Tuesday 7/7, 6:30 pm: Basic Bike Maintenance Clinic, Southwest Community Center
Saturday 7/11, 11:30 am: Sweet Summer Cycle Ride, leaves from Alki Beach Park
Friday 7/17, 11 am: Helmet sale during Hiawatha Fun Festival, Hiawatha Community Center
Sunday 7/19, 10 am: Women’s ride to Olympic Sculpture Park, leaves from Alki Beach Park
Tuesday 7/21, 6:30 pm: Intro to Commuting Clinic, Southwest Community Center
Saturday 7/25, 10 am-2 pm: Helmet sale during Alki Art Fair
Saturday 7/25, 10 am: Around and Around Alki Ride, leaves from Alki Beach Park
Sunday 7/26, 10 am: Kids and Parents Ride Clinic, Southwest Community Center
Sunday 7/26: 12:30 pm: Family Ride to Lincoln Park, leaves from Alki
We wanted to join the chorus of reminders in case you’re an Eastside commuter. This wouldn’t affect you till you come home tomorrow, but here’s the heads-up, since WSDOT just issued this reminder:
Beginning tomorrow, commuters will face two weeks of long delays across the I-90 floating bridge as WSDOT begins extensive repair work. Crews will close all westbound mainline lanes of I-90 and funnel traffic into the two express lanes.
The “Bellevue to Seattle” and “Issaquah to Seattle” travel times on the WSDOT Web page will not display accurately for the next few weeks due to construction to replace aging expansion joints on the I-90 floating bridge.
Traffic engineers in the Seattle Traffic Management Center will calculate “Bellevue to Seattle” and “Issaquah to Seattle” travel times manually every 60 – 90 minutes. These travel times will be posted on the “What’s Happening Now” construction Web page: www.wsdot.wa.gov/construction/2009/today
Just made public: The long-range plan for Washington State Ferries, which says the system is $3.3 billion short of what it needs for the next 22 years. Here’s the link; read on for the news release – we’ll be analyzing it for Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth ramifications:Read More
If you didn’t see it Saturday — either via WSB or via being stuck in it in person — Creighton sent that photo of the eastbound bridge backup during the Alaskan Way Viaduct‘s shutdown for the Rock ‘N’ Roll Marathon (compounded by other road changes/closures). SDOT did send out lots of advance warning, as noted here and elsewhere, but on Saturday, numerous WSBers reported that the “Viaduct Closed” warning lights in West Seattle and on The Bridge weren’t on. Marybeth Turner from SDOT acknowledges it was human error, not a mechanical problem:
SDOT’s procedure for using the warning lights that alert motorists that the Viaduct is closed is clear: in coordination with the Seattle Police Department, if the Viaduct is closed, the lights should be on. This weekend, the policy was not followed. We have re-acquainted and re-focused key staff on our procedure.
Something similar happened last October. The lights were installed in late 2007. ADDED 12:51 PM: So if it DOES happen again, whether a human or mechanical failure, is there a hotline to call? we asked. Turner’s reply:
People may call (206) 386-1218 and report the lights are not functioning. There is someone on hand to answer this phone 24-hours a day.
That’s the same number you’d call about emergency road problems “after hours.”
From the city’s traffic-alert list for the SODO area (you can sign up for the list from the bottom of this page):
Repaving 4th Ave S between S Royal Brougham Way and Airport Way S begins tonight, Monday, June 29, and will continue through the end of July. In order to minimize traffic interruptions, most work will occur during the evening hours between 6 p.m. and 7:00 a.m.
The warnings were issued but not everybody could stay home, and we’ve received reports that it’s been a nightmare, as feared, to travel off the peninsula today. And from within the past hour, here’s pictorial proof, from Creighton. (The Viaduct should be open again before too long, but remember, other events around the city are affecting traffic patterns. Here at the Westwood Village Street Fair, where we’re reporting “live” till 7 pm, only thing closed is the Bed Bath Beyond parking lot where many activities are centered.)
Though our big street-closing festival is still two weeks away (West Seattle Summer Fest, July 10-11-12), much of the rest of the city has so much going on this weekend, we’re sharing the official SDOTadvisory. Top of the list of what might affect you will be the Saturday Alaskan Way Viaduct closures for the Rock ‘N’ Roll Marathon – this advisory amends the hours a bit – see what else is up; read on:Read More
That chart is courtesy of Metro reps we talked with at today’s meeting of the South Portal Working Group that’s helping the state, city, county and port work through the process of planning how all the major transportation projects between here and downtown are going to fit together. The chart gives a simplified version of the newest projected construction timelines laid out at the meeting, and it’s what Metro is using to explain why it wants to delay the launch of the West Seattle RapidRide bus line that was originally planned for 2011. We first reported the delay proposal last week, after it was announced to the King County Regional Traffic Committee; Metro’s Victor Obeso confirmed to us in a followup conversation that the construction timetable is the reason they want to hold off on using the term RapidRide (and its signature elements). As the chart shows, late 2011 through early 2012 is the period with the most overlapping construction impacts, so Metro wants to hold off on RR branding till late 2012. Today, King County’s Ron Posthuma reiterated that increased bus service will be available starting in early 2010 (that includes the 54 and 55 routes, Obeso told us last week), as announced last September, funded from $30 million mitigation money from the state to make up for the impacts of the Viaduct-replacement project. And according to a one-sheet he provided at today’s meeting (containing the chart you see above), other elements of RapidRide will kick in sooner as well:
Metro is committed to working with the City of Seattle and the State to improve the transit priority pathways between West Seattle and downtown Seattle. Capital facility improvements, including signal priority, bus bulbs and transit lanes, to improve the speed and reliability of service in West Seattle currently being planned and designed in the RapidRide corridor would be constructed during 2010 and 2011. Existing routes and riders will benefit from these improvements as they come on line. Metro is proposing the delay in the RapidRide branded passenger facility including shelters and other amenities.
The same one-sheet details the increased West Seattle service as follows:
Starting in February 2010, Metro is proposing adding additional trips during weekday peak hours to and from West Seattle … During the remainder of 2010, mitigation funding will support the following:
-Additional peak trips on routes serving heavy ridership corridors impacted by (viaduct) construction.
-Additional trips in the West Seattle RapidRide corridor between Fauntleroy Ferry, Alaska Junction, and downtown Seattle.
-Maintenance of existing route schedules
One more RapidRide note: The notion of a Delridge RapidRide line seems to have slid further into a dateless future — according to the response received when Pigeon Point resident Pete Spalding (one of West Seattle’s three South Portal group reps) asked why it wasn’t mentioned on the current documents, though it had appeared on “hybrid scenario” renderings earlier in the Viaduct-replacement-discussion process. Posthuma said the county is still “looking at it” but wouldn’t get more specific. Meantime, we’re writing separately about the other information revealed at today’s South Portal Working Group meeting (for a sneak preview, look at the WSB Twitter feed and scroll down a bit; one commenter there said it sounds like a scenario that will make her want to telecommute for about six years).
Since theWSB Forums launched more than a year and a half ago, originally mostly because people wanted to request and receive recommendations for local businesses and services, they’ve facilitated a lot of other connections too, with more than 61,000 posts and 5,000 members. The latest – a vanpool that’s got room for somebody new. If you commute between West Seattle and the north end of Lake Washington, check out the post here – and check out what else is new in the Forums here.
No big splashy announcements of this closure yet but it hit our radar when Robert asked a question on the WSB Facebook page: The Alaskan Way Viaduct will close for much of Saturday because of this area’s first-ever Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon. Specifically, it’s slated to close 4 am-4 pm northbound, 4 am-1:15 pm southbound; the times are listed on The Viaduct’s website.
Some of the discussion and questions following yesterday’s update on the Fauntleroy Way repaving project — which has now moved on to the California/Fauntleroy intersection — was noticed by SDOT, so Marybeth Turner has sent us this explanation to share:
There are three different types of repair work happening on Fauntleroy.
On the west side, SDOT is replacing some of the most damaged concrete panels. This is what crews have been doing most recently from north to south. This reconstruction began on June 22, and is expected to last five days (weather permitting). The west side doesn’t have an asphalt surface like the center and east side. The concrete work on the south side of the intersection will begin on July 6 and also is expected to last five days.
In a few weeks, crews will begin working on the east side of the street, grinding off the old asphalt, then replacing sections of concrete. (This part of the street has a concrete base with an asphalt overlay.) The east side will progress from south to north.
Finally, in the last phase, crews will completely rebuild the center section of the road (middle two lanes) working from north to south. The resurfacing (asphalt) on the east and center sections will happen towards then end of the project in September. The rechannelization (lane markings) will be installed after the paving has been completed.
Another photo from today, at the northeast corner of California/Fauntleroy:
If you went anywhere near Alki Point for low-tide exploring, you might have seen this for the first time – part of the new sidewalk along the northwesternmost curve of Alki Avenue, one section of the Alki Point sidewalk-completion and traffic-calming project. Taking the long way back to WSB HQ from low-tide photography, we noticed most of the work appears complete, and Therese Casper from the city’s Neighborhood Street Fund, which paid for this project, confirms that: “We have a few more things to button up but the contractor anticipates being complete in the next week or two.” She also sends along part of a recent multi-slide presentation on NSF projects – see it here; it’s the section with before-and-after views along the Alki stretch, which starts at the new “calming” feature at 63rd/Alki (our photograph is from earlier this month, as work on that was wrapping up) …
… and ends with the second of two raised crosswalks (like the ones in The Junction), at Alki Ave/Beach Drive, where the sidewalk previously ended. This project sparked some controversy and even a threat of legal action; some waterfront residents had concerns including the potential loss of their unusually configured street parking, but the city designed it in a way that preserved most of that parking (with a loss of some spots at the southwest end of the project) as well as working around some other features, like this:
Along much of the stretch, the new sidewalk was built in what was part of the road, which is now narrower as a result, a fact that’s expected to further discourage speeding through-traffic. This project was bid as part of a package, so Casper says the final cost total won’t be tallied till after the work’s all done. The work’s taken about a month longer than was projected right before it started.
The gas-line work that’s been under way at Fauntleroy/California/Morgan already had things a little dicey at that busy intersection, during the day. But now we have a heads-up from SDOT that the plan for the forthcoming repaving work in that area – part of the big Fauntleroy Way repaving/”rechannelizing” project – will also mean major restrictions on traffic flow. Here’s today’s update from SDOT’s Marybeth Turner:
The configuration required to pave the intersection of California Ave SW and Fauntleroy Way SW is now one lane in each direction – without dedicated left-turn lanes. The change is necessary to allow for the turning radii of larger vehicles. As noted in a June 16th announcement, the work is expected to take five days in each direction, starting with work on the north side. A uniformed police officer will be present during peak hours to assist in keeping traffic moving. Crews will work to complete this segment as quickly as possible.
We’ve got a few followup questions out, including when this is likely to start (if it’s not already overlapping with what’s been happening in that area), and will add the answers when we get them. ADDED 2:15 PM: Here are those answers, also from Marybeth Turner @ SDOT:
Work around the California Ave SW / Fauntleroy Way SW intersection begins today. SDOT’s contractor is trying to work quickly to minimize traffic disruption, and they are currently ahead of schedule.
The crews will head west working on the north side of the intersection, wrapping up by June 26, weather permitting. The concrete work on the south side begins July 6, expected to be completed by July 10.
A uniformed police officer will be on site during peak periods to offer assistance with temporary lane configuration changes and to keep traffic moving.
I believe a flyer was distributed in the area last week, but what has changed since then is that we are not able to provide a turn lane during this work.
ADDED MONDAY EVENING: A construction clip from this afternoon, as the old pavement got jackhammered:
(May 4 photo, taken as first RapidRide bus was shown off)
Confirmed by King County Council Chair Dow Constantine‘s office: During a hearing this afternoon, it was revealed that Metro is proposing pushing back the start of West Seattle RapidRide bus service by a year – that would mean it debuts in the second half of 2012 instead of 2011. But it’s not a budgetary matter, according to Constantine’s chief of staff Chris Arkills – it’s because of the construction that will be under way as part of the “South Portal” package of projects related to the Highway 99 corridor, and Metro wouldn’t want to unveil a service as “rapid” when it may well not be, in the midst of construction and changes. Arkills stresses that the increased bus service levels promised as part of mitigation funding for the Viaduct construction WILL still kick in by then, so West Seattle WILL still have more service – including the 54 corridor that RapidRide is to follow. The Constantine team has arranged for us to speak with Metro tomorrow morning to get more details on the proposal and what happens next – so look for a followup.
Lots of state and city experts here waiting to answer your questions and listen to your thoughts regarding the new plan for replacing the Central Waterfront section of the Alaskan Way Viaduct — the sun’s streaming through the west-facing wall of windows at the Madison Middle School compound. Among those here in the early going, two of West Seattle’s three representatives on the South Portal working group that’s hashing out some of the access issues, Pete Spalding (left) and Vlad Oustimovitch:
Also here now, Mark Wainwright of the Admiral Neighborhood Association, who is on the Central Waterfront working group (as is another West Seattleite, Chas Redmond). You can leave a written comment here, or say your comment out loud to a transcriber who is standing by waiting to listen (and type). As Kristy Van Ness from WSDOT explains, they want to hear your concerns about the plan, to help shape the “scope” of the environmental impact studies before anything is built — that’s why this is called a “scoping” meeting. In case you can’t make it here tonight, we’ll add info in a bit on the other ways you can contribute your comments; the draft environmental-impact report isn’t due out till early next year. Also at the event: The campaign to get an anti-tunnel measure on the ballot – still collecting signatures till next month.
(photo courtesy “RogerTango”)
It’s not in West Seattle, but “RogerTango” from the WS-based Westenders Scooter Club wants to extend the invite to all local riders – and potential riders – to scoot across the bridge for this:
Just a quick reminder that All City Scooter Day #2 will be happening at Scoot About! (535 Westlake Avenue N.) this Saturday from 12 – 2pm. This community event promotes scooters as a viable and fun means of alternative transportation around the city! Check out many different makes and models of scooters, learn how a scooter can be an excellent alternative to a car, and you may even go home with a brand new scooter which will be given away during the event! This event is supported by West Seattle’s own Westenders Scooter Club , which had a scooter display at the (Sustainable West Seattle Festival) last month in the Junction!
Our first report on Tuesday night’s Admiral Neighborhood Association meeting focused on a progress report regarding the upcoming summer concert series. Now, more from the meeting, much of which focused on a presentation about the draft Seattle Pedestrian Master Plan, an agenda item on many of the community meetings we’ve covered lately – and important because you have until next Monday (June 15) to comment on it. On behalf of the city, consultant Peg Staeheli summarized the plan’s key points; as noted before, the PMP is an online document, and as Staeheli put it, it’s worth taking some time to “wander” through the plan. It’s not only about the walkability of local neighborhoods, however – “maintenance is a huge issue,” she observed, which in turn means education of home and business owners regarding their liability for making sure the sidewalks around their properties are usable. (Did you know that whatever’s growing over your sidewalk needs to be cleared for 8 feet of headroom?) The city’s ideal street is a “complete street,” Staeheli added, saying that Morgan/Sylvan through High Point is an example — with landscaping, pedestrian features, and other components. The pedestrian-planning process was more than document creation, she added, saying that city programs/divisions are working together more than ever, looking for opportunities such as the current Fauntleroy road work, which has been preceded by curb cut/ramp creation along much of the stretch that will be repaved. Also from the meeting, Ann Limbaugh from Friends and Neighbors of North Admiral had a quick update on California Place Park, reminding attendees that a celebration of the just-concluded design process is set for one week from this Saturday. The design report from architect Karen Kiest will be made public then, she said.
A few notes from Tuesday night’s Fauntleroy Community Association meeting: Gary Dawson briefed the board on Monday night’s Washington State Ferries community meeting in Port Orchard. His quick summary of what WSF boss David Moseley told those on hand: Good news, no foreseeable cuts in service in the near future; bad news, with continuing state money trouble, there are no foreseeable improvements in service either. Dawson also discussed the city’s draft Pedestrian Master Plan, which has been a topic at many recent community meetings, since citizen comments are being accepted now; FCA plans to take outreach action to make sure its members let the city know their opinion about where in Fauntleroy sidewalk improvements are and are not needed – deadline for comments on the plan is next Monday (here’s how to comment). Also at the meeting: FCA president Bruce Butterfield shared the letter the group had promised to write in support of Fauntleroy Community Services Agency‘s ongoing work to buy the Fauntleroy Schoolhouse from Seattle Public Schools; Lynn Olson noted that Night Out signup is under way online (as noted earlier in our report on Pigeon Point’s Monday night meeting); and it was mentioned that Arbor Heights Elementary‘s school carnival is this Saturday (3 pm). For more information on the Fauntleroy Community Association and what’s happening in the community, check out fauntleroy.net.
6-8 pm tomorrow at Madison Middle School, it’s your next major chance to find out — and speak out — about the plan to replace the Central Waterfront section of the Alaskan Way Viaduct with a deep-bored tunnel. Reps from the state Transportation Department (which is advertising the meeting on WSB to help get the word out) and other involved agencies/departments will be on hand both to answer your questions and to take your comments, to help shape the environmental-studies process required before tunnel-building can begin. It’s open-house format, so drop by any time between 6 and 8. And remember it’s not just about the tunnel itself – these meetings also offer information about component projects (such as the Spokane Street Viaduct Widening Project taking shape alongside the east section of the West Seattle Bridge). In the meantime, three working groups continue meeting to discuss specifics regarding how the tunnel and other components of the “transportation corridor” will work — read on for the latest on what they’re up to:Read More
From the Seattle PostGlobe online citywide-news site: City councilmembers have approved changes in the Restricted Parking Zone rules. The amended proposal preserves the right for neighborhoods to petition for RPZ consideration. Read the PostGlobe story here. (Fauntleroy is currently the only West Seattle neighborhood with RPZ.)
Our first report on Tuesday night’s Admiral Neighborhood Association meeting focused on a progress report regarding the upcoming summer concert series. Now, more from the meeting, much of which focused on a presentation about the 
Gary Dawson briefed the board on Monday night’s 
6-8 pm tomorrow at
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