West Seattle, Washington
11 Monday
That video will fill you in on the Major Taylor Project, beneficiary of a big bike ride that starts in West Seattle this Saturday. You’re invited to be part of it, per this announcement we just received:
Cascade’s Ride for Major Taylor is fast approaching this Saturday, April 16. Now in its second year, the 25-mile pledge ride will take hundreds of riders through the culturally rich communities of West Seattle, Delridge, Burien, SeaTac, Tukwila, and White Center before returning to the finish line celebration at Big Al Brewing in White Center.
Registration remains open until Wednesday (today), April 13 at 11:59 p.m. Day-of registration will be available for an additional fee from 9-10 a.m. at the start line at Chief Sealth International High School.
The Ride for Major Taylor is a pledge ride in which students, families and community members are encouraged to raise support for Cascade’s Major Taylor Project. Registration fees and all pledged support helps provide bikes, cycling gear, tools, snacks and much more for participating students across 14 Puget Sound area schools throughout the year.
Full route and additional information available at cascade.org/rideformajortaylor.
Named after Marshall Walter “Major” Taylor, the first African American cyclist to achieve world champion status, the Major Taylor Project is a year-round youth development cycling program for middle and high school students. The Major Taylor Project uses afterschool cycling clubs as a forum for helping students develop confidence, goal setting abilities, bicycle maintenance and handling skills, and deep connections with their peers and communities. The program serves more than 300 students in King and Pierce Counties annually.
“This is a really special day for the Major Taylor Project and the students,” said Major Taylor Project Director Ed Ewing. “Like all the event rides that they work so hard to complete, this ride is their chance to show support for each other and share with their communities how much cycling has helped them grow as young people.”
Sealth and adjacent Denny International Middle School are the two West Seattle schools participating in the project.
(Tuesday night’s surprise sunset colors, photographed by JayDee from Upper Alki)
Some of what’s up for your Wednesday:
WEST SEATTLE TRIO @ WHITE HOUSE SCIENCE FAIR: As mentioned here last night, the award-winning underwater-robotics team AMNO & CO. is part of today’s White House Science Fair, and the live stream starts on the White House website at 10 am our time – it’ll be here.
LIBRARY STORY TIMES: Spring break is a great time to check these out if you haven’t gone before and have the chance to do it today/tonight. Three today – Preschool Story Time, 10:30-11 am at West Seattle (Admiral) Library (2306 42nd SW); Baby Story Time, 11-11:30 am at High Point Library (35th SW/SW Graham); Somali Story Time, 5-5:30 pm, also at High Point Library.
FREE HEALTH WORKSHOP: Noon at the West Seattle YMCA (WSB sponsor), learn about “energy enhancement” as part of the Y’s ongoing Wellness/Disease Prevention series. Free! More info here. (4515 36th SW)
LOCAL BIZ MEETUP: Noon-1:15 pm at West Seattle’s only coworking center, Office Junction (WSB sponsor) – local businesspeople are invited to come network – take a break, get a change of pace and place! (6040 California SW)
WEST SEATTLE/WHITE CENTER VIETNAMESE TEA TIME & CAREGIVER SUPPORT GROUP: 1-3 pm, new addition to the calendar, at Greenbridge Community Center:
Please come to meet with friends, exchange information, storytelling, entertainment, singing, and planning for future meetings. We can help with language support (translation/interpreter) or settle the bills such as electricity, water , cable TV, internet. Hosted by Tram Chung, a family support worker serving Vietnamese elders and caregivers in West Seattle, White Center, Burien, and South King County.
(9800 8th SW)
PLAY GAMES! Star Wars and D&D game groups play at Meeples Games (WSB sponsor) tonight – see the schedule on the right side of the Meeples homepage. (3727 California SW)
COED ULTIMATE FRISBEE: New 6 pm drop-in game with the folks who bring you West Seattle Ultimate Family Frisbee. 6 pm at Fairmount Park playfield – rain cancels. (5400 Fauntleroy Way SW)
BOSTON SENDOFF & WEEKLY GROUP RUN: Going to Boston for the Marathon? Join the weekly group run at West Seattle Runner (WSB sponsor) tonight at 6:15 pm, followed by a celebratory sendoff – details here. (2743 California SW)
34TH DISTRICT DEMOCRATS: Our area’s largest political organization meets at 7 pm tonight at The Hall at Fauntleroy. The agenda (see it here) includes this weekend’s Legislative District Caucus and candidate forums for three statewide positions. (9131 California SW)
OPEN MICROPHONE: 8:30 pm at The Skylark (all ages until 10, then 21+) – details here. (3803 Delridge Way SW)
MORE! See for yourself on our complete WSB West Seattle Event Calendar.
(Click any view for a close-up; more cameras on the WSB Traffic page)
7:06 AM: Good morning! No incidents in/from West Seattle so far. Notes for today include:
AFTERNOON BASEBALL: The Mariners play the Rangers one more time at Safeco Field, 12:40 pm.
30TH/YANCY/AVALON PROJECT: SDOT announced earlier this week that this work could switch from the east side of the intersection to the west side as soon as today – we’ll head out to check shortly. (8:28 am update – SDOT tells us the change will be made TOMORROW, Thursday.)
HIGHWAY 99 CLOSURE NORTH OF DOWNTOWN: Another overnight closure of SB 99 north of downtown is set for overnight tonight, 10 pm-5 am, between Valley and Thomas.
SPRING BREAK CONTINUES … for Seattle Public Schools, which reopen next Monday (April 18th).
(2015 AMNO & CO. photo – from left, Nicholas Orndorff, Clara Orndorff, Alex Miller)
Tomorrow morning, you can watch live online as the next White House Science Fair celebrates young achievers from our area – AMNO & CO., the underwater-robotics team of Clara Orndorff, 19; Nicholas Orndorff, 16; and Alex Miller, 17. We’ve reported on their success several times in the past few years – including this international-competition win last summer – but it doesn’t get much bigger than a trip to the White House. AMNO & CO. will be part of President Obama’s sixth and final White House Science Fair starting at 11:15 am our time on Wednesday – see the list of participants from all over the country, here.
First of two reports from tonight’s Fauntleroy Community Association meeting, which wrapped up this past hour at the Fauntleroy Schoolhouse:
(Photo courtesy King County Wastewater Treatment Division)
King County Wastewater Treatment Division reps assured FCA that the Murray Combined Sewer Overflow Control Project will be done by the end of the year – the county, in fact, they insisted, is “highly motivated” to finish it by then. The facility itself, a million-gallon tank meant to keep most combined-sewer overflow from spilling into Puget Sound, should be operational by early October. That isn’t the end of the project – next fall and winter will bring restoration of Lowman Beach Park, where an underground pump station is undergoing upgrades and where construction trailers and some other project support has been staged; a ribbon-cutting and celebration is expected to happen next spring.
In the far more immediate future, 6,000 homes in the area are about to get a mailer with the final timeline, and you’re invited to an “information session” at the site two weeks from tonight, Tuesday, April 26th, 5 pm-7 pm.
BACKSTORY: After five-plus years of talking and planning, construction began more than 2 1/2 years ago with demolition of the block of residential buildings that had been on what’s now the tank site. When operational, it’s expected to reduce the number of Puget Sound-polluting overflows – which typically happen during major storms – from an average of five a year, to one.
Getting followup information on criminal cases often takes a while. This is one example. But now we know a lot more about the suspect arrested on Beach Drive last Wednesday, including where the case stands and how the incident began.
38-year-old Joshua C. Utecht is the man police arrested on Wednesday afternoon, found hiding under a deck/porch, allegedly after crashing a stolen Honda CR-V (described in court documents as having “stolen, swapped plates”) on Atlas Drive and bolting downslope to where he was found with the help of a K-9 team.
Utecht has since been charged with possession of a stolen vehicle and reckless driving. He also is being held on a warrant for escaping state Department of Corrections supervision. Court documents say he has been under DOC supervision for eight years, during which time he was found guilty of two robberies and a burglary. He had been under supervision since getting out of prison less than two years ago. And he is a fugitive from Louisiana.
The probable-cause document and police report say this all started with a call to police when a man and woman were seen acting suspiciously earlier Wednesday afternoon in the 6700 block of SW Holly and near 48th and Eddy. An officer arriving in the area spotted a suspicious vehicle in an alley between 47th and 48th, Juneau and Raymond. The officer checked its license-plate number and discovered the plate had been reported stolen. He spotted the woman who had gotten out of the car and yelled at her to get back into it; she just kept walking. Meantime, the car took off, headed northbound “at a high rate of speed” and went down Juneau to where it turns into Atlas, crashing into a garage, car, and pole in the 5900 block. Passengers pointed police to where they said a man had fled the car and headed downslope toward Beach Drive, dropping a folding knife – locked in the open position – as he ran.
Meantime, police discovered the stolen plate – missing since early March – didn’t match the car, whose ID number revealed it to have been stolen in January. After Utecht was found hiding on Beach Drive, he told a sergeant that the car was “borrowed.” He also said the woman who he had left behind in Seaview wasn’t involved in anything bad, while describing himself with an unflattering expletive. His last known address, as listed on the police report, was in the Alki area. He’s being held without bail on the escape charge, while bail for the new charges was set at $30,000. (We also looked up the case related to the escape charge. The “escape” – which, when related to supervision, is more like “not reporting in” – isn’t described, but the case itself traced back to November 2009, with Utecht found in White Center in a car stolen from Beacon Hill, then eluding a King County Sheriff’s Deputy in a high-speed chase, which ended with the car abandoned in Seola Beach and Utecht found by the Guardian One helicopter after running through a ravine and hiding in a shed.)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
One of the West Seattle Junction’s historic murals is history.
The mural called “Midnight Call” was removed today from the south side of 4711 44th SW.
By the time we noticed the removal work in progress, while passing through The Junction earlier this afternoon, most of it was down already, and a short time later, the remaining panels were gone. The mural by Don Barrie depicted a horse-drawn fire rig leaving a long-ago firehouse nearby, as explained toward the end of this page about some of Barrie’s work.
It was removed with regret, we heard from Mark Swanson, son of the namesake of the building’s main tenant, Don Swanson Insurance, telling us his dad was so proud of the mural. Swanson says the building’s owners are having some exterior work done, and the mural already was rotting – it had to be taken down and couldn’t be saved. As you can see in this photo from five years ago, it was also faded – compare it to the photo below, from the mid-’00s:
(Image Credit: Seattle Online)
While checking into the situation, we noticed vandalism on another mural on the west side of 44th SW, “Press Day” – tagging vandalism in brown paint over its lower-right corner. And that is almost directly across 44th from the “First Duwamish Bridge” mural, which, as first reported here in February, was badly defaced by vandal(s) with black spray paint. The West Seattle Junction Association has continued to work on figuring out whether it can be saved; director Susan Melrose told us today that they have a $5,000 bid for repair work, but no plan yet on how to proceed.
You might be surprised to hear the murals aren’t publicly owned. They were commissioned a quarter-century ago as part of a project that won a national award in 1992, as noted here, but most have deteriorated to some degree, with no central plan for care or preservation. One exception: The parade mural on the side of the Junction Post Office, restored in 2007.
Coincidentally, the West Seattle Art Walk committee had been working on a plan for a walking tour of the murals sometime later this year. Now, there’s one less mural to see.
It’s already been a month since we took that photo of JF Henry Cooking and Dining proprietor Tom Henry putting up the banner for his store’s Retirement Sale – and countdown to closure. At the time, he wasn’t sure when they would close for good, but now the date is set – this Saturday (April 16th) is the sale’s last day, and the store’s last day. As first reported here last month, rather than sell the 31-year-old business, Henry decided to rent out the space; it was announced days later as the new home of the West Seattle branch of John L. Scott Real Estate.
Contacting us with word of the closing date, Tom Henry also shared the message he has posted on the store’s door, which is more than a farewell:
Greetings and Happy Spring!
As we approach our last week here at JF Henry we would again like to sincerely thank you for all the many years of support.
We are truly blessed to have had this opportunity to live, work & raise our family in such an incredible community as West Seattle.
I hope all of us continue to be aware of our responsibilities in supporting our local businesses in West Seattle. We have an amazing selection of stores, restaurants & professional services that are mostly locally owned and operated by our neighbors. I truly believe by choosing to buy locally we all make an incredible difference in the health and prosperity of our business district.
Carol, Betty, Patty & I are looking forward to a lot more time for family, friends & fun. We will continue to live in and love West Seattle! See ya around the neighborhood.
All the Best!
Tom
Through the final day on Saturday, JF Henry (4445 California SW) is open 10 am-6 pm daily.
(WSB photo)
11:28 AM: Thanks to the person who tipped us about this (text/call 206-293-6302, 24/7): The guns-drawn police response in the 9400 block of 9th SW in south Highland Park is a Bellevue Police case, with Seattle Police assisting. We were told at the scene that it involves a Bellevue warrant related to auto theft. That’s all we know so far, but we’re checking with BPD and will update later if we find out anything more.
6:37 PM: We just heard back from BPD’s public-information officer, who says, “I can confirm that investigators with our Department’s Special Enforcement Team (SET) were in that area investigating a vehicle theft and serving a search warrant on a residence.” Officer Seth Tyler added background on the SET, saying that it “addresses specific types of repeat crimes with an innovative, proactive approach. The team targets prolific, active criminals in an effort to lower the overall rate of reported crime. The team conducts plainclothes surveillance of targeted areas and surveillance of known active criminals and then coordinates with the King County Prosecutor’s Office to ensure that arrested suspects remain in custody. Additionally, SET works frequently with the investigative units of other agencies to help address multijurisdictional offenders.”
ADDED THURSDAY: More info from Bellevue PD – we’re publishing a separate followup.
Two neighborhood councils meet tonight, and that’s part of what’s on the highlight list:
LOW TIDE: Low enough for a beach walk if you’re able to take a break, -0.8 feet at 3:39 pm, which is a little higher than when we took the photo above at Alki on Monday afternoon.
MATH BUDDIES: Teen volunteers are at West Seattle (Admiral) Library 4-5 pm to play math-related games and activities with K-5 students, Just drop in! (2306 42nd SW)
DREAM DINNERS’ OPEN-HOUSE DEAL: If you’re new to Dream Dinners-West Seattle (WSB sponsor), you have two chances tonight to make three family dinners for half-price ($24.99 total). Sign up here for 5:45 pm or here for 7 pm – both have a few spots open as of this writing. DD-WS is on the east side of outer Jefferson Square. (4701 41st SW, Suite 110)
FAMILY STORY TIME: 7 pm at Delridge Library, bring the kids and enjoy stories, songs, and rhymes with the children’s librarian. (5423 Delridge Way SW)
ADMIRAL NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION: 7 pm at The Sanctuary at Admiral. Agenda highlights are in the preview we published last weekend, from housing to transit. (42nd SW/SW Lander)
FAUNTLEROY COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION: 7 pm at Fauntleroy Schoolhouse (in Room 6B this month). The FCA agenda includes an update on the Lowman Beach pump-station project, vanpool parking, and the future of the publicly owned house by Cove Park. (9131 California SW)
NIGHTLIFE AND MORE … to see what else is up, please check our complete calendar!
(WSB photo from last October’s Find It, Fix It walk in Delridge)
At this month’s Westwood-Roxhill-Arbor Heights Community Council meeting – as noted in our coverage last week – we learned Mayor Murray’s Find It, Fix It Community Walks for this year would likely include one in the Roxhill area. Today, that’s just been confirmed. The exact date isn’t set yet, but the mayor’s office just announced this year’s list, and Roxhill is on it for sometime in July. (The first Find It, Fix It walk in West Seattle was in Delridge last October.) Read the full announcement after the jump, including how to get involved in advance:
Earlier this month, we shared the news that the Seattle Lutheran High School robotics team, Team SeaBot, was advancing in regional competition. Now the school sends word they’ve qualified for the first time for the FIRST Robotics World Championships later this month in St. Louis, and are raising money to get there:
The team qualified with a rank of 22 of 158 teams in Washington, Oregon and Alaska. The top 30 teams will represent the Pacific Northwest. The St. Louis competition includes teams from across the U.S. and around the world.
Over 400,000 elementary, middle and high-school students are involved in FIRST Robotics activities nationally. For students, FIRST Robotics combines the excitement of athletics with the rigors of technology, math and science resulting in a team of students who learn important skills: STEM skills; branding/marketing their team; teamwork and communication; building and programing; and real-world engineering skills. Students make professional connections with adults who are led by volunteer mentors who give time and talent teaching students valuable skills.
Team SeaBot is one of the oldest continually active teams in Washington State. Each year, in January, the team creates a brand new robot to meet required needs of the year’s competition. Team SeaBot has enjoyed great success in the past and has won several awards; this is the first time they have qualified for the FIRST Robotics World Championship.
SeaBot Robotic Team needs to raise $15,000 to get to the World Championships in St. Louis. If you’d like to help with a donation, please go here. We are excited for this opportunity and grateful for the support of our community.
(Click any view for a close-up; more cameras on the WSB Traffic page)
6:43 AM: Good morning! No incidents in/from West Seattle so far.
(UPDATED TUESDAY AFTERNOON with a few more details from SPD)
10:33 PM: Police and fire are just arriving at an “assault with weapons” callout reported to be a shooting in the 9400 block of 16th SW.
10:39 PM: Two suspects are reported to have run away from the scene and a K-9 team will be helping search for them. No word yet on the victim.
10:44 PM: We’re arriving at the scene and it’s more like 15th/Roxbury – there’s tape up on the east side of the Walgreens parking lot. Via radio, we’re hearing that the shooting victim is a 53-year-old man shot once in the lower left leg.
A week and a half ago, a man was shot in the leg directly across Roxbury from here; two suspects are in jail in connection with that shooting.
10:58 PM: All we know about the suspects so far is that they were last seen fleeing north on 15th SW from the Walgreens vicinity on the north side of Roxbury, and searchers are headed that way.
11:07 PM: Police say the victim was inside the Walgreens when they arrived; the shooting, however, was outside, and investigators found the shell casing.
They say the victim told them he has no idea who shot him or why. He’s on the way to the hospital via SFD Medic 32.
11:57 PM: More photos added. No word of any arrests so far – tracking from the scene did not pick up a trail; we’ll follow up.
ADDED 3:40 PM TUESDAY: A few more details via SPD Blotter, published a few minutes ago:
… (The victim) said he was walking around the back of the building when he was approached by two teen boys. He described the suspects as Latino with one wearing a baseball hat. One of the boys fired a gun striking the victim in the left leg. The victim last saw the two suspects running away on 15th Ave. SW.
Officers followed a trail of blood to the back of the store and found one .32 caliber shell casing. Medics took the victim to Harborview Medical Center where he is recovering from his injuries. If you have any information in this case, please call (206)233-5000.
After the first week of registration, 80 sales are on their way to the West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day 2016 map – all sizes, all over the peninsula, all set for 9 am-3 pm on Saturday, May 14th. Thanks to everyone who’s signed up so far – including group and organization sales, block sales, and dozens of individual sales. Registration will be open for at least two more weeks – we usually set the deadline when we get to that last week and see how things are going. If you’re planning a sale, and have your up-to-20-words description ready, go here to sign up – remember that as always, it’s a two-step process, and you’re not done until you’ve made it through PayPal too (no, you don’t have to have an account). And if you have just a little bit of stuff to sell, and no room to sell it, check in with Hotwire Online Coffeehouse (4410 California SW) or C & P Coffee Company (5612 California SW), both WSB sponsors, to see about a space at their multi-seller sites.
Four reader reports in tonight’s West Seattle Crime Watch update:
BURGLARY: From Dani in High Point: “My husband and I were burglarized on Saturday, April 9th around 8 AM, on Raymond & Lanham Place. I left with my dog and locked the door behind me. My husband was home. I was gone for roughly a half hour, and came home to a busted door (as though someone used a pry-bar or just kicked it in). Two wallets, my purse and cell phone were noticeably taken. A neighbor returned the purse and wallet (no contents missing but some sparse change), which were found in the High Point Commons Park. My husband then followed the trail of evidence and picked up several receipts from his wallet. He went up towards 30th & Graham St., and noticed his wallet had been tossed over someone’s fence. A minimal amount of cash was taken, but everything else in place but his ID. We are looking for ANYTHING that will jog memories.”
ATTEMPTED BREAK-IN: From Melissa: “Just wanted to let the blog know that we caught a man wearing a backpack and no shirt or pants attempting to break into our shed in the North Admiral area at 830 pm. After being unsuccessful he moved onto our neighbors’ shed. He was caught by police after a neighborhood search near the intersection of the West Seattle Bridge and Admiral.”
CAR PROWL/VANDALISM: Meredith says this happened at 19th and Austin: “Someone smashed in my rear car window with a brick last night between 3:30 am and 7 am. Nothing was taken. My car was parked just off the street in my driveway.”
PLAYGROUND VANDALISM: Over the weekend at Ercolini Park, someone defaced a fence with obscenities and play equipment with a vulgar sketch. Paul, who e-mailed us about it, reported it to police; we didn’t get to check with Parks today on whether it’s been painted over/removed yet but will tomorrow.
Two weeks into the work at 30th/Yancy/Avalon/Andover, SDOT says it’s about to switch sides from the west to the east:
Construction on the west side of SW Avalon Way at SW Andover St is progressing smoothly. The crews anticipate that they will wrap up the west side work and move over to build the east side improvements as soon as this Wednesday, April 13.
As a reminder, when crews are working on the east side of SW Avalon Way both 30th Ave SW and SW Yancy St will be closed at SW Avalon Way. Local access will be maintained from SW Genesse St and 28th Ave SW. Pedestrian access will be maintained through the work zone and crews will set up No Parking signs.
(Crow vs. bald eagle faceoff at Bar-S Playfield on Saturday: Photo by Tom Madden)
Belated edition of today’s calendar highlights – four possibilities for your Monday evening:
NEW MEETUP HOURS @ COMMUNITY ORCHARD: 5-7 pm Mondays is the new meetup/work party time at the Community Orchard of West Seattle on the north side of the South Seattle College (WSB sponsor) campus – details here. (6000 16th SW)
PHYSICAL THERAPY NIGHT: West Seattle Runner (WSB sponsor) hosts “Physical Therapy Night” – get a free one:one injury assessment with Biojunction Sports Therapy. (2343 California SW)
TINKERLAB DROP-IN: Week 1 was a hit – don’t miss week 2 at Delridge Library! 6 pm, something STEM-based and fun for everyone, all ages, free! Details in our calendar listing. (5423 Delridge Way SW)
NORTH DELRIDGE NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCIL: 6:30 pm, Youngstown Cultural Arts Center. Agenda includes something many local community councils have been doing – brainstorming what to apply for in the Neighborhood Street Fund, a once-every-three-years city grant program whose deadline for this cycle is days away. Live or work in ND? (Or, even if you don’t – everybody’s welcome.) Be there! (4408 Delridge Way SW)
(WSB photo)
12:55 PM: If you haven’t seen the note in the WSB Forums – Pegasus Pizza on Alki is closed “for a few days” for remodeling work, starting today. It’s been eight years since the restaurant moved to 2770 Alki SW – a few steps west of its former location, which subsequently was demolished and replaced by the building that’s now home to Top Pot Doughnuts and Subway. The spokesperson who sent word of the closure hasn’t yet answered our followup question about the remodeling plan, but documents on file with the city mention the creation of office space and moving the exterior signage. We’ll update when we get word of their reopening date.
3:35 PM: Just went over to find out more. In addition to adding office space on the west end of the restaurant and moving the signage to the east end, they’re removing the raised half of the floor so it’ll be all one level.
(WSDOT photo from last month)
10:10 AM: During the City Council meeting that just got under way – as we’re reported and previewed – councilmembers are due to get an update on the Highway 99 tunnel project and the upcoming related Alaskan Way Viaduct closure. However, it doesn’t appear the long-awaited closure start date will be part of that briefing. WSDOT has just published the first official update in a week in a half and it again reiterates that date “isn’t yet known”:
Seattle Tunnel Partners has now completed more than 100 shifts of hyperbaric work inside the SR 99 tunneling machine. One of their biggest tasks – inspecting and replacing cutting tools on the machine’s face – is now complete.
Cutting tools are expected to wear down over time, and replacing them is a normal part of tunneling. Because most of the machine’s tools were replaced during the repair effort, STP chose to replace only 11 of the more than 700 tools they inspected in the weeks since the machine reached its planned maintenance stop near Yesler Way.
STP still has some routine maintenance left to complete. They have told us that the machine is functioning as intended and will soon be ready to tunnel beneath the Alaskan Way Viaduct. WSDOT will close the viaduct for approximately two weeks to allow the machine to pass beneath the structure. We will provide the public with advance notice of the closure, but the start date isn’t yet known. It will depend on how long the remaining maintenance takes to complete.
The update published on the WSDOT website also includes a reminder of the closure-plans website 99closure.org.
Meantime, we’ll update here when the council briefing gets under way (scheduled for 10:25 am – about 15 minutes from now) and will add any additional news that emerges.
10:28 AM: The briefing is starting – you can watch live via Seattle Channel, seattlechannel.org or cable channel 21.
(ADDED TUESDAY: Seattle Channel video of entire briefing)
They’re leading off with a “litigation update” – saying they’re “negotiating with STP about issues in dispute on the project,” so they might not be able to answer all questions.
WSDOT’s Todd Trepanier mentions STP bringing in new top managers from an overseas project and Councilmember Mike O’Brien breaks in to say “that we haven’t had the A-team on this since day one just kinda blows my mind.”
Back to what’s happening now, in addition to what WSDOT said this morning (see top of this story), Trepanier says, “(The contractors) still have quite a bit of work to do within the machine at the Safe Haven 3 location” where it’s stopped now.
10:48 AM: Now the briefing has moved to the closure preps, which have included weekly coordination meetings, WSDOT says. They reiterate that they’re committed to giving two weeks notice once the date has been chosen, which hasn’t happened yet, because as mentioned earlier, there’s still a lot to do. “Within the next month” remains their target. They’re reiterating that it’s a precautionary closure but its potential benefits would include quick access to the Viaduct if necessary.
It’s been reiterated, also, that the Viaduct itself is the only thing planned for closure – surface streets/sidewalks will remain open, though if something requires those to be closed, they have a contingency plan for that too. Meantime, the tunneling will continue around the clock during the trip under the Viaduct, with two 12-hour shifts instead of two 10-hour shifts as has been the contractor’s practice.
Trepanier says they will have a 24-hour command center open during the under-the-Viaduct tunneling, including city reps, as they make decisions bout managing traffic as well as tunneling operations. And they’re planning three conference calls a day.
11:05 AM: For the city, SDOT director Scott Kubly is speaking. The city will have incident-response teams and additional messaging signs. He also says that besides working with Metro and the Water Taxi, the city is “encouraging and working with” Uber and Lyft regarding their carpooling services. Council President Bruce Harrell asks followup saying city must be careful not to show favoritism over legacy taxi services, etc. Kubly says the city will add signal-timing engineer in Transportation Ops Center 6:30 am-8 pm during closure so there can be quick responses if intersection problems emerge. “It’s going to be a challenging commute … removing 60,000 vehicles and 30,000 transit riders off the Viaduct,” he says. Councilmember Lisa Herbold asks who’s in charge of the public notices regarding all this; she’s told the communications overview is coming up.
11:12 AM: Now it’s Metro’s turn. As previously announced, northbound reroutes are going on 4th Avenue. Herbold asks if the 5th Avenue busway was considered. “There’s a limited capacity (on that),” is the reply.
Councilmember Lorena González (a West Seattle resident) asks about the plans for getting people to the dock to use the Water Taxi without getting caught in the parking crunch down there. Though it hasn’t been detailed during this briefing, that’s mentioned toward the end of the slide deck (which you can see here). And the briefing wraps at 11:22. (We’ll add the archived meeting video atop this story once Seattle Channel has it up, likely by end of the day.)
Out of the WSB inbox this morning, from Jen:
We just reported our car stolen. It was stolen from our driveway sometime between 10pm and 5am this morning. It was a 2012 black VW Passat TDI; WA license plate AWL8083. We live on 36th and Juneau [map]. Please let us know if you see it!
(Click any view for a close-up; more cameras on the WSB Traffic page)
6:21 AM: Good morning! One incident of note so far this morning that was clearing when we were at the scene just before the top of the hour, covered separately here, a crash on southbound California just south of Admiral.
Otherwise: It’s spring-break week for Seattle Public Schools (and Vashon too), so traffic should be lighter. More notes as the week begins:
OVERNIGHT SB HIGHWAY 99 CLOSURE NORTH OF DOWNTOWN: This week, for each of four nights starting tonight, 10 pm-5 am, the closure will be southbound, between Valley and Thomas Streets.
WHAT’S UP WITH THE TUNNEL PROJECT/VIADUCT-CLOSURE PLAN? Hear for yourself during this morning’s 9:30 am City Council briefing.
MARINERS’ GAME TONIGHT: SODO evening alert – M’s vs. Rangers, 7:10 pm at The Safe.
6:02 AM: Thanks for the tips about a helicopter over The Admiral District about half an hour ago. It was *not* a police search, but just a media helicopter checking out a traffic situation. We’ve talked to officers at the scene of a crash that happened just before 5 am on southbound California just south of Admiral and is now being cleared – an SUV crashed into the back of a semitruck. Police say one person was taken to the hospital but their injuries were not life-threatening.
6:37 AM: Photo substituted for our original cameraphone photo above, and second one added above this line as semi was towed.
12:10 PM: The truck driver’s wife messaged us to say that while her husband, who was in the trailer when the SUV hit it, wasn’t hurt, police told them the driver fled and the injured person was one of multiple passengers. We’ll try to find out from police if the driver was ever found.
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