New recycling/trash schedule, week 2: Everything OK for you?
Seattle Public Utilities says its first week and a half of recycling, yard/food waste, and trash pickup changes has gone relatively smoothly, with a half-percent miss rate for home customers and five percent for apartment/condo/commercial customers. It’s expanded the call-center hours so that if you’re missed or have some other problem, you can reach someone at 684-3000 7:30 am-7 pm weekdays, 9 am-1 pm Saturdays. SPU also says it has “inspectors” trailing crews to check for trouble. (Photo by Christopher Boffoli)
West Seattle sightings: From the Grouchos, to garbage trucks
THE GROUCHOS: This is at least the third year that Groucho Marx faces have appeared in the bridgeside greenery of Pigeon Point. This news comes from Mark Bourne, who chronicles the sighting here and even wrote about them for Film.com last year.
GARBAGE TRUCKS: Not only did some trash/recycling procedures and pickup dates change starting today, WSB photojournalist Christopher Boffoli noticed something else:
He says that’s the first time he’s noticed one of the new “powered by natural gas” trucks, and adds, “You can’t really tell from the video but they are noticeably quieter than the old ones. They are also the cleanest garbage trucks I have ever seen.” We found a little more information at the Waste Management Seattle website — actually an excerpt from an earlier city news release about the new solid-waste contracts: “Sixty percent of the (WM) trucks will run on a bio-diesel blend and 40 percent will run on compressed natural gas.” Remember, if you’re STILL confused about the changes, you can find more info here or call the city’s “customer service” line at 684-3000.
BONUS SIGHTING: Moments after we published this item, we received a note, with pix, re: yet another interesting sighting — Larry Nitkey wondered if this was a “bridge to nowhere”:
Still looking for complete verification but 99% sure it’s for the Hood Canal Bridge project, judging by what’s in this Sunday article. (Note that the bridge’s six-week construction shutdown is just a month away – it starts May 1st.)
Happening today: Trash/recycling changes; break; bag-fee vote
TRASH/RECYCLING CHANGES: Today’s the day it all starts. If you’re like us and had Monday pickup before, they’re not supposed to show up till tomorrow. An online lookup tool is here (but it’s had a few reports of glitches). The recycling changes — more stuff can go in the bin, no more glass separation, etc. — are explained here. Remember that yard waste (including food scraps) is now picked up weekly. And if you’re confused, call 684-3000.
SPRING BREAK: Reminder that Seattle Public Schools (and others) are out this week for spring break, so you’ll see lots more kids around.
BAG FEE ELECTION VOTE: During the meeting that starts at 2 pm today (agenda here), the Seattle City Council is scheduled to take a final vote on putting the disposable-bag-fee referendum on the August 19 ballot. (If you’re new to this story, council members approved an ordinance that would charge shoppers 20 cents for each disposable shopping bag they use. A petition drive bankrolled by the American Chemistry Council [financial report here] was immediately launched to force a referendum vote on the proposal, so the fee hasn’t taken effect.)
Monday afternoon notes: Trash countdown, and more
TRASH COUNTDOWN: At WSB HQ, we finally got the official notice taped to the containers, after today’s pickup … although we’d already received the notice in the mail saying our pickup day, currently Monday, is changing to Tuesday. One week from today is when the changes – including higher rates and weekly yard/food waste pickup — start kicking in. One big reminder we took away from a Seattle Public Utilities presentation at last week’s Alki Community Council meeting – which is likely to be mentioned again at tonight’s Highland Park Action Committee meeting — is that, while you used to be able to opt out of yard-waste service, you can’t any more – it’s mandatory (even if you don’t have yard waste to recycle, the city is encouraging you to recycle food waste), but you can get a small container (full options listed here).
TEAM DELRIDGE EVENT TONIGHT, LOCATION CORRECTION: We listed the wrong location in an earlier note – it’s at 6:30 pm at Southwest Community Center (map).
CAMP LONG EVENT THIS WEEKEND: Coming up next weekend, a great way to enjoy and support one of West Seattle’s greenest treasures: a coffeehouse and dessert-auction fundraiser at Camp Long, 7 pm this Saturday night, with music by Jim Page and Grant Dermody. Reservations recommended, call 206-684-7434 or 206-938-3870. $10 per adult; kids over 5 are $5, and a naturalist program will be available for them to enjoy during the event.
IT’S A REALLY BIG TREE: Over the weekend we reported on the new plan for the SW Manning/Admiral Way site that’s best known for its sequoia tree. City Councilmember Tom Rasmussen, whose Parks Committee will look at the plan tomorrow morning, visited over the weekend – for a sense of the tree’s size, check out this photo of the tree, with Councilmember Rasmussen standing next to it:
Two-week countdown to recycling/trash changes
Earlier today, we saw the label crews trailing the pickup crews again, taping notices to trash/recycling containers along Alki Avenue – a reminder there are two weeks to go till new city contracts kick in, upping rates, expanding what’s recyclable, changing yard/food waste pickup to weekly, and for many households, changing pickup days. (We’ve been Monday since we bought our house in ’93; as of 3/31 it’ll be Tuesday.) If you don’t see a note attached to your can(s), watch your mailbox – the collection day is mentioned above your address on a brochure about the changes. Here’s the latest city news release aimed at keeping the impending changes top-of-mind; again, they kick in the week of 3/30. (Note the recycling/disposal-station rates are rising too.)
Check your can: Trash/recycling pickup-change notices arriving
Thanks to Bob Loblaw for sending word – and pic – of the notice taped to his trash can after this morning’s pickup: In his Fairmount Park neighborhood, at least, Monday pickup will move to Tuesday as of the week of March 30th. We have Monday pickup here in Upper Fauntleroy too, but have NOT received any such notice, so we’re not assuming everyone with Monday pickup is switching to Tuesday – just wanted to remind you to start checking your receptacles (the city says you should get a notice no later than March 23). This is all part of the package of big changes including weekly yard waste/food waste pickup (other recycling will remain every-other-week), no more glass separation for recycling, additional materials allowed in recycling (like aluminum foil) etc. — all detailed here.
Southwest District Council: Park progress, city check-ins, more
From Wednesday night’s meeting of the Southwest District Council (WSB sponsor): Busy agenda including not only updates on West Seattle projects, but also guest appearances by City Council President Richard Conlin, Alaskan Way Viaduct team reps, and a 
Seattle City Light spokesperson. But first: A followup on a story we brought you at this time tonight, the kickoff of the Friends of Junction Plaza Park‘s efforts to collect pledges of volunteer time and money to get the park finished this year. Susan Melrose of the West Seattle Junction Association told the SWDC that just since the Tuesday night meeting, 22 signed pledges have come in, representing 400 hours of volunteer time, and organizations are volunteering too – nearby West Seattle Christian Church has pledged 200 hours of volunteer time. Patti Mullen of the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce said she had spoken with Lafarge Cement, who, she told Melrose, “wants to know if they can offer any labor and product that can support you.” Volunteer pledges circulated through the room before the meeting ended; here’s a form you can print, sign, and send in – also, as mentioned before, look for park volunteers at this Sunday’s West Seattle Farmers’ Market. Listening to the park update, Councilmember Conlin said, “It’s great to see Junction Plaza Park moving forward,” and that segued right into his update – which, along with Viaduct and City Light points, is just ahead:Read More
West Seattle traffic alert: Tree trim-a-thon on California SW
If you’re heading southbound on California SW through the 3300 block – south of Prost, The Bohemian, Spiro’s, and the almost-complete Madison Heights townhouse project – it’s slow going because of those four huge cherry-picker trucks working on trimming tree branches away from power lines. City Light has had major tree work going in West Seattle for almost a year now; SCL’s Scott Thomsen just confirmed to WSB that this is city work — “JTS Inc. is working there for us with a city arborist. They’ve been out in West Seattle for the past three weeks. They’ll be working in that area for about another month.”
Countdown to trash/recycling changes: 2-part show-and-tell
We’re at the end of a two-part media event this morning put on by Seattle Public Utilities and the mayor’s office to start intensifying the reminders that the way you handle your trash/recycling is changing in a big way at month’s end. Rates are rising, pickup dates are changing, weekly food/yard-waste collection is happening, and you’ll be able to recycle more items (and you won’t have to separate the glass any more). First part of the media event is in the photo above – on a Beacon Hill streetcorner, the mayor and a neighborhood family used plastic props to demonstrate the new push for more food recycling. Second part, we’ll be adding video in a bit – we and the other media reps were taken inside the gigantic recycling-sorting facility at 3rd/Lander in Sodo …. (photo added 4:48 pm)
… for a look at what happens AFTER your recycling is picked up, BEFORE it’s sent off to whoever’s buying the “raw” materials. Loud, smelly, fascinating. Clips to come.
Here’s more info on the upcoming changes. Specific info on your new collection day should arrive in your postal mail. ADDED 4:14 PM: 1st video clip and some extra info:Read More
Update: Status of future parkland @ West Seattle Reservoir
That photo was provided last year by Dina Johnson of the Highland Park Action Committee, before work began in earnest on the project to underground West Seattle Reservoir (surrounded by Westcrest Park). Eventually, part of the resulting greenspace is to become more parkland; at this week’s HPAC meeting, chair Dan Mullins said he’s working to get an official Parks Department presentation on the project lined up for a future HPAC meeting (as he’s since noted the levy passed last year; here’s an update from Parks spokesperson Dewey Potter:
It is a named project in the 2008 Levy, and as such will take place within the next six years. Parks will not have any levy funding in hand until King County collects first quarter 2009 property tax receipts, so we will have our first dollars in April … Mayor Nickels is working to speed up some projects under the banner of “Seattle Jobs Forward” consistent with the stimulus. To that end, Parks is moving forward on “shovel-ready” levy projects with funds from the Cumulative Reserve Subfund and will reimburse it with Levy funds when they are in hand.
We are also working on the levy implementation plan the City Council has asked for, and it will include needed staffing (very little, since some staff people who worked on 2000 Pro Parks Levy projects are still on board), a plan for going out to all neighborhood district councils to present what’s in the levy, public workshops, getting the citizen Levy Oversight Committee up and running, and creating a timeline for the named projects over the life of the levy. (As you probably know, with a bond issue the City borrows all the money up front and pays it back over the life of the bonds, and with a levy the money comes in quarterly over the life of the levy).
So, we don’t yet know when the reservoir project will take place, and we have not yet assigned a planner to it. We will have the community workshops in the upcoming months, and we will publicize them widely. Folks can also keep an eye on the fledgling 2008 Levy web page: www.seattle.gov/parks/levy/default.htm, which will be updated constantly.
Burnout backlog: Thousands of street lights await repair
If a street light’s burned out on your block, go ahead and report it, but don’t expect it to get fixed fast. 
We’ve just learned there’s a big backlog of burned-out lights: 3,500 of Seattle City Light‘s street lights are awaiting repair. We got the tip from a White Center resident (City Light’s territory stretches south of the city limits) who said he’d called to report a burned-out light in his area and was told it could be six weeks. City Light’s Mike Eagan confirms that’s true: “There are many more trouble streetlights reported this time of year and the current estimated turn-around time for repair is 32 working days.” He says SCL replaces 21,000 street lights every year (that’s a fourth of the city’s 84,000 lights). The long wait time is a big change from what Eagan reported at local meetings we covered last year (including this one in July), when he said it was down to a matter of days. But he also tells WSB that one particularly dark stretch of West Seattle street that had been the source of many complaints — Delridge near Trenton — now has the lights back on. To report a burned-out light, use this online form or call 206-684-7056.
West Seattle snow aftermath: Trash rebate details made public
On New Year’s Eve, while at City Hall for Mayor Nickels‘ post-snowstorm briefing, we reported to you that he promised a rebate for some who’d missed multiple trash pickups, though no details were given at the time. An e-mail question this past weekend from a WSBer reminded us that it’s long past time for a followup, so we asked Andy Ryan at Seattle Public Utilities if the rebate details had been announced. He just sent them to us, in this customer Q-city A format:
Q: Can I get an adjustment for my missed garbage pickups during the December 2008 snow storm?
A: Yes, if your collection was missed twice. The storm started late on Wednesday, 12/17/08 and lasted through 12/26/08.
Residential accounts missed twice will receive a one-time $5 adjustment for this weather-related event. Commercial accounts (dumpsters) missed twice will receive a $10 adjustment. However, customers whose pickup day was Wednesday were only missed once (on Dec. 24), so they are not eligible for an adjustment. Neither are COFN accounts.
Q: How were the $5 and $10 amounts derived?
A: These amounts align with an adjustment already applied to the accounts of customers whose garbage collection was missed twice in one year.
Q: When will I see the adjustment, and how will it look on my bill?
A: This adjustment will be applied to eligible accounts with a bill date of 2/17/09 forward, until all accounts served during the storm period of 12/18/08 – 12/26/08 have billed. The adjustment will appear as a line item referring to the December 2008 snow event.
So keep an eye on your next bill.
Update: Beware of bridge-striping backups; more light work too
We’re downtown for the Design Commission review of the Conner Homes Junction project alley vacation (second review), and while headed this way a short time ago, we spent about 15 extra minutes on the high bridge, eastbound, in a major all-lanes traffic backup while the lane stripers worked way up ahead – chalking where they will later paint (as mentioned earlier). Did afford a nice view of the City Light crews working on more bulb replacement on the westbound side, though – but in general, if you’re using The Bridge at any time today, plan for extra time.
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