West Seattle, Washington
16 Friday
Live and/or work in Westwood, Roxhill, Arbor Heights, vicinity? Tomorrow (Monday, April 4th), go see what your community council is up to. The agenda includes updates on WWRHAH‘s committees – including Metro, Infrastructure, Roxhill Bog, and Roxhill Park – and new/old business including brainstorming ideas for seeking Neighborhood Street Fund money – two weeks left to apply! “Bring Your Thing,” exhorts co-chair Amanda Kay Helmick. Also planned: Talking about what’s next for ongoing issues including the Roxhill Park fen, the pavement problems along the Westwood-area “bus loop,” and lighting for the RapidRide stop across from Westwood Village. Just go grab yourself a seat in the upstairs meeting room at Southwest Library (35th SW/SW Henderson), 6:15 start, 7:45 end (no overtime because that’s when the library closes).
Before the weekend ends – one last event report: Results of the Fairmount Ravine community cleanup. Again this year, we have the wrapup from John Lang, who is handing over the job of coordination from hereon out.
The 24th annual Fairmount Ravine Cleanup was a success on Saturday 3/12. Thank you to the 18 hardworking volunteers of all ages who participated; most of the group removed trash under the Admiral bridge, primarily the west side, and six others removed invasive ivy from the mature trees. The morning started damp but Mother Earth must have been pleased with the community’s effort because the cleanup ended in sunshine.
(WSB photo: Volunteers cleaning under the bridge)
The weather-protected area under the bridge continues to attract the homeless and partyers. It is the Admiral district’s version of the Jungle. They bring third-world sanitation with them as all their garbage is thrown downhill. Between 80-90 large garbage bags were filled with trash! This includes a couple hundred beer bottles, many broken, large furniture, broken bicycles etc. There was enough to fill up the DOC flatbed truck twice. We post signs a week in advance warning that the area will be cleaned and to have personal possessions removed.(WSB photo: John Lang & Officer Flores)
Once again, we appreciate participation by [Community Police Team] officers Jon Flores and Kevin McDaniel, with the Seattle Police Department, providing security and helping with traffic control. Three cheers to our local merchants, Metropolitan Market and Starbucks, for their generous support of this community effort.Thank you to everyone who made this year’s cleanup a success. A special shout out to Matt Algieri, who is taking over leadership of this annual event. The Fairmount Ravine cleanup is a great example of community pride and putting into action the teamwork necessary to tackle a difficult situation to generate positive results.
Not sure where Fairmount Ravine is? It goes beneath the Admiral Way Bridge, between Admiral and East Alki (here’s a map).
ADDED MONDAY: John just sent word that the total weight of what they picked up was 3,740 pounds … close to two tons.
Starting this month, the Westwood-Roxhill-Arbor Heights Community Council meets on a new night – first Monday of the month. So that means Monday (March 7th) is its next meeting, and it’s your chance to hear from, and ask questions of, SDOT and Metro reps. Co-chair Amanda Kay Helmick just sent this note with agenda highlights including that part of the discussion:
Seattle Department of Transportation and Metro Transit: Bus Loop pavement conditions are causing rapid deterioration of the streets, houses on the loop are experiencing sizable shaking. We will also be discussing the Roxbury re-channel project. We will get an update on the addition of lighting at the bus hub as well and the addition of an Adaptive Street project at the Barton and Longfellow Creek crosswalk.
The meeting starts at 6:15 pm Monday, upstairs at Southwest Library, 35th SW and SW Henderson.
The question came in via the WSB Forums as well as via e-mail: Why were trees planted, and then removed, at the city-owned triangle in North Admiral that recently served as the temporary location of Fire Station 29?
(WSB photo from late Sunday afternoon)
Here’s what we’ve found out: SDOT urban foresters chose and planted the trees without knowing a key part of the site’s backstory – what was discussed with neighbors last year about the site’s future, after a last-minute city turnabout put the temporary station there in the first place.
SDOT’s Shane Dewald responded to our inquiry today:
Seattle Department of Transportation Urban Forestry staff are so often asked to plant more conifers in the street ROW. We strive to do so when we have adequate space to accommodate them in a manner that is compatible with public safety standards for sight distance. The California/ Hill / Ferry site appeared to be well suited for conifers, which were planted based on species selection and placement by a Forester for my office – before he or I were aware of the strong community interest in the use of this site as open space, or the extent of outreach that had conducted before the recent temporary use as a fire station (including the proposed layout of new trees in the plan that I have attached to this message).
SDOT was immediately contacted and we met on site with a neighbor representing the community interests and aware that the conifers were not compatible with the use of the site. We understood from our meeting that the conifers should be removed and replaced with deciduous trees for consistency with the restoration plan discussed during an outreach effort by FAS prior to the temporary use for fire station 29. Though SDOT asked if there might be a possibility that one of the conifers could remain, we were asked to find a new location for them all.
So what’s next for the restoration? Dewald says SDOT wondered about fruit-bearing trees, but the neighborhood wants to see “non-fruit bearing deciduous street trees … for minimum maintenance and optimum compatibility with the community use of the site.” They have a “hybrid variety of Tupelo” available, “tolerant of urban conditions, has relatively small leaves with an open growth habit that allows sun to filter through etc. If this tree sounds like a good option, I expect the installation of the new trees can be done as early as this Thursday!” But – given what’s happened so far – they’re checking with the neighborhood spokesperson first.
Traffic-calming changes ahead for the Fauntleroy/Endolyne Triangle in Fauntleroy were unveiled at a briefing that preceded last night’s Fauntleroy Community Association board meeting. The Triangle is a confusing, sometimes dangerous multi-point series of intersections between 45th, Wildwood, and Brace Point, and SDOT‘s Jim Curtin came to the Fauntleroy Schoolhouse to review plans with community members. “Transforming the triangle,” is how he described the changes, a long time coming, discussed in forums including FCA’s 2014 community gathering about traffic and a walking tour last year with then-City Councilmember Tom Rasmussen.
Features shown in the schematic design include back-in angled parking on the south side of the commercial heart of the triangle, two painted curb bulbs along the Brace Point Drive side of the triangle (paint colors haven’t been chosen yet), and a bicycle corral in front of Endolyne Joe’s (WSB sponsor), where a parking space needed to be removed anyway to improve visibility from the parking lot south of the restaurant.
One point yet to be worked out: The stop sign on the northeast edge of the area. The city wants to remove it; community members want to keep it. Curtin plans to bring out city traffic engineer Dongho Chang for a firsthand look, at the behest of FCA. As for the timeline overall, the work could be done in one day, March or April. It’s funded because some other area projects have come in under budget, Curtin said.
Then it was on to the board meeting in the schoolhouse’s smaller conference room, led by vice president David Haggerty:
ANNUAL MEETING/FOOD FEST: Next month, FCA throws its biggest party of the year. Lots has happened since last time, as Marty Westerman pointed out – Cove Park is open again and better than ever, Endolyne Triangle is being beautified (as part of the work mentioned above) and made safer, the Fauntleroy Fall Festival is getting more support from FCA than ever – so there is much to celebrate. This is also a time for residents to come renew their FCA memberships. The group works on a variety of advocacy issues and even has welcome bags for new area residents. Along with local restaurants and food purveyors (including Tuxedoes and Tennis Shoes, which has its exclusive event venue in the schoolhouse), the meeting also brings out local-interest organizations to distribute information.
As part of the annual meeting, officers will be elected. Haggerty is not planning to run for re-election as vice president. A few other positions are open.
CITY LIGHT PROPERTY: FCA has been given a year to come up with a way to buy the former substation property at 46th SW and Brace Point Drive. Surveys were distributed to about 60 neighbors and almost half turned them back in; a team of four talked with other neighbors. Most support keeping it as greenspace; a few were interested in housing: “I feel like we got a good read now and what folks around there want. Now we have to try to figure out the next step … I don’t know how many (neighbors) would actually be willing to pull out their wallets.” Still a work in progress.
SEATTLE PUBLIC UTILITIES PUMP STATION PROJECT: We had just heard about this, before the meeting, and we’re gathering information from SPU. Some work will be under way to upgrade a pump station that’s on the south side of the Fauntleroy ferry dock, timeline TBA, and it will encroach to some degree on the small parking lot on the southeast end of the dock – more info to come.
NEW FAUNTLEROY UCC MINISTER: The group spent a few minutes talking with recently arrived Rev. Leah Bilinski at the meeting’s start. In her fifth month leading Fauntleroy UCC Church, she’s continuing to work on getting to know Fauntleroy and Seattle.
The Fauntleroy Community Association has board meetings on second Tuesdays, 7 pm, in the conference room at Fauntleroy Schoolhouse. Watch fauntleroy.net for updates between meetings.
Toplines from tonight’s North Delridge Neighborhood Council meeting:
RV ‘SAFE LOT’ UPDATE: The last item discussed at the meeting was the one that yielded the biggest news. NDNC co-chair Michael Taylor-Judd, leading tonight’s meeting, said the current target date for the “safe lot” at West Marginal Way SW and Highland Park Way to open is February 19th. We had checked again with the city at the end of last week and were told only that they were still on track for the one-month time frame mentioned in the initial announcement, which was on January 19th, exactly one month before the date mentioned tonight. Discussions since that announcement have revealed that the city expects about 15 vehicles to use the lot; that they would be solicited from among those already living in vehicles in West Seattle and SODO; that the Low Income Housing Institute would operate it, with services offered by Compass Housing Alliance. It’s one of two such lots the city announced; the other one will be in Ballard.
Also discussed by NDNC – crime, preparedness, transportation, and more:
Saturday is Neighbor Appreciation Day in Seattle, and the city has some celebrations planned. We’ve already mentioned the open house at Fire Station 37 (11 am-1 pm, 35th SW/SW Holden). Here’s what else in West Seattle is on the list made public today:
Celebrate Neighbor Appreciation Day with The Nature Consortium
Join the Nature Consortium and Seattle City Councilmember Lisa Herbold in celebrating Neighbor Appreciation Day! We will be restoring important forest habitat in Seattle’s largest remaining green space, the West Duwamish Greenbelt. Visit naturec.org/volunteer to register. 10 am-2 pm. Pigeon Point Park @ Pathfinder K-8, 1901 SW Genesee.
West Seattle Timebank Neighbor Appreciation Day
Meet your neighbors and learn about the West Seattle Timebank. There will be refreshments and activities for kids. Noon-2 pm, High Point Library, 3411 SW Raymond.
Southwest Pool Neighbor Appreciation Day Swim
Join us for a free swim and refreshments to celebrate Neighbor Appreciation Day! 1-2 pm, Southwest Teen Life Center, 2801 SW Thistle
Here’s the full list of what’s happening for Neighbor Appreciation Day around the city.
The self-storage project proposed for 3310 Harbor SW – first reported here last March – is moving ahead. That’s what the Alki Community Council heard at this month’s meeting, from an executive of the company pursuing it, West Coast Self-Storage.
They’ll be seeking a street vacation for part of what would be 29th SW (map), and they’re still putting together the documentation for that, so they don’t expect to be having formal hearings with the city before fall.
The company says West Seattle is underserved in terms of storage space, and that this industrial-zoned site is a place to provide some. The proposal is now envisioned for the area that currently holds a warehouse building and the now-vacated GT Towing lot.
Tomorrow, Sunday, and subsequent weekends into mid-March, you are invited to join West Seattle’s newest neighborhood-beautification campaign – on the sloped median of Chilberg Avenue between Genesee and Douglas, just east of Beach Drive, leading to Emma Schmitz Memorial Overlook Park.
(WSB photo showing part of the project area)
A group of neighbors, Friends of the Chilberg Link, successfully applied for a Neighborhood Matching Fund grant, $8,900 to be matched by more than $10,000 in volunteer work and contributions. Janice Nyman – herself an arborist and architect – sent word that their work parties are about to begin and they’re inviting participation.
“Although its looking pretty raw right now,” she said, “I think it’s going to be quite pretty: Fruit trees, pollinator wild flowers, berries!” You can see the plan here.
The announcement adds that “Friends of the Chilberg Link will remove invasives, prune vegetation, plant edible plants, and create an area for rainwater holding and a secured art piece. Work parties will be held in the winter and spring of 2016. Professional landscape firms will be hired to lead the community in landscape installation, including: Mariposa Naturescapes, Garden Cycles, and Black Lotus Landscaping LLC.”
The project will evoke the area’s history, according to research done by local historian Judy Bentley – a one-lane road ran through a meadow filled with wildflowers.
At the northern end of the Schmitz property, a single-lane dirt road wound down a hill through substantially uninhabited meadow to a dead end a block beyond Carroll Street.
When walking to and from the old Alki School [at Chilberg Ave. SW/59th and Carroll], we frequently preferred the trail along Chilberg Avenue, to enjoy some of the most beautiful wild flowers in the open fields and leading up into ‘The woods,’ the hillside forest.” (Lillevand Papers, SWSHS).
“We love the historical reference to a winding meadow with wildflowers, so we are using it as the basis of our design,” Nyman says.
Join them Saturdays and Sundays, 10:30 am-12:30 pm. You’re asked to “bring shovels, pruners, and gloves”; cardboard donations are welcome too, as is the donated use of yard-waste containers. Questions? Contact Nyman at nymanarc@gmail.com.
P.S. If you or someone you know has more information about the history of Chilberg Avenue, please contact Bentley at bentley.judy@gmail.com or Lissa Kramer at the Log House Museum.
We’ve already published our video from the HALA and “backyard cottages” presentations that comprised the second half of Wednesday night’s quarterly Morgan Community Association meeting. Before that, a quick MoCA meeting included these neighborhood updates:
SIDEWALK WORK TO CONTINUE IN SPRING: The grant-funded work to repair/replace the sidewalk on the west side of California SW south of Fauntleroy Way will continue “in late March to April.” The sidewalk in front of the commercial building on the southwest corner of the intersection was completed last fall (our photo is from Thursday).
PARK-EXPANSION UPDATE: The city has owned the commercial building north of Morgan Junction Park for more than a year and a half, and demolition is now “guesstimated” for next July, according to MoCA. The cleaners closed earlier this winter and the convenience store is expected to be out by May. Park design hasn’t begun yet, though.
LINCOLN PARK PLAY AREA MEETING REMINDER: As noted here last week, Seattle Parks has set February 2nd as the next meeting for the renovation of the north play area at Lincoln Park, 6:30 pm at Gatewood Elementary (4320 SW Myrtle).
MORGAN JUNCTION BUSINESS MIXER: Area businesses are invited to network and mingle at the next mixer – 5-7 pm April 28th at Zeeks Pizza (WSB sponsor) on the northwest corner of California/Fauntleroy.
P.S. MoCA (an all-volunteer group) also elected this year’s officers/executive board members: President Deb Barker, Vice President Phillip Tavel, Recording Secretary Jennifer Whip, Treasurer Eldon Olson, Public Information Officer Cindi Barker, Southwest District Council rep Tamsen Spengler.
Thanks to Patricia for the heads-up on this – SFD confirms that an open house 11 am-1 pm on Saturday, January 30th, is planned at Fire Station 29 (2139 Ferry SW), now that firefighters have moved back in after 9 months of seismic and other upgrades. (See before/after views here.) Patricia also reports the temporary structures are now gone from the triangle of city-owned land used as the temporary FS29.
Tuesday night, the Admiral Neighborhood Association meets for the first time this year – and it’s a big one, as ANA president David Whiting reminded the ANA mailing list in his announcement: “Your attendance would be really helpful as we need to accept nominations and elect new officers for ANA and a voting quorum is required. We certainly welcome anyone to step forward to be nominated as president, vice-president, secretary and treasurer.” The organization’s bylaws limit terms, and so Whiting and the others currently on ANA’s executive committee must step aside for new leadership. Here’s more information about what it entails; here’s more information about the group’s 2015 accomplishments; and here’s the full preview of Tuesday’s meeting (7 pm, The Sanctuary at Admiral, 42nd SW and SW Lander), also including an update on what’s next for the former site of interim Fire Station 29.
It was one of the biggest Seattle-city-government stories of 2015 and it’s going to be even bigger in 2016: How will the Housing Affordability and Livability Agenda – aka HALA – affect you, your neighbors, your future neighbors? What do you need to know? How can you be part of the discussions and decision-making? The Morgan Community Association is hosting a briefing geared for all interested West Seattleites, right after an abbreviated version of their group’s quarterly meeting on January 20th, and they’ve sent early word so you can get it on your calendar:
Our first meeting of 2016 starts off with a bang! We will have a short regular MoCA meeting from 6:00 to 6:45 pm to do normal business and officer elections. At 7:00 pm we will transition to a West Seattle-wide presentation on two topics which will affect all neighborhoods; the implementation of the HALA “Grand Bargain” and upcoming code changes governing Mother-in-Law apartments and back yard cottages. All West Seattle community people are invited to attend and learn more about these and how to stay informed and get engaged. It is expected that the Mother-in-Law/Backyard Cottages code changes will go before City Council in late February, so now is the time to learn more.
Here’s the agenda for the HALA briefing/discussion:
Special West Seattle-wide Meeting: “HALA” – What’s It All About ??
7:00-8:00 pm
HALA: An Overview, The Grand Bargain, Focused Outreach and Next Steps
Jesseca Brand, City of Seattle Planning8:00-9:00 pm
Detached Accessory Dwelling Units (DADU’s or Backyard Cottages) and Attached Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs or Mother-in-law Apartments)
Nick Welch, City of Seattle Planning
The meeting will be in the lower level meeting rooms at The Kenney (WSB sponsor), 7125 Fauntleroy Way SW.
Start your Saturday with a neighborhood good deed. Admiral Neighborhood Association president David Whiting says the quarterly Adopt-a-Street is on:
This Saturday, December 5th, is our final Adopt-A-Street cleanup for the year. I’ve heard back from the manager of Metropolitan Market and they will be ready for us with coffee and snacks at 9:00 am in front of the store. We should be done by 12:00 noon.
If you’ve never participated before, ANA provides gloves, safety vests, bags and long-handled tools to grab litter. All you need to do is show up and sign up. We divide up into small groups and cover the streets around the junction. In case you need to ensure you’ll be on Santa’s “nice list,” volunteering this Saturday is a timely opportunity to make a good impression.
The market’s on SW Admiral Way between 41st SW and 42nd SW.
(WSB photo: Barton St. P-Patch)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
The city’s P-Patch community garden program is maxed out for now and not expecting to grow in the near future – but not all P-Patches have waiting lists, contrary to popular belief.
That’s just some of what the Westwood-Roxhill-Arbor Heights Community Council learned Tuesday night from visiting city Department of Neighborhoods reps – including director Kathy Nyland – who came to answer questions and provide updates about some of the department’s programs.
First, as is often the case with neighborhood meetings, an update from police:
As the long holiday weekend ebbs, the everyday world gets ready to rev. So, we’re looking ahead: On Tuesday night (December 1st), the Westwood-Roxhill-Arbor Heights Community Council has assembled a lineup of guests that’ll be of interest regardless of whether you live/work in those neighborhoods or not. The meeting starts at 6:15 pm, and after some regular WWRHAH committee updates, here’s the main event, as announced by co-chair Amanda Kay Helmick:
6:35-7:45: Department of Neighborhoods (DoN): At our September brainstorm meeting, several residents requested information about P-Patches, grants, and painted crosswalks. We will have a whole team of DoN folks to answer your questions!
Tim Wolfe: Community Investments Division Director
Juan Martinez: Neighborhood Matching Fund Project Manager
Rich Macdonald: P-Patch Garden Program Supervisor OR
Bunly Yun: P-Patch Garden Program Coordinator
Kathy Nyland: Director
Howard Wu: Seattle Department of Transportation
Kerry Wade: Neighborhood District Coordinator
WWRHAH meets upstairs at Southwest Library (35th SW & SW Henderson).
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Updates took centerstage, rather than any major new issues, at the Alki Community Council‘s annual meeting.
And as is often the case at local neighborhood-council meetings, the first round came from police:
Three notes from last night’s Junction Neighborhood Organization meeting:
EMERGENCY HUB: JuNO has been working on setting up another hub for the West Seattle Emergency Communication Hubs, closer to the heart of The Junction, and its thousands of apartment residents. Ellen West from the JuNO board is working on the project. While they’ve obtained a city grant to help start and equip the hub, they’ll be looking for donations to cover the rest of the cost. West and JuNO director René Commons plan to talk to some of the new buildings’ managers/owners in hope they’ll want to chip in. West also will be talking with building managers about their emergency-response plans.
STREET LIGHTING: One of JuNO’s 2016 priorities, according to Commons, will be a followup on lighting concerns along the west side of 42nd SW. She’s had a walking tour with a Seattle City Light representative but hopes to keep up the pressure for improvements; JuNO had been working with Councilmember Tom Rasmussen and now will need to work with whomever is elected in the too-close-to-call District 1 City Council race.
CRIME STATS: In the first round of the city’s development of “micro-policing plans,” The Junction was lumped in with a few other neighborhoods, but Southwest Precinct Operations Lt. Ron Smith says that will change, and soon The Junction will be broken out into its own plan area – which also means its own distinct set of crime stats on the new SPD “Dashboard.”
PUBLIC-SAFETY SURVEY: Researcher Jennifer Burbridge, who’s been working with the Southwest Precinct on projects including the micro-policing plans, is circulating one more reminder: If you haven’t already answered the citywide Public Safety Survey, please take a few minutes to do it – start here.
To join the JuNO mailing list for updates on meetings and projects, e-mail wsjuno@yahoo.com.
If you live in east West Seattle, that unfamiliar person who looks to be checking out your residence might just be a King County Assessor’s Office appraiser doing her/his job. This announcement explains:
The Assessor’s Office annually values over 700,000 properties in King County, and physically inspects 1/6th of all properties.
Starting this fall and continuing into Spring of 2016, appraisers from the Assessor’s Office will be conducting physical inspections of properties (existing residences, residences under construction and vacant parcels) in East West Seattle, Georgetown, South Park. Appraisers generally conducts physical inspection from 7:00 AM to 4:00 PM four days per week, Monday thru Thursday and are identifiable by their County ID badges.
This annual process allows appraisers to verify and update any property characteristic changes that might have occurred since the last physical inspection. For information on your property, please visit the Assessor’s eReal Property Search at www.kingcounty.gov/assessor
We’ve already reported two of the many topics covered at the quarterly Morgan Community Association meeting this past week – but there was much more.
Those topics included the recent arsons – the most recent one had happened in Morgan Junction earlier that day, so everyone was on guard. Engine 37 firefighters came to share fire-deterring tips (as circulated here earlier in the week); Southwest Precinct commander Capt. Pierre Davis came with an update on the investigation (we recorded it on video and added it to the update we’d published a few hours earlier).
SPD was originally on the MoCA agenda to talk about the area’s “micropolicing plan” and the new citywide Public Safety Survey, both with Seattle University involved, so Seattle U research intern Jennifer Burbridge, who’s been working with the SW Precinct and neighborhood groups, joined the presentation.
Morgan’s key areas of concern:
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Two hot topics brought a big turnout to last night’s Admiral Neighborhood Association meeting – about 50 people at the start.
SW ADMIRAL WAY SAFETY PROJECT: As shown here earlier in the day, SDOT has revised its plan for rechannelizing SW Admiral Way west of California SW. The original proposal, introduced at April’s ANA meeting and discussed at an at-times-raucous “open house” in May, included removal of more than 200 parking spaces, and drawn howls of protest from some who live along the stretch, not just because of the reduction, but because it would have left some stretches with parking only on one side. The new configuration would remove the center turn lane in spots instead.
Dawn Schellenberg and Sam Woods from SDOT led the presentation about the revised version, going again through contextual information about collisions and bicycle use, with questions that had emerged before emerging again from attendees – how many collisions were the fault of drunk drivers, how many bicycle riders are using the road, etc. Numerous documents are now online – scroll down this page to find them.
The new plan includes a reduction of lane width – SDOT says wider lanes encourage speeding. Currently, between 63rd and 60th, the drive lanes are 12 feet wide, and will be narrowed to 11 feet. Between 60th and Stevens, there will be a “door zone” buffering drivers from the new bike lane (and vice versa) on the downhill side. Going uphill, the buffer will be between the bicycle rider and the driver. Between Stevens and Lander, the lanes are 11.5′ and will narrow to 10.5′; between Lander and 47th, “where we didn’t see a lot of parking no matter what time of year we studied it,” … and between 44th and 47th, standard bike lanes, and between 44th and California, no changes, to maintain the left-turn lane.
Additional safety features are now under study on the west end – maybe an all-ways stop at 59th/Admiral, which currently only has a pedestrian signal, leaving people to be confused about traveling in the non-controlled directions when someone is using the signal.
On first take, the revisions did not seem to be receiving rave reviews.
Two reader reports to share:
ALLEY VANDALISM ALERT: A neighbor near this alley between the 3200 block of California SW and of 44th SW wanted to warn people about that knocked-over-by-vandals portable toilet, the contents of which subsequently spilled onto the alley. It’s a busy alley, the neighbor says, used by residents and their pets, but no cleanup yet.
ILLEGAL OFF-ROADING: From a Riverview resident, who’s asking neighbors to be watchful:
This afternoon, I was out walking when at least four young kids on dirt bikes rode down 12th Ave and into Riverview Playfield. As I walked, I noticed they were going up and down to the Pee-Wee fields. There were families in the park at the time. These are kids that are too young to have drivers licenses, on vehicles that are not licensed for street use, riding not only on the street but into parks and greenbelt where they are not allowed. One was carrying a shovel.
On the walk back, I saw two ride through the pee-wee fields and into the greenbelt, NE of 12th & Holly. I could also hear a shovel being used. I called 911 and reported it. They seemed responsive, but I don’t know if the kids will be there by the time the police get there. Also, they can easily scatter, so likely will get away. The thing to do would be to have a few police officers up in the Riverview Playfield parking lot waiting and then have an officer approach from the utility road off of West Marginal Way. The kids would ride back toward the parking lot and home.
I would like to encourage my neighbors and anyone using the park to call 911 if they see anyone going on dirt bikes into the greenbelt. You aren’t even supposed to be in the greenbelt on a bicycle, let alone a dirt bike. They were riding on crushed rock trails that Parks is working on, likely causing damage to them. Nature Consortium has had plantings destroyed by these kids on their bikes.
The forest in that area is part of the West Duwamish Greenbelt, which the NC works year-round to restore.
Concerned about safety/crime prevention in Admiral, particularly at Hamilton Viewpoint Park, where a robbery three weeks ago led to a shooting miles away? Want to be among the first to find out how SDOT has changed the SW Admiral Way Safety Project plan in response to community feedback? Those are just two of the topics on the agenda for tomorrow night’s Admiral Neighborhood Association meeting, as you can see on the flyer embedded above. All are welcome at the 7 pm Tuesday (September 8th) meeting at The Sanctuary at Admiral (northeast corner of 42nd SW and SW Lander).
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