PM: Work planned at the Fauntleroy ferry terminal will lead to some late-night sailing cancellations, but should result in noise reduction. The announcement is from Washington State Ferries spokesperson Hadley Rodero:
Next week, crews will begin nighttime maintenance work at the Fauntleroy terminal to improve safety and reduce noise caused by vehicles traveling across the transfer span. We’ve heard a number of complaints from neighbors that loading/unloading ferries can be noisy and this work should help address the problem.
Work will take place on Wednesday, June 12th, Thursday, June 13th, Wednesday, June 19th and Thursday, June 20th, and will require the cancellation of the following late-night sailings:
· Fauntleroy to Vashon and Southworth: 11:45 p.m., 1 a.m. and 2:20 a.m.
· Vashon to Fauntleroy: 10:50 p.m., 12:10 a.m. and 1:25 a.m.
· Southworth to Fauntleroy: 11:10 p.m., 12:30 a.m. and 1:45 a.m.
Service will continue between Vashon and Southworth as scheduled. Fauntleroy neighbors may hear some construction noise and see more activity than usual at the dock during the maintenance work.
We have a follow-up question out seeking specifics about the work.
ADDED 3:10 PM: Here’s Rodero’s reply: “Crews will be replacing parts of the apron, which is the flap that connects the transfer span to the ferry when the ramp lowers for cars to drive on and off. They will be welding the new parts on and fixing parts that are currently loose, which is what’s causing the noise that’s been bothering neighbors.”
FAUNTLEROY CREEK: 1 month, 1,800 fry set free. Next, your turn!
(First 2 photos by Patrick Sand)
By Judy Pickens
Special to West Seattle Blog
Salmon releases wrapped up in Fauntleroy Park with 75 fourth- and fifth-graders from Sanislo Elementary this morning. They were among 725 students from 16 West Seattle schools releasing about 1,800 coho fry into Fauntleroy Creek. An additional 315 adults and young siblings came on the 21 releases.
Fourteen schools received eyed eggs in January through the Salmon in the Schools program and volunteer Jack Lawless reared another 500 for the Fauntleroy Watershed Council to offer to two preschools and an elementary that lost most of its fish during a power outage.
The council has about 100 fry left and invites anyone who would like to put a fish in the water to a community salmon release on Saturday, June 8, 1:00-3:00 pm at the big bridge in Fauntleroy Park:
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Volunteers will be on hand to talk salmon, habitat, and stewardship.
Volunteers Dennis Hinton (above), Pete Draughon, and Shannon Ninburg dipped fish, looked out for safety, and guided students in exploring native habitat in the park. Peggy Cummings and Mark Ahlness were on-call exploration volunteers. Many of the students also had lunch and a Q&A session in the lower creek with project coordinators Judy Pickens and Phil Sweetland.
(Photo by Kersti Muul)
The fry will use their year in fresh water to grow into fingerlings and then smolts. Those that survive will leave the creek next spring for their two years in saltwater before the survivors return to spawn.
Since 2003, volunteers have been documenting smolt survival by briefly trapping them as they leave the park and reaches downstream of there. Between March 15 and May 26 this year, 22 smolts left for saltwater – half last year’s total. After a preliminary assessment by volunteers, the watershed council called on city and state specialists to help determine why only four of those smolts exited Fauntleroy Park.
About the helicopter over Fauntleroy
Gone now but we’re mentioning it because the other one might show up later: That was just the obligatory pre-holiday-weekend TV-news chopper ferry-traffic flyover.
P.S. Two-hour wait at Fauntleroy right now, per WSF.
Taste of West Seattle 2019 serves up helpings of hope
8:41 PM: Beautiful night at The Hall at Fauntleroy, inside and out, as the West Seattle Helpline hosted its annual Taste of West Seattle, raising money for emergency assistance that helps keep people from becoming homeless. Dozens of local food and beverage venues/providers were there with samples and sips – like Mission Cantina (WSB sponsor) with esquites con nopale:
Flying Apron‘s offerings included chocolate cupcakes with curry frosting:
The tasting tables were spread throughout the Hall and across its grounds, including both of its big rooms:
Serving up chicken paella, Colleen and Kim from Dream Dinners West Seattle (WSB sponsor):
Lots of beverages too – winemaker Ben Viscon of Viscon Cellars (WSB sponsor) was pouring:
Michelle, Brie, and Shauna from Pecos Pit BBQ (WSB sponsor) were dishing up all-beef spicy hot links and mac ‘n’ cheese:
We have a few more photos to add – plus, we’re awaiting the results of Taste-goers’ voting – more later!
ADDED LATE THURSDAY: Also at the Taste – Husky Deli‘s Jack Miller:
And from Salty’s (WSB sponsor), Victor was serving aleppo-pepper-crusted ahi:
New participants included Indulge Desserts, a relatively recent arrival at 35th/Henderson.
ADDED FRIDAY: Update from the Helpline:
The winners for best…
Taste – Tuxedos and Tennis Shoes
Veggie Taste – Mission Cantina
Pour – The Bridge
Mocktail – All In
Sweet – Bakery Nouveau
Though there are still some donations and matches coming in, so far we have raised over $57,000. This is enough to keep over 160 families safe and stable in their homes while they recover from unexpected hardship!!
FOUND BICYCLE: Distinctive sticker
From Erich in Fauntleroy:
A boy’s bike appeared in my back yard 3 nights ago, about 2 blocks from Endolyne Joe’s. It is blue and white and has a round sticker on the front saying “In Memoriam — RIP Jimmy John” with a little number 22 on the sticker. I’m thinking the owner will know the manufacturer and / or model of the bike.
Yours? Let us know and we’ll connect you.
Speaking of dropoffs: Record set @ Fauntleroy Church’s spring Recycle Roundup
(WSB photo, 4/28/2019)
Another spring tradition for unburdening yourself of unwanted-but-reusable items: Fauntleroy Church‘s Recycle Roundup. The most recent one happened two weeks ago; Judy Pickens reports today that participants were part of a record:
The spring recycle roundup at Fauntleroy Church is always a busy one as people clean house or prepare to move. The April 28 roundup at Fauntleroy Church proved to be especially so as a record 540 vehicles came through to leave the crew from 1 Green Planet the biggest haul of recyclables yet with – 16.54 tons. Total weight going back to the resource stream since the roundups began in 2010 is 248.7 tons. The fall roundup is set for Sunday, Sept. 22.
Replacing Fauntleroy Creek culverts: Still time to comment
As we showed you earlier this week, it’s salmon-release season at Fauntleroy Creek – part of the annual lifecycle since community advocacy led to work that brought the creek back to life. Part of it remains underground, carried in culverts, and some sections need to be replaced, so Seattle Public Utilities is in the early stages of figuring out how. Back in March, SPU offered opportunities to offer early-stage comments. If you missed those, it’s not too late to comment – SPU reopened its online survey seeking your opinion. As the (short) survey explains:
Design options present tradeoffs. This includes the opportunity to enhance creek habitat with open channel sections. However, these features require retaining walls and potential realignment that can have greater short-term construction impacts, as well as require long-term changes to existing site conditions.
So they’re asking about your priorities – when you can spare a moment or two to comment, go here. (Background info from the March open house is here.)
Salmon in the Schools: A double first at Fauntleroy Creek
(WSB photos by Patrick Sand)
Every spring, salmon fry like these are released into Fauntleroy Creek with the hopes of students, educators, and volunteers swimming right along next to them. Today, these were the first school-raised fry of the year to be set free. And the occasion brought another first:
Fifth-graders from Louisa Boren STEM K-8 are the first at their school to participate in the Salmon in the Schools program. They arrived by bus at Fauntleroy Park in the midmorning sun and headed to the creek:
Watershed steward Judy Pickens tells us that lead teacher Christina Massimino and students at Boren have “jumped in” wholeheartedly with a lot of environmental learning tied to coho-raising in the four months since eggs were delivered.
Another 19 releases are planned in the next month. Judy adds, “Volunteers Dennis Hinton, Pete Draughon, and Shannon Ninburg will be in the woods again this year, dipping fish, looking out for safety, and coordinating habitat exploration.”
After the fry are freed, it’s off to Judy’s end of the creek, closer to the overlook across from the Fauntleroy ferry dock, for Q&A and lunch. The annual cycle at Fauntleroy Creek also includes the fall watch for spawners; last year, volunteers counted 18, the most in four years.
P.S. In case you haven’t already seen it, Fauntleroy Creek – and Dennis and Judy – got a TV showcase this week.
HAPPENING NOW: Spring 2019 Recycle Roundup at Fauntleroy Church
Looks like West Seattle will again be tons lighter after the twice-annual Recycle Roundup, with 1 Green Planet crews on site right now at Fauntleroy Church. The second hour is wrapping up; we stopped by in the first hour and found a steady stream of recyclers:
No charge for dropoffs – check check this list before you go. And be aware the crew has the discretion to refuse items; we haven’t heard of that happening much over the years but one commenter this morning says their plastic-and-fabric office chair was not accepted.
Another caveat – while this continues until 3, please don’t wait until the last minute! The volunteer organizers/coordinators will appreciate that. Fauntleroy Church is at 9140 California SW; here’s a map.
RECYCLE ROUNDUP: Spring 2019 event in exactly 2 weeks!
(WSB file photo)
Just two weeks until your chance to help keep tons of no-longer-wanted/needed items from ending up in the waste stream question via the spring Recycle Roundup at Fauntleroy Church. 9 am-3 pm Sunday, April 28th, drive/ride/walk up to the church lot at 9140 California SW with your recyclables, and drop them off for free with the church’s longtime Recycle Roundup partner, 1 Green Planet. If you’re ready to go through your stuff and see what you can unload, compare what you have with the newest list of the dozens of types of items they will accept – see the list here. (That link also includes what NOT to bring.)
Toplines from the 
Don’t toss it – recycle it!
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