Junction coverup: Bus shelter finally back
Thanks to Chas Redmond for that photo and word that the shelter on the southwest corner of California/Alaska in The Junction is back. When it was removed nine months ago (WSB report here), the county said it was going away so KeyBank could do some work on its building. (That same post had a long list of other shelter changes that were in the works at the time.)
West Seattle Gas Price Watch: Pump-jump slowdown
The highest price in this week’s West Seattle Gas Price Watch — our weekly survey of posted regular and premium prices at all West Seattle stations (checked during late-Sunday-night drives and posted early Monday mornings) — is only two cents over last week’s highest price: It’s $4.45/regular at Lincoln Park 76 (photo left). More than half the other 19 West Seattle stations have the same price for regular, a rare sort of consensus – some are even unchanged from last week — one station is actually cheaper! See the latest prices, on our map and text list, ahead:Read More
The Cart Project: Get one — and/or help distribute them
Feet First, which helps make our area more walkable, is close to kicking off The Cart Project – distributing carts like the one shown above, for a nominal price – and that means two things for people in West Seattle. First, the carts will be initially offered to Westwood-area residents. Second, volunteers are needed to help match carts with takers. Here’s what Ellie Taylor from Feet First sent us to share with you:
Meet new people, and give neighborhood residents a reason to get out and walk! This is a volunteer opportunity for Feet First’s new Cart Project, which aims to make it easier for people to do their everyday shopping on foot with personal hand-carts.
Location: The pilot project is in Westwood Village, West Seattle. Volunteers would help distribute carts to neighborhood residents who come through the QFC in Westwood Village.
Times: Throughout the day; evening availability (5-7) is especially appreciated.
Tasks: Volunteers will ask people if they are within the target area, describe the project, administer a short survey, and collect some money.
To find out more, e-mail Ellie at ellie@feetfirst.info
Weekend traffic alert: Viaduct reminder, and more
First – Dump the Pump Day must be a roaring success; we couldn’t get a parking place within blocks of the Water Taxi dock, compared to two days ago, when we got here at 10 minutes before departure time and got a space within a few blocks. (Yes, we know, should have just left earlier and taken the bus all the way from home.) So we’re trying again for the 1 pm run. Meantime, a lovely view here at Don Armeni (cameraphone photo above), where our inbox just yielded the city’s official weekend traffic alert, including the 7:45-11 am time frame for the Saturday morning Viaduct closure we first told you about earlier this week – read on for the full citywide list:Read More
Another followup: Alki sidewalk project “moving forward,” says city
We are still pursuing comment from opponents but wanted to pass this along before too much more time passed by; at the end of last week, we checked with the city Transportation Department regarding the status of the controversial Alki Point sidewalk project. (We hadn’t had official updates since April, after a city-organized meeting ended with some opponents threatening to sue.) Here’s what SDOT communications chief Rick Sheridan tells WSB:
The city remains fully committed to completing the Alki Avenue Sidewalk project. The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) is moving forward with a design that maintains existing traffic conditions and provides accessible sidewalks for the entire project area using public right of way. We are still planning to begin construction as of spring/summer 2009. Sam Woods, the project manager, will be visiting the Alki Community Council in the near future to discuss input gathered from the neighborhood and outstanding design details. If citizens still have concerns about the project, they are welcome to share that with Ms. Woods via e-mail at: Sandra.Woods@Seattle.Gov
Sheridan also reiterated that the “one-way” option that seemed DOA at the April 2nd meeting remains out of the picture.
Reader report: Tree blocking section of 48th SW
Katie sends word of a tree down across both lanes of 48th SW “on the hill between Holly and Graham” (map). 11:43 AM UPDATE: As of our drive-by about 10 minutes ago, the road is still blocked off; this is the section of 48th that runs between Lowman Beach and Seaview. We just added a photo we took around 10:15; one of the crews on the scene told us it appeared that “two half-dead trees” had somehow come into conflict and one ultimately came down.
Alaskan Way Viaduct notes: Inspection tomorrow, closure Saturday
INSPECTION TOMORROW: The state Transportation Department just sent word that The Viaduct gets its quarterly inspection tomorrow, but NO LANE CLOSURES are needed. (Side note – the next Stakeholders’ Advisory Committee meeting re: the future of the Central Waterfront section of The Viaduct is June 26, 4 pm, City Hall.)
SHUTDOWN SATURDAY MORNING: FYI in case you would be driving that way – but also, it’s not too late to register if you want to take advantage of this every-June chance to walk on The Viaduct for a good cause — Saturday morning is the annual Race for the Cure. Still checking on the exact shutdown hours, but last year it was 7:45-11 am. The three of us do the 5K walk in R4TC every year; here’s our report on last year’s event, exactly one year ago. (P.S. You can also join in a cancer-fighting event right here in West Seattle in less than two weeks — Relay for Life at West Seattle Stadium, from 6 pm June 27 through noon June 28. We’ll have a detailed preview later this week, but for now, you can get involved by calling Karee Boone at 206-674-4105, Melissa Bazala at 206-281-3738, or Diane Redenbaugh at 206-937-2291.)
West Seattle Gas Price Watch: Another week, another dime
View Larger Map
The highest posted price for regular in West Seattle is a dime higher as of late last night than it was exactly a week earlier – though a different station now holds the “honor” of having the highest price. The map above locates each station – click and you’ll see current and past prices from our surveys; or, read on for the full text list plus who’s gone up the most in the past week and who’s gone up the least:Read More
Gimme shelter: 35th/Webster “surprise”
Got this report from Anna and headed over to get photographic proof:
It’s not a major thing, unless you happen to live near the corner of 35th and Webster [map] and ride the bus. In the last week they have recovered the sidewalk at this bus stop and this morning, I was surprised that the (county) had installed a new bus shelter (previously no shelter from the rain at this stop) and provided us with a trash can. Before yesterday, this stop only had one small exposed bench, no trash receptacle and no covered shelter. A lot of people commute using this stop, so it was really nice to see some … amenities to make our commute a little nicer.
“Car-free” day on Alki? SDOT says it’s not a done deal
As mentioned in our Parks Board meeting report, Parks staffers didn’t say anything more last night about the line in their briefing paper saying there could be a “car-free” day on Alki in late summer — they mentioned it in passing as a city Transportation Department proposal. So we asked SDOT communications boss Rick Sheridan this morning about the status and what’s next. Here’s the reply that just came in:
“Car Free Days,” where some city streets would be open to bikes and pedestrians, is an idea that Mayor Nickels proposed as part of the campaign to “Give Your Car the Summer Off.” The effort seeks to combat global warming by encouraging more walking, biking, car pooling and taking transit. The closures would be similar to Bicycle Saturdays and Sundays along Lake Washington Boulevard.
Parks and Recreation jumped the gun as no definitive decisions have been made. The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) is still fine-tuning the concept and needs other departments (fire, police, etc.) to approve it. Outstanding issues remain about mitigating the impacts on nearby streets and finding city resources to support it. The three corridors mentioned are, at this point, only possible locations. As we move further along in the process, we are interested in hearing the public’s perspective on the idea itself and suitable locations. SDOT should have more information to share in the next few weeks.
Rick Sheridan
SDOT
At least one “Car-Free Day” proposed for Alki Ave. this summer
Remember when we talked about the city’s “Give Your Car the Summer Off” campaign a couple weeks ago, and mentioned the city would identify certain streets for “Car-Free Days” before summer’s end? A briefing paper for tonight’s Parks Board meeting (same one where the beach-fire-ban briefing is planned) says:
SDOT is proposing Car Free Days for one Sunday each during this August and possibly September at these locations:
• Alki, between the Water Taxi dock at Seacrest Park and 63rd Ave SW in West Seattle;
• Create a loop from Pioneer Square to Pike Place Market via Alaskan Way and First Avenue to Olympic Sculpture Park;
• Connect Magnuson Park to Seward Park via Burke Gilman Trail, the Arboretum, part of Montlake Bridge and Lake Washington Blvd and encourage attendees of the Pro Bike Pro Walk event to participate.
There will be the need for close coordination as park usage will be involved. For all locations, SDOT is interested in linking to special events and/or including programmed activities to enhance public awareness of the program and have a critical mass of public participation.
You can read the whole briefing paper here. A public hearing is planned on the proposed road closures during tonight’s Seattle Parks Board meeting; it starts at 7 pm at Parks Department HQ in Denny Park, 100 Dexter Ave. N. (scroll down this page for directions), and the sign-up sheet for public comment is available starting at 6 pm. It’s one of a mountain of major events tonight (all listed on West Seattle’s most comprehensive events calendar) – if you can’t go, here’s how to send written comments.
Fauntleroy/Dawson signal update: Almost done
Caught this photo around noon while heading to the West Seattle YMCA (WSB sponsor), where we had the chance to chat with a great group of seniors interested in hearing the latest on WS development and other happenings. (When we headed back the other way, the lights themselves were back under wraps.) Previous WSB coverage of the Fauntleroy/Dawson signal is here and here.
West Seattle Gas Price Watch: New “leader” of the pump pack
We usually crop the rear-view mirror out of “taken from the car” photos. However, the above shot seemed to capture the flavor of our drive-by survey of West Seattle gas prices late last night. It shows the station that now has the highest WS price for regular – $4.33 @ 35th/Barton Exxon. Just ahead – the full West Seattle survey, which now includes a map as well as the text list of current and past prices:Read More
Parking alert: Sidewalk work set to start tomorrow
Noticed these signs along the west side of California SW just north of Morgan Junction – between Graham and Raymond (map). The “no parking” warning kicks in tomorrow and the project is described on the signs as “sidewalk restoration.” (There’s also a stack of “businesses open during construction” signs ready to go, too.)
First full ’08 month for Water Taxi a biggie
As promised the other night, when King County Councilmember Dow Constantine told the Southwest District Council that the Elliott Bay Water Taxi’s ridership was up 17 percent over last year (as of mid-May), we now have the complete May report, and it has other interesting details — read on:Read More
Traffic alert: Another round of Delridge work this weekend
Just in from the city Transportation Department:
SDOT paving crews will repair failed concrete panels on the west side of Delridge Way Southwest at Southwest Elmgrove Street on Saturday, June 7. (Last Saturday crews repaired pavement on the east side of the street.)
The crews plan to work from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., starting with breaking out and removing the damaged concrete. One lane will remain open to traffic. Flaggers will assist drivers through the area. On-street parking will be restricted. When the new pavement has sufficiently cured, expected Saturday evening, the full street will be reopened to traffic.
Elmgrove doesn’t fully intersect with Delridge – this is the 8100 block of Delridge – here’s a map.
First, one last note that The Viaduct will be closed 7:45-11 am tomorrow for the Race for the Cure (
Every day on the calendar has a promotional tie-in … National Chocolate-Covered Pickle Day, Worldwide Sing While Standing On Your Head Day, and on and on … but today’s is worth a note: 
Just in from the state – another round of public hearings about the Alaskan Way Viaduct – this time, regarding the environmental assessment of the 
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