West Seattle, Washington
11 Monday
(Photo by Mark Dale)
From the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar:
COWORKING/HOME WORKING/SOLOPRENEUR/ETC. MEETUP: Bring your lunch and take an inspirational break from the solo grind at this weekly West Seattle Office Junction (WSB sponsor) meetup, starting at noon. (6040 California SW)
SCHOOL BOARD: 4:15 pm meeting, 5 pm public comment, 6 pm votes, items of interest previewed here earlier this morning. The meeting is at Seattle Public Schools‘ SODO headquarters. (3rd & Lander)
SOUTHWEST DISTRICT COUNCIL: Reps from western West Seattle’s community councils and other major organizations meet at 6:30 pm at the Sisson Building (home of the Senior Center of West Seattle). Agenda includes the Terminal 5 Environmental Impact Statement process, Emergency Communication Hubs, and SWDC officer elections. (SW Oregon and California SW)
LIVE MUSIC: 7 pm, C & P Coffee Company (WSB sponsor) is where you’ll find Jim Page. (5612 California SW)
Though the election results will soon change the Seattle Public Schools Board of Directors to a new-member-majority board, the current board has some big decisions to make tonight, including two issues that have been hot topics here – bell times (schedules) and boundaries – plus a few others of special interest. Here’s the agenda, and here’s where things stand:
BELL TIMES: These district-wide changes were born from advocacy for starting middle and high schools later, after years of research showing tweens and teens do much better if they’re not in school so early. The final schedule proposals, school by school, were in our coverage here. Then, as we reported after the subsequent board meeting, concerns over “Tier 3” schools starting at 9:40 am – in West Seattle, those would be Louisa Boren K-8 STEM and Lafayette Elementary – led to a question of whether that time could at least be moved back. In the final version of the plan, scheduled for a vote after 6 pm at tonight’s meeting, two things have changed:
*Tier 3 is scheduled to shift back five minutes from the final proposal, to 9:35 am starts
*The superintendent is authorized to look at whether Tier 3 schools that don’t want to be so late might be able to move into Tier 2 later this school year, voluntarily
BOUNDARY CHANGES: After a series of meetings looking at other changes to the boundaries the board approved in 2013 to take effect next school year, you’ll recall, the district revealed that it’s expecting to move the Roxhill Elementary program to now-empty EC Hughes after remodeling and expansion – likely in 2018 – so an area that was supposed to move from West Seattle Elementary to Arbor Heights next year is instead now planned to be moved into the Roxhill zone next year. The district belatedly added an October 19th meeting to explain this; concerns voiced there included potential effects of WSE losing more students (another section of its area already was scheduled to be moved as of next year). Details and maps for tonight’s scheduled vote are here.
SPEAKING OF HUGHES – PORTABLE PURCHASE: Also on tonight’s agenda, the district is proposing to pay the Hughes building’s former tenant, Westside School (WSB sponsor), $525,000 for improvements it made to the site – primarily the four portables that contain nine classrooms, which the district says must be kept so that Hughes could hold up to 550 students when reopened, but also other items including playground equipment. The agenda document says Westside invested $1.1 million in the improvements but with depreciation they’re worth less than half that.
WHAT’S NOT LIKELY TO HAPPEN TONIGHT: When the mentioned-earlier boundary changes were discussed at the EC Hughes building two weeks ago (WSB coverage here), the district rep also mentioned a big proposed change in the works regarding the district’s Student Assignment Plan – no more post-summer waitlists for students whose families hoped to get them into something other than their neighborhood school. That, and a change in tiebreakers, hadn’t gotten much daylight. The updated agenda says Superintendent Dr. Larry Nyland is asking to delay the vote on that and other changes – detailed here – two weeks, to the November 18th meeting.
The board meeting at SPS HQ in SODO (3rd and Lander) starts at 4:15 pm; public comment starts at 5 pm (the speaker list and waitlist are already finalized, per district policy); action items start at 6 pm.
(Six WS-relevant views; more cams on the WSB Traffic page)
7:20 AM: No outbound incidents but if you are headed southbound toward West Seattle – don’t take I-5 – WSDOT is doing emergency joint repairs right by the WS Bridge, and that’s led to a mega-backup. WSDOT tells us the work is north of the eastbound bridge exit to southbound I-5, so it should NOT affect people exiting from the eastbound bridge.
8:57 AM: The repairs are complete, according to WSDOT. But it’ll take some time for the double-digit-mile backup to clear out, so travel in this direction from downtown northward is still a better bet on alternate routes.
(WSB photo: Braddock supporters, including County Councilmember Joe McDermott at right, awaiting results)
It’s the marquee race of the night in West Seattle and South Park: Results for the first-ever City Council District 1 seat after the first count (the second one is Wednesday afternoon):
Shannon Braddock 53%
Lisa Herbold 46%
8:33 PM: Herbold has spoken to supporters and told them it’s not over yet, with many votes left to be counted, pointing out that she came from behind to be the primary-vote leader. She also reiterated the issues behind her run:
Her party was at the Highland Park Improvement Club.
9:04 PM: Braddock said it’s too soon to take anything for granted but it’s been a great campaign:
Video from our crew at her party at Talarico’s Pizza is coming up now added.
BACKSTORY: Braddock is an Admiral resident and chief of staff for County Councilmember Joe McDermott. Herbold is a Highland Park resident and legislative assistant to City Councilmember Nick Licata. They were two of three candidates who entered the race on February 11th; when all the votes were counted in August’s primary, Herbold led Braddock by 2.4 percentage points, with 42 percent of the primary votes split between the seven candidates who didn’t make the cut.
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For the full list of results around Seattle and the rest of King County, go here; for the full list of state-measure results, go here.
Tonight’s most-watched ballot measure is Seattle Proposition 1, the $930 million transportation levy known as “Move Seattle.” Find results here – it’s passing (corrected) 57 percent to 43 percent after the first count.
Other ballot measures of note:
Seattle Initiative 122, “Honest Elections,” regarding campaign funding – results here – passing with 60 percent approval
ADDED 10:17 PM: In a statement sent to media, Honest Elections backers say, “”Seattle voters won big tonight. Seattle leads the nation, first on $15/hour and now on campaign finance reform. We look forward to seeing more cities and states implementing their own local solutions to the problem of big money in politics. … This is what democracy looks like, and we expect to see more grassroots campaigns like this one in Seattle. More than 32,000 voters put Honest Elections on the ballot, and hundreds of people who’d never helped with a political campaign before made small dollar contributions, knocked on thousands of doors and made thousands of phone calls to pass Honest Elections. People around the country are tired of waiting for Congress to get big money out of politics. We may not be able to change Citizens United, but we’re doing everything we can by passing our own citizen initiatives to limit big money and give ordinary voters a stronger voice in government.”
Back to results:
King County Proposition 1, “Best Starts for Kids” – results here – passing with 53 percent approval
ADDED 10:17 PM: We talked with King County Executive Dow Constantine, who pushed to get “Best Starts” onto the ballot:
While our camera continued rolling, we asked what else he thought was noteworthy this Election Night. See his full response here; in short – passage of “Move Seattle” (he had been at its victory party earlier); the prevalence of what he described as “level-headed” candidates in the City Council race; and the results in an Eastside County Council race, Bellevue Mayor Claudia Balducci defeating longtime incumbent Councilmember Jane Hague – Constantine observed that the Eastside is increasingly Democratic.
Back to results:
State Initiative 1366, state taxes/fees – results here – passing with 54 percent approval
State Initiative 1401, animal trafficking – results here – passing with 71 percent approval
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For the full list of results around Seattle and the rest of King County, go here; for the full list of state-issue results, go here.
West Seattle and South Park residents also voted, as did the rest of the city, for two at-large positions – Positions 8 and 9 – in the new composition of the City Council. The results:
District 8 – Tim Burgess* vs. Jon Grant
Results here – Burgess 59%, Grant 42%
District 9 – Bill Bradburd vs. Lorena González
Results here – González (a West Seattleite) 76%, Bradburd 24%
For the results in Districts 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, go here – leaders in those districts, respectively, are Harrell, Sawant, Johnson, Juarez, O’Brien, Bagshaw
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For the full list of results around Seattle and the rest of King County, go here; for the full list of state-measure results, go here.
Four Seattle School Board seats are on the ballot, only one with an incumbent – District 6, which includes West Seattle and South Park. While only the residents of a board district vote in the primary, school board seats are citywide votes in the general election.
District 6 (West Seattle/South Park) Leslie Harris vs. Marty McLaren*
Results here – Harris 75%, McLaren (the only incumbent on the ballot tonight) 25%
9:17 PM NOTE: Harris was at Herbold’s party (see photo above – she was cheering for Herbold, more demure about her victory, noting it’s not over until it’s over).
District 1 – Michael Christophersen vs. Scott Pinkham
Results here – Pinkham leading with 66%
District 2 – Rick Burke vs. Laura Obara Gramer
Results here – Burke leading with 79%
District 3 – Jill Geary vs. Lauren McGuire
Results here – Geary leading with 59%
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For the full list of results around Seattle and the rest of King County, go here; for the full list of state-measure results, go here.
For the first time since word of E. coli illnesses led to the voluntary closure of Chipotle restaurants in Washington and Oregon, the state has identified which locations are linked to confirmed cases.
The list just made public does NOT include the West Seattle location (which opened at 4730 California SW in The Junction less than two months ago). The 25 patients confirmed so far in this state reported eating at five Chipotle restaurants identified by the state as:
Hazel Dell, 7715 NE 5th Avenue, Suite 109, in Vancouver
1404 Broadway Avenue and 4229 University Way NE in Seattle
512 Ramsey Way 101 in Kent
1753 S. Burlington Blvd. in Burlington
Earlier this afternoon, the state hosted a media briefing from its laboratory facility in Shoreline; a little far for us to go today, so we were among several organizations who participated via a phone/Web hookup.
They confirmed it’s Shige toxin E. coli, which can “cause kidney damage among other serious problems.”
Our state has 25 patients “associated with this outbreak” – nine of whom have been hospitalized, though none with the illness that can lead to kidney damage – and Oregon has 12.
The Washington patients all live in the western part of the state – 11 in Clark County, 2 in Cowlitz, 2 in Island, 6 in King County, and 4 in Skagit County.
“The exact source of illness is still unknown,” but 23 of the 25 WA patients reported eating at a Chipotle. They are still trying to identify “a common food item” – more likely, they say, to be produce than meat. They’re testing samples from multiple restaurants and hope to have results later in the week. They also are awaiting tests on 20 people who reported getting sick after eating at a Chipotle but have not been confirmed as E. coli patients.
Health authorities still don’t know when the Chipotle stores, closed voluntarily, will reopen, but they are working with the chain to “identify criteria” for reopening. They still want people who became ill after eating at a Chipotle recently to consult their health-care provider.
Seattle Parks wants you to have two weeks notice of this – many of its facilities will be closed November 17th for an “all-staff in-service day.” Read on for the citywide announcement of what WILL be in operation that day:
By Randall Hauk
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
Who doesn’t love a dumpling? There’s a reason why nearly every world cuisine has its own version of flavorful food creations delivered inside a neat pastry package. While the arrival of world-renowned Din Tai Fung two years ago may have marked a peak moment in the comfort-food trend for Seattle, we westsiders know the true peak of any local comfort-food trend is when we can indulge without leaving the peninsula.
After finding themselves dining on dumplings with increasing frequency, the team behind Shadowland was presented with the opportunity to take over the former Quadrato space (4302 SW Oregon) nearby, and soon the idea for Dumplings of Fury was born. Back in August, we reported briefly that this eatery was on the way – and now we finally have a full serving of details.
“I think it was definitely our love of dumplings that somehow sprung us into thinking of doing this,” says Ben Jenkins, Shadowland co-owner. “There’s nothing like that here, and we wanted to do something different for West Seattle.”
If you could see through those clouds, you’d see snow-frosted Olympic Mountains – finally! That’s the view we caught from Alki Beach around 8 this morning. Here’s a quick look ahead at the rest of today/tonight:
ELECTION DAY! Yet another reminder, get your ballot in ASAP! If you’re mailing it, you MUST be sure it’ll be postmarked with today’s date, or it won’t count. Safer bet is to take it to a King County Elections dropbox or dropvan, which also saves you 49 cents postage:
*West Seattle Stadium, until 8 pm
*Greenbridge Library in White Center, until 8 pm
*List of other drop spots around the county, also until 8 pm
*Or vote at an accessible voting center (Seattle, Renton, Bellevue, until 8 pm)
And after you vote, here’s how to track your ballot (since counting doesn’t wrap up for two weeks).
District 1 City Council candidates’ Election Night parties in West Seattle: Lisa Herbold @ Highland Park Improvement Club (12th SW & SW Holden), Shannon Braddock @ Talarico’s Pizza (4718 California SW).
And on the non-election side of things:
WESTSIDE SCHOOL OPEN HOUSE: School-shopping for next year’s 5th-through-8th grader(s)? Tonight, 6-7:30 pm, Westside School (WSB sponsor) welcomes your family to a Middle School open house at its new permanent campus. (10404 34th SW)
TOASTMASTERS ‘TALES FROM THE HEARTH’: 6:30 pm at Brookdale West Seattle, you’re invited to come hear Toastmasters 832 members/speakers’ “Tales from the Hearth.” (4611 35th SW)
HOPE LUTHERAN SCHOOL KINDERGARTEN INFO NIGHT: 6:30 pm at Hope Lutheran School, families of prospective kindergarteners are welcome to come find out more about the school. (42nd SW & SW Oregon)
SEATTLE LUTHERAN HIGH SCHOOL OPEN HOUSE: 7-8:30 pm, prospective students and families are welcome to come visit Seattle Lutheran High School (WSB sponsor) – info here. (4100 SW Genesee)
SEE MORE … on our complete calendar!
(Added 2:36 pm, photos by Gary Jones @ Alki Point)
ORIGINAL REPORT, 10:05 AM: Once again this morning, heads-up that orcas might be passing our shores soon. They didn’t make it this far south on Monday but they apparently did some traveling overnight, because Orca Network commenters (thanks again to Trileigh for the tip) are seeing them off Burien’s Three Tree Point – northbound this time – as of just before 10 am.
10:57 AM: Per Jen‘s comment, and also what we’re seeing from Orca Network commenters, they’re still headed northbound along Vashon; Jen notes that they are closer to the Vashon side, so if you’re looking from here, you’ll most likely need binoculars.
NOON: They are visible off north Vashon! We are now with Donna Sandstrom from The Whale Trail at Constellation Park.
12:30 PM: One group is past north Blake Island now; another one is off north Vashon. Still visible with binoculars. Donna says they’ve been confirmed as Southern Resident Killer Whales (the ones seen in the area earlier in the year were “transients” – one big difference is that SRKWs eat salmon, transients also eat marine mammals).
12:48 PM: We’ve left Constellation Park but Donna just called to say researcher Mark Sears, who is out with the whales, reports that one group is “headed right for Alki.”
While we work on the calendar-highlights preview for the rest of today/tonight, a quick note: This year, we’re launching the WSB West Seattle Holiday Guide 
earlier than usual, since the season begins in just a few days with the first round of bazaars/art shows/sales. So we’re inviting you to send us information on YOUR holiday event as soon as you have it. No need to wait for your logo, poster, graphic to be ready – we can’t use most of those anyway; what we really want (as with our regular Event Calendar) is just the basic information on the event, including who/what/when/where, and a website link if you have one (not mandatory). Please include all that info in plain text in the body of your e-mail – NOT a Word doc, PDF, etc. – and send it to editor@westseattleblog.com. Our Holiday Guide spans the season from now through New Year’s Day. We also welcome information on restaurants/coffee shops/business hours for Thanksgiving/Christmas Eve/Christmas Day/New Year’s Eve/New Year’s Day once you know. We’ll be updating the guide at least once a day throughout the season, so no worries if you don’t have the info now, but please bookmark this and get us the info soon as you do. Thank you!
P.S. Our guide also features a list of holiday-season charity drives – so if you’re collecting food, socks, blankets, toys, whatever, please let us know about that too!
(Six WS-relevant views; more cams on the WSB Traffic page)
No incidents in/from West Seattle so far this morning.
ELECTION DAY: You’re likely to see signwaving along your commute route – today’s Election Day, aka voting-deadline day; get your ballot in by tonight (best way to guarantee it’ll count is to get it to a drop spot by 8 pm).
7:48 AM: Very localized showers out there – we went through one that lasted about four blocks.
8:17 AM: As commenters point out, slow going everywhere. Also, for the second day in a row, a texter reports a jackknifed bus in the Brace Point/Endolyne intersection.
9:08 AM: Just went by; bus cleared.
11:00 AM: Still showery weather. Here’s the Instagram video we mentioned in comments, from around 8:20 this morning:
(Mouse over the image to bring up the “play” button so you can click it. Instagram clips are :15 max, and in most cases loop, so you’ll have to click the image again to stop it.)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Homelessness is an emergency, Mayor Ed Murray and County Executive Dow Constantine proclaimed today. This excerpt from their announcement spells out why:
Last winter’s One Night Count found 3,772 men, women, and children without shelter in King County, including more than 2,800 in Seattle – a 21 percent increase over 2014. In 2015, 66 homeless people have died in King County, including 47 on the streets and in unpermitted encampments in Seattle. The state now reports that 35,000 people in King County become newly homeless at some point during the year.
Part of the declaration includes a city plan to spend $5 million more on getting people off the streets and, for those who are on the streets, covering some basic needs, like sanitation. The plan will be discussed at a special City Council meeting tomorrow, and is to be funded through the sale of city property in West Seattle, according to the city documents related to today’s announcement. From the Frequently Asked Questions document:
How is the City paying for this new investment?
The $5 million investment is funded from the proceeds of the sale of excess property located on Myers Way South.
We’ve reported in recent years about the city process of figuring out what to do with that land, the “Myers Parcels“ in southeast West Seattle, next to the Joint Training Facility. Some community advocates have lobbied for preserving some of it as greenspace, as reported here most recently back in February.
The city Finance and Administrative Services Department clarified, when we inquired, that the property hasn’t been sold yet. More on that later.
First, what today’s announcement means for helping homeless people:
Both Murray and Constantine signed emergency proclamations. Murray was quoted in the city announcement as saying, “The City is prepared to do more as the number of people in crisis continue to rise, but our federal and state partners must also do more. Cities cannot do this alone.” Constantine was quoted as saying, “Emergency declarations are associated with natural disasters, but the persistent and growing phenomenon of homelessness – here and nationwide – is a human-made crisis just as devastating to thousands as a flood or fire. We call on the federal and state governments to take action, including shouldering more responsibility for affordable housing, mental health treatment, and addiction services.”
Go here to see what the city is proposing, or read the details below:
On the county side, Constantine is proposing $2 million in spending, some of it “already pending before the King County Council, to address immediate human needs and the root causes of homelessness,” according to the news release, which adds that both entities already invest heavily: “The City of Seattle already invests more than $40 million annually to assist people at-risk of or experiencing homelessness, including single adults, youth, families, domestic violence survivors, older adults, and veterans. King County invests $36 million a year to assist individuals and families at-risk of or experiencing homelessness.”
That represents a bigger share of those services than ever, says the city announcement: “A decade ago, City resources represented less than 40 percent of the total funding for homelessness services. The City is now responsible for over 60 percent of homelessness investments.”
Thousands of those who need help are children, the city says:
There are 32,000 homeless children in Washington state, with nearly 3,000 homeless children currently attending Seattle Public Schools. On average, that’s more than 1 student per Seattle classroom.
The city announcement says they’re trying to be strategic with the spending:
The City is currently analyzing all homelessness investments and expanding data collection to ensure resources are targeted at the most effective strategies. Seattle is also launching a new effort to reduce administrative burden on agencies by allowing non-profit partners to provide a range of services under portfolio contracts, rather than separate contracts for each type of service.
We don’t know yet what share of the new funding might be spent in this area. We checked with one local agency that offers emergency help to people in crisis, West Seattle Helpline, whose executive director Chris Langeler told us it’s good news in general:
We are excited by Mayor Murray and Executive Constantine’s announcements today declaring a “State of Emergency” and new resources dedicated to alleviating, preventing, and ending homelessness in Seattle and King County. The West Seattle Helpline has served hundreds of members of our community this year who are homeless or at-risk of experiencing homelessness by providing rent & utility assistance, transportation assistance, or clothing. With rents continuing to rise and utility costs increasing as winter approaches, we are seeing heightened demand for assistance and more of our neighbors facing the threat of eviction.
We have initiated a dialogue with the City of Seattle’s Department of Human Services and are exploring ways that we can work with the City to be a part of the solution to homelessness. We’re hopeful that the heightened focus and additional resources will help more of our West Seattle neighbors-in-need stay safe in their homes.
Now, back to the $5 million in city funding for extra services, described as coming from Myers Way sale proceeds. A document late in the day looking ahead to tomorrow’s meeting clarified that the $5 million will for starters come from an “interfund loan” out of the city’s “Cash Pool,” to be repaid from sale proceeds of some of the “Myers Parcels” land. That sale is still in the future, we found out from Cyndi Wilder in the city Finance and Administrative Services Department:
The Myers Way excess property has not yet been sold. The Myers Way property is still under active property review, meaning the City is working on strategies for the reuse and disposition of the property. We anticipate selling a portion of the site for commercial development, but a larger portion of the property, including certain wetlands and much of the tree canopy, would be retained for environmental protection. In 2016, the City Council will review legislation to authorize land to be retained and land to be sold. We understand that proceeds from the sale of any portion of the property not needed for identified future City purposes or retained for environmental protection would be directed toward the emergency response to homelessness. Information about the property is available here, and we’ll be updating that page with information about the property disposition as it becomes available.
Tomorrow’s meeting to finalize the emergency-response plan is at 2 pm at City Hall.
This year’s Community Art Showcase at Southwest Library featured 112 creations by 57 artists and musicians – and librarian Jane Gibson says that if you’re among them, tonight and tomorrow are your last chances to go get your work and bring it home! She shared the photo collage of participants; click the image for a larger version. The library at 35th SW & SW Henderson is open until 8 tonight and 10 am-8 pm tomorrow.
This is the third full day that the Chipotle restaurant in West Seattle has been closed, along with the 42 other Chipotles in Washington and Oregon, after a regional outbreak of suspected E. coli-related illness. We checked with the state Health Department today to ask if they had any new information, including whether they would be identifying the six locations where the people with the known cases were reported to have eaten. The reply: No update today, but health authorities plan a media briefing tomorrow. Here’s their newest summary, in the meantime:
The restaurants under investigation are linked to 19 cases of E. coli illnesses in Washington. Four more cases were reported from Oregon, also associated with Chipotle restaurants. Seven of the Washington patients and two Oregon patients were hospitalized; there have been no deaths. An investigation is underway. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is testing food samples from Chipotle restaurants at their lab in Bothell. Biological samples from people who were infected have been tested at the Public Health Laboratories (Department of Health) in Shoreline.
Here’s our report from Saturday morning. The state advised later in the day that anyone who “thinks they may have become ill from eating at a Chipotle restaurant in the past three weeks” should see their health-care provider.
In West Seattle Crime Watch this afternoon – first, two car-prowl reports received over the weekend from the same area of Arbor Heights, 37th/98th vicinity:
Robert unintentionally left a case of teaching materials in his car – and by morning, they were gone. Someone found some of the items more than a mile away, near 35th/Thistle, but he is still looking for a “black Travel Pro wheeled carry-on” and “an instructional manual for Phonics Boost, a few children’s books–Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel, a couple of George and Martha books–and a few more, and some manila file folders with notes. They also took a tool tote with a bunch of teaching tools, markers, calculator, etc.” The items that were recovered with a few of his other items, by the way, included “a nitrous tank and some key rings (and) also a receipt of some sort from Volkswagen.” If you have seen any of the items Robert is still missing, please comment.
In the same area, Danny reports that someone stole change from his car: “I am not sure if I didn’t lock it as there was no visible signs of damage done to it. I also heard there is some kind of universal key that can open car doors without the alarm going off. … There was also mail from several blocks away scattered in from my house. There is also a house that is being built that has a Honey Bucket in front of it that had mail from my neighbor across from me in it two Thursdays ago. I am wondering if this could be related. … There was also Halloween decorations and a few plants stolen from my porch Halloween night.” (Regarding the “universal key,” this story was referenced in a recent comment thread about the topic.)
Another car-prowl report, from Aaron:
Just wanted to report that my friend’s car was broken into a week or so ago in from of my house on 38th and Charlestown. They broke both passenger side windows and stole her work bag from the back seat. Nothing of value to them, but she had a lot of important paperwork for the insurance company she works for. Sucks to hear about so many break-ins.
One more report, not definitively connected to crime but likely, as many stolen bikes are dumped this way:
FOUND BICYCLE: Jenny found a “Kulana Makamaka, black with red splash guard in the back, missing one in the front. From the images I’ve found of this bike online, it looks like it probably had a front splash guard when new.” Missing one? She says it has some stickers the rightful owner should be able to identify.
Haven’t voted yet? Don’t miss the chance to choose the first-ever District 1 City Councilmember, to settle the fate of the $930 million Seattle Proposition 1 transportation levy, and to make more than a dozen other decisions. Lots of last-minute voters again this election, judging by how few ballots have been returned so far – in D-1 (West Seattle/South Park), 9,141 out of 60,177. You have until tomorrow evening to vote, and you can do it for free by dropping your ballot off at a King County Elections ballot van or box – the full list is here, and it includes the drop vans at West Seattle Stadium (4432 35th SW, until 5 pm today and 10 am-8 pm tomorrow) and at Greenbridge (8th SW south of SW Roxbury, same hours). If you’ve been to the one in WS before, you’ll notice a new location – we just stopped by for a photo and discovered they’re by the stadium’s west entrance instead of along the driveway (200 ballots today, as of 1 pm). You also can mail your ballot, as long as it’s postmarked by tomorrow, but that’ll cost you 49 cents worth of postage.
11:36 AM: Thanks to Trileigh for the tip: Whale watchers commenting on the Orca Network Facebook page have been tracking whales heading in this general direction all morning, southbound, including sightings from Golden Gardens (Ballard) within the past hour. So this is your early alert. Please let us know if and when you see any from West Seattle – texting 206-293-6302 is the best way to reach us immediately – so we can update. Thanks!
2:55 PM: Haven’t heard of any sightings here, and it seems they might not have made it this far south before heading back north, according to the ON FB thread.
(NOTE: Click “play” to see live feed when Council is meeting – budget hearing resumed just after 2 pm)
10:27 AM: The City Council‘s next round of budget-related discussions is set to start shortly (10:30 am) and today’s list of potential additions/changes to the original budget proposal includes transportation items. Among them, two related to the West Seattle Bridge Corridor “action report” made public in September.
The first item would specify $700,000 to be spent this way:
… The proposed budget action would allocate $200,000 for further analysis of physical and operational improvements in the Corridor. The following evaluations or studies would be conducted if the green sheet were included as part of the City’s 2016 Adopted Budget:
1. Evaluate the feasibility and benefit of installing center barrier sections so response vehicles can make U-turns to speed up response time.
2. Evaluate the feasibility and benefit of installing markings and signs to provide one designated emergency lane in each direction of the West Seattle Bridge upper roadways for use during emergencies.
3. Coordinate with WSDOT to determine the feasibility of traffic management modifications to improve eastbound Spokane Street Viaduct connections to south- and northbound I-5.
4. Evaluate Lower Spokane Street chokepoint relationships to determine if rail, truck and bridge opening blockages can be better coordinated to avoid cumulative impacts.
5. Evaluate better communications protocols for Port of Seattle cooperation with truck queue management and dispersal.
6. Evaluate the process and capability for providing data reports to the Washington State office of Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) in order for FRA to enforce the maximum 20 minute blockage rule.
7. Initiate an SDOT/WSDOT Peer Review Team to review traffic operational and safety improvement opportunities on the West Seattle Bridge upper and lower roadways and make recommendations.
In addition to the feasibility studies, the green sheet would add $500,000 for installing ITS infrastructure to help communicate delays and wait times associated with train activity in the Corridor. This project would install ITS equipment including Bluetooth readers and dynamic message signs along the Corridor between Airport Way South and Port of Seattle Terminals 5 and 18 in order to collect and display real-time travel time information to trucks drivers and other motorists. Traffic signal system improvements at the intersection of Chelan Avenue Southwest and West Marginal Way Southwest could also be included in the project scope.
The second item, at unspecified cost, basically calls for a report on how the “action report” is being followed up on:
… This Statement of Legislative Intent requests the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) prepare a written progress report on the implementation of initiatives described in the West Seattle Bridge Corridor Whitepaper and Priority Investment List.
The report should describe the Executive’s planning and progress implementing the 2015 West Seattle Bridge Whitepaper and Priority Investment List (the Investment List) recommendations to the Transportation Committee or the appropriate Council committee. The report should be transmitted to the Council no later than March 31, 2016 and should include the following information:
1) A description of all anticipated 2016 SDOT maintenance and capital project activities planned for the West Seattle Bridge Corridor (the Corridor). The report should identify all planned Corridor project activities included in the Investment List and any planned Corridor project activities not included in the Investment List.
2) A comprehensive schedule review defining SDOT’s timing for implementing the Investment List’s recommendations including any multi-year initiatives or projects that may not have full funding.
3) Estimated total investment of City resources in both staff and funding to carry out Investment List recommendations in 2016 and beyond.
4) A description of the on-going metrics SDOT will use to measure the effectiveness of the recommended investments and a Corridor-wide assessment of traffic conditions for all modes in 2016.
See the full list of items to be discussed at today’s budget meeting – no votes, since this is “Round 1” of the budget review – by going here; you can watch the meeting live via Seattle Channel, online (the “live” player is embedded above) or cable channel 21.
WHAT DO YOU THINK? To comment on anything in the budget process – which will continue until a final vote before Thanksgiving – click the “Send Us Budget Feedback” button on this page.
12:17 PM UPDATE: The West Seattle Bridge-related items hadn’t been reached yet when the council recessed for lunch, due back in session at 2 pm.
2:58 PM: They’ve just reached the West Seattle Bridge Corridor items now. (a moment later) Both went by without discussion, aside from a bit of context from Councilmember Tom Rasmussen.
Illegal dumping is a problem at multiple spots around West Seattle, but what that photo shows in a Sunrise Heights alley is something we haven’t seen before. An area resident sent the photo and this report:
Sometime after 4:30 pm yesterday someone dumped upwards of 100 pumpkins in the alley between 32nd and 34th SW, cross street is Kenyon. Going to file an illegal dumping report with City of Seattle.
HERE’S HOW TO REPORT ILLEGAL DUMPING, PUMPKINS OR NOT: You’ll find an online form and telephone hotline on this city webpage. If you have the city’s Find It, Fix It app, you can use that too.
(Six WS-relevant views; more cams on the WSB Traffic page)
7:17 AM: There’s a crash response at Fauntleroy/Avalon – not sure yet how it’s affecting traffic there (if at all); the initial SFD response was big but closed fast. We’re en route to look.
7:35 AM: Whatever it was, it’s gone – our crew’s not seeing anything except the usual heavy morning traffic.
8:25 AM: Thanks for the tips on a jack-knifed Metro bus that’s causing trouble in Fauntleroy’s Endolyne area, right by the mini-business district there:
(Thanks to James Bratsanos for that photo.)
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