West Seattle, Washington
27 Monday
Thanks for the tip. Three weeks after construction started for the Alki Beach restroom rebuild at 57th SW [map], crews have turned the old restroom building into rubble. It will be replaced by summer with a ~$638,000 comfort station that will have three individually accessed all-gender restrooms meeting ADA requirements – a 50% increase in capacity from the old one – plus a new shower. The contractor is Burien-based JEM.
Thanks to James for the tip! The fence is up, heavy equipment has arrived, and that means construction is starting for the Alki Beach restroom rebuild along the Alki Trail at 57th SW [map]. It’s been two years since first word of the project, which will replace the two-restroom building with one that incorporates three individually accessed all-gender restrooms that meet ADA requirements. The ~$638,000 project is happening about a year later than the original (pre-pandemic) schedule. Burien-based JEM Contractors is the construction company, and Seattle Parks project manager Kelly Goold tells WSB they’re aiming to be done by early summer.
If you go to local parks this weekend, you might encounter the aftermath of this past week’s storms. Above and below are photos Mike Munson took at Lincoln Park, where, he explains, he found the above sign “at the bottom of the trail from the cliff to back of the pool at Point Williams, on the old road grade.” He also saw this:
That, Mike said, was “a small slide developing along the beach trail north of the pool. Some brush has been pushed a little way into the trail, and fresh gray goo is visible behind, upslope. It’s probably done sliding, but maybe more to come?” Parks crews also have been busy with downed trees. Today, we saw that this one is still on its side in the big field at Roxhill Park:
No notable rain or wind in the forecast – though note that mention of a possible snowflake or two next Friday.
(WSB file photo)
West Seattle’s only “edible park” invites you to stop by on Thursday night and bid 2020 farewell. Stu Hennessey sent the invitation on behalf of Puget Ridge Edible Park volunteers:
With our sights set on new hope in a new year, many of us feel the need to reflect on the struggles and losses of the past year and the 1.7 million souls we have lost. We also may want to say a swift goodbye to 2020 as well.
Therefore, the volunteers at Puget Ridge Edible Park thought it would be a good idea to invite our friends and neighbors to a Covid Candlelight Vigil and Say Goodbye to 2020 New Year’s Eve at the community garden. We have a luminaria-candlelit pathway to bring up to 5 people at a time to our New Year’s Eve fire to toss out the old year by throwing into the fire a written message or any symbol of bad memories over the last year.
The vigil will take place Thursday, New Year’s Eve, from 6 pm to 8 pm at 5265 18th Ave. SW. Be prepared to wait your turn to enter the park as we are limited to 5 people at a time. Wear warm clothes and bring some warm drinks. Parking will be available along 18th Ave. SW and SW Brandon St. Heavy rain will cancel. The volunteers at Puget Ridge Edible Park would like to offer you a healthy and happy New Year!
We’ve added this to the New Year’s section of the WSB West Seattle Holiday Guide.
It’s a day of closure announcements. This one’s from the Port of Seattle, which has closed the pier at West Seattle’s Jack Block Park again:
Out of an abundance of caution, the Port of Seattle is closing the pier at Jack Block Park starting this afternoon. Deficiencies in the pier were noted in a recent engineering assessment, and further evaluation will be made next week for the repairs necessary to reopen the pier as soon as possible. The rest of the park will remain open during this time.
This is at least the third closure in a year and a half for the pier – previous ones were in January and mid-2019.
5:02 PM: The pier at Seacrest reopened this afternoon after replacement of the Water Taxi dock float that holds its passenger ramp. We took the photo just before sunset. On Friday, David Hutchinson caught the old float being lifted out:
Metro explains the work here; the new float will be more weather- and wave-resistant. This should mean the West Seattle Water Taxi service is clear to resume tomorrow, but we’re waiting for an official update on Sunday.
11:48 AM SUNDAY: The official update is in – WT servive WILL resume as normal Monday morning.
The darkest month of the year is almost here, with the earliest sunsets and shortest days, and – this year – COVID-canceled festivities. But Seattle Parks & Recreation has a plan to brighten some of those days.
It’s out with a brochure for virtual programs in December – from a free “family fun night” to classes and workouts (here are a few examples). You can browse the brochure here. The registration portal is here.
The department also has view-any-time videos on YouTube – cooking, books, sports skills to name a few. (And if you’re looking for info on Parks facilities, the ongoing open-and-closed list is here.)
Three West Seattle orgaqnizations are getting money in the city’s latest round of Neighborhood Matching Fund grants. To qualify for these, you have to demonstrate a match – of donations and/or volunteer time. As announced by the city, these are the three local grants in the fall cycle:
$49,500 to Highland Park Elementary PTA for Phase 2 of the Highland Park School Playground Project. This will support updating their 2016 Playground Master Plan to reflect current community needs and develop construction documents. (Community match: $31,000)
$25,840 to Highland Park Improvement Club for Community Gathering & Performance Space Renovation to provide HVAC work, ceiling repair, and new lighting and proscenium in the interior gathering/performance space, a popular venue for community meetings, arts and cultural events. (Community match: $28,380)
$40,650 to Seattle Nantes Sister City Association for Nantes Park Beautification to transform the pocket park into something more kid-friendly, more accessible, and more reflective of our sister city relationship with Nantes, France. The project will take designs through a community review and produce final construction-ready plans. (Community match: $21,300)
Citywide, 23 organizations are receiving a total of $756,000 in this round of grants. The next round of applications will be due in February; watch here for more info.
7:18 PM THURSDAY: The northeast corner of Junction Plaza Park is empty tonight. That’s where, for the last six months, a city-placed “hygiene station” had stood. The West Seattle Junction Association had long been asking the city to remove it, saying – as we reported in September – a small park in a struggling business district wasn’t the right place for it. Both residents and businesspeople said it had created dangerous conditions and spoke of being harassed or threatened by people hanging out and camping in the park because of it; police were summoned to the park many times to deal with disturbances.
The city had remained noncommittal about potential action, even at an online community meeting three weeks ago (WSB coverage here). But today, the portable toilets and sink were removed. We didn’t hear about this in time to ask the city Human Services Department for comment (which we’ll do tomorrow); WSJA executive director Lora Radford says she was told it’s been moved elsewhere in the city. Her reaction to the removal: “This was never about criminalizing homelessness, but more about the quality of life that was diminished for people experiencing chronic drug and mental health challenges. No one belongs in a tent as a permanent shelter, or in parks, or on sidewalks. To use public green space as an acceptable form of housing is shortsighted and dangerous. Thank you to all the West Seattleites who took action; together communities can force change.” The city placed another “hygiene station” in West Seattle, in the parking lot of the Salvation Army center in South Delridge, but to our knowledge there’ve been no complaints about it. The Junction, meantime, still has a permanent city-funded portable-toilet installation about a block west of the park, on SW Alaska just east of 44th SW.
Side note: The Junction removal comes one day after the mayor announced a proposal to expand programs to clean up trash in parks and on streets.
8:26 PM FRIDAY: Our inquiries to the city were answered late today – primarily, what happened to the hygiene station components removed from Junction Plaza Park. The lead department is not Human Services, but rather Seattle Public Utilities, whose spokesperson Sabrina Register tells us:
The handwash station located at Junction Plaza Park was relocated to 44th and Alaska to enhance hygiene services at the existing sanican. Both the sanican and the hand-wash station will receive daily cleaning and re-stocking by City vendors. In addition, Seattle Parks and Recreation staff will conduct daily visual inspections to ensure the station is in good working order.
The two sanicans at Junction Plaza Park were removed and will be relocated to another location which has yet to be determined. The siting team maintains a list of locations requested by other City departments and community members. The new site will be chosen following the same siting criteria as past hygiene stations. These criteria include high need, absence of redundancy, on or adjacent to City property, does not pose access barriers for facilities or private property, and ease of closing post COVID-19 response.
(WSB photo)
Two days before election results start coming in, we have a winner – the Puget Ridge community, where neighbors offered future voters a fun lesson in democracy, organizing a parade to the South Seattle College ballot drop box today, after kids got a chance to vote at Puget Ridge Edible Park. The parade even featured a mini-marching band.
The kids’ vote wasn’t about the presidential race or anything else on the official ballot – it was about what they’d like to see at the community-created, community-managed park.
(Photo by Althea Chow)
The voting was part of a mini-harvest festival at the park:
(This photo and next by Ada-Reva Spae)
This was a volunteer effort, as is everything at the park (see our report from August). Ada-Reva Spae was lead organizer, and she credits Karen Crisalli Winter as the “Magical Mystical Wizard Master of Activities,” Marty McLaren as “Chief Votemaster,” plus “party planners extraordinaire” Stu Hennessey, Lisa Kauffman, Cathy Wilmering, and Janice Singh. At SSC, a photo op with the kid-size ballot box next to the official drop box concluded the festivities:
Those are the four potential “concepts” for Lowman Beach Park that were unveiled in an online meeting a week and a half ago (WSB coverage here). At issue: Once the tennis court is removed during the upcoming project to take out the failing seawall on the north side of the park, should a new sport court be built in what’s currently the park’s open grassy area? And if so, what kind/size of sport court? The Seattle Sports Complex Foundation, a community organization that is leading the advocacy for a new sport court, sends word that the newest survey will be open for two more weeks – go here to comment (and to review the concepts), before November 16th.
)(WSB file photo)
Next weekend doesn’t just bring Halloween – it’ll also be the last weekend before Election Day. A unique celebration is planned on Puget Ridge. The announcement is from Stu Hennessey:
Following a harvest festival and crafts party where kids will vote on the future of their world within our neighborhood, we will be having a kids’ parade to our local ballot box at South Seattle College, at Puget Ridge Edible Park, 5265 18th Ave. SW, West Seattle, Sunday, November 1st. Kids’ parade to the ballot box starts at 1 pm.
This event is our effort to introduce children to the democratic process, giving them some voice in real decision-making that will affect a child’s view of their own neighborhood. In replacement of the traditional Halloween activities that will be curtailed due to Covid-19 we are offering a harvest festival and crafts party at Puget Ridge Edible Park. From 11 am to 1 pm, the children can do crafts and activities as well as vote for future activities and events at their local edible park. At 1 pm they will parade a short walk to the ballot box at South Seattle College to celebrate participation in democracy and take photos. A separate and smaller ballot box will be placed beside the official box.
The event is planned, Stu adds, “with wide separation and required mask wearing to comply with COVID-19 CDC and state guidelines. Any groups formed will be separated within their group and far away from any other group.”
(Design by Karen Kiest Landscape Architects)
That’s the final design for Hiawatha‘s to-be-relocated play area, as just announced by Seattle Parks:
Seattle Parks and Recreation is happy to announce the completion of the final concept design for the new play area at Hiawatha Playfield. To review the design, (go here) or view a large concept design board at the park near the adult fitness equipment. Karen Kiest Landscape Architects worked with SPR and input from the community to develop the final design concept. Thank you to the community for their participation in this design. Hiawatha Playfield is in West Seattle at 2700 California Ave. SW.
The goal of this project is to transfer the location of the play area from the north end of the park to the grass area just south of the wading pool. The project includes new play equipment for children 2 to 5 and 5 to 12 years, swings, a small plaza, and restoration of the old play area site. The new location will improve visibility and access for all.
Play area construction is planned to start in the summer of 2021 and end in December 2021, along with restoration of the old play site. Other areas of Hiawatha Playfield will remain open during construction. However, there are other projects in the planning stages for this area (community center renovation and athletic field turf replacement).
Funding for this play area project is provided by the Seattle Park District. The Seattle Park District provides more than $47 million a year in long-term funding to tackle the $267 million major maintenance backlog for Seattle Parks and Recreation as well as other facilities including the Aquarium and Zoo. The Seattle Park District helps improve and rehabilitate community centers, preserves the urban forest, performs day-to-day maintenance of parks and facilities, provides more recreation opportunities for people from underserved communities, supports programs for people of all ages and abilities, and acquires and develops new park land.
Separate from this project, the city has announced – as we reported early in the budget-review process – that Hiawatha Community Center itself is expected to be closed for all of next year because of its own renovation work. An update on that project is here.
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Once the Lowman Beach Park seawall and tennis court are removed, will a new sport court be installed elsewhere in the park?
More than 50 people attended last night’s online community meeting, the next step in the process. They saw four “concepts” – a full-size court that could accommodate tennis and more, two versions of a “medium-size” court, and a court-less option with “amenities.”
The community group advocating for a new court, the Seattle Sports Complex Foundation, obtained a city grant for planning and schematic design, but funding would have to be found beyond that to actually install something. With that in mind, the project team – led by HBB Landscape Architecture – is on track to complete a schematic design by year’s end.
For the meeting, on hand from the project team were Aaron Luoma and Rachel Dotson from HBB, as well as Pamela Kliment from Parks and Lisa Uemoto from the Department of Neighborhoods.
Luoma recapped the plan that’s leading to the removal of the existing tennis court – the removal of the failing seawall and transform the area into something more natural, with an expanded beach and daylighted Pelly Creek. It’s going out to bid soon. With that and other existing features including underground utilities led to the designation of an “opportunity area” in the southeast part of the park for this potential project.
One West Seattle event of note tonight: The second community meeting about a proposed sport court at Lowman Beach Park. The upcoming seawall-removal project will also take out the current tennis court; though there’s no replacement in the plan, a community group is pursuing a proposal to build a sport court – not necessarily tennis, or just tennis – elsewhere in the park (see the “opportunity area” above). That group got a grant for a survey and community meeting (here’s our August coverage here), and plans to announce the results and next steps tonight, 6:30 pm online. To attend:
Meeting number: 146 733 7298
Password: lowmanbeach
(Link here)
Join by phone – 206-207-1700
Thanks again to tipster Mike – first, he reported the south Lincoln Park parking lot’s reopening back on Thursday; today, he sent the photo above with news that the north Lincoln Park lot is open again as well. (We had checked just yesterday afternoon, and at that time it was still closed.) As we noted on Thursday, while tomorrow is the official reopening date for lots like these (as we first reported two weeks ago), Parks crews have actually been reopening them over the past week, since the work that’s involved – like removing those big blocks from the south LP lot – couldn’t all be done in one day. The lots and others at “destination parks” citywide were closed seven months ago as “an effort to encourage social distancing and reduce the number of congregating crowds”; then in May, the south lot opened some accessible spaces for disabled park visitors.
(Added: WSB photo)
Thanks to Mike for the tip! The south lot at Lincoln Park is open again (we haven’t been able to check yet on the north lot), after almost 7 months. Though as we had reported previously, the announced reopening date is next Monday (October 19th), Parks spokesperson Rachel Schulkin explains, “We started reopening on Monday, and we’ll be finished with all the lots across the city by Monday, October 19 (we can’t do them all in a day).”
(WSJA recording of Tuesday’s online meeting)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
The “hygiene station” blamed as a trouble magnet at Junction Plaza Park won’t be there forever.
That’s the only bit of news that emerged from Tuesday afternoon’s online community meeting with city reps, who refused to acknowledge that safety concerns in the area have escalated since its installation in May, and did not promise solutions.
There were repeated mentions that the city Navigation Team had visited the park – without any mention that Mayor Jenny Durkan has suspended the team, after the City Council‘s vote to cut its funding.
The meeting was organized and hosted by Lora Radford, executive director of the West Seattle Junction Association (which helped raise money for the park’s completion a decade ago).
“This is not a discussion about criminalizing homelessness,” Radford clarified at the start – it was meant to be a discussion about what’s happened since the hygiene station went in at Junction Plaza Park in xx.
As reported here last Thursday, a public meeting is planned Tuesday afternoon (online) to discuss safety issues at Junction Plaza Park (42nd/Alaska). In addition to the panelists mentioned Thursday, more city reps will participate – City Councilmember Lisa Herbold, Mayor’s Office senior adviser Tess Colby, Department of Neighborhoods’ Tom Van Bronkhorst, Seattle Public Utilities’ Bill Benzer. Q&A is planned during the 2 pm meeting, and advance questions are also welcome (comment below). Connection information for attending the meeting is on the WSJA’s webpage about the ongoing park problems.
(WSB photo, September)
Three weeks ago, we reported on the West Seattle Junction Association‘s plea to the city regarding escalating concerns at Junction Plaza Park (42nd/Alaska). Days later, WSJA received a reply from the city (scroll down this page to read it) that noted cleanup crews and outreach services but did not address public-safety concerns. So next Tuesday (October 13th), at 2 pm, WSJA takes the next step, with a community meeting (online) including city participants. You are invited to watch and/or participate. Panelists confirmed so far include Southwest Precinct Operations Lt. Sina Ebinger, Precinct Liaison (City Attorney’s Office) Joe Everett, and Aaron Burkhalter, project manager with LEAD, which will be expanding into parts of West Seattle including The Junction. Connection information is on the WSJA’s webpage about the ongoing park problems.
Three notes from the City Council‘s weekly briefing meeting, just concluded, when councilmembers share quick updates:
(Photo from Lincoln Park, sent by Carolyn in March)
PARKS REOPENINGS: City Councilmember Debora Juarez, who chairs the Parks Committee, had some big news. She said that Parks will reopen play areas tomorrow and parking lots October 19th. We’re inquiring with Parks for details. (Play and fitness equipment at parks were first taped off in the early weeks of the pandemic, more than 6 months ago.) ADDED 11:23 AM: Confirmed by Parks – here’s the update, with the rules.
BUDGET COMMENTS TOMORROW: What do you think the city should – and/or shouldn’t – be spending money on? Tuesday night is the first major public hearing in the budget process. This is an all-public-comment event, online, starting at 5:30 pm. Signups for commenting start two hours earlier; the agenda explains how you can do that beginning at 3:30 pm Tuesday.
TOWN HALL FOLLOWUP: West Seattle/South Park City Councilmember Lisa Herbold told her colleagues that more than 500 people signed up to attend her Town Hall last Wednesday, with 88 questions submitted. (Our coverage, including links to the video, is in two parts – the first hour-plus, focused on public safety, here; the second part, focused on the West Seattle Bridge, here.)
When the remaining seawall is removed at Lowman Beach Park, the tennis court will be too. Though there’s no replacement in the plan, a community group has been pursuing a proposal to build a sport court – not necessarily tennis, or just tennis – elsewhere in the park. In a grant-funded planning process, that group has conducted a survey and a community meeting (WSB coverage here), and has now announced the next step:
You are invited to participate in our 2nd virtual open house to see the results of the survey and the concept alternatives. Previously, the 1st virtual open house presented the challenges and opportunities in locating a new racket court at Lowman Beach Park.
Lowman Beach Racket Court New Design Virtual Open House #2
Monday, October 19, 2020, 6:30 pm
Meeting number: 146 733 7298
Password: lowmanbeach
(Link here)Join by phone – 206-207-1700
See the meeting flyer here.
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Junction Plaza Park just passed its 10th anniversary. In those 10 years, it’s been the site of many celebrations and gatherings, including the annual community Christmas tree lighting.
Right now, it’s a source of concern.
Since the city installed a “hygiene station” there four months ago, though it already maintains a public porta-potty a block west, the West Seattle Junction Association has been receiving reports of what it summarizes as “escalating violence and drug use in the park.”
Out of “the continued frustration of our citizens, coupled with the escalating violence, compounded by zero response (or accountability) from Human Services,” WSJA executive director Lora Radford has just launched a webpage meant to call public attention to some of those concerns and ask for community support in seeking a city response.
One example of the escalation of trouble in and near the park: The recent rampage at the QFC across the street, for which a suspect has been charged and remains in jail. But that’s just one incident mentioned in some of the anecdotes and observations posted on the page so far. While trash and discarded needles are mentioned, so are concerns about personal safety:
“… while I was sitting on a bench in the park trying to comb my dog, a young man approached me and accused me of staring at his girlfriend, then promptly flashed a large knife at me and told me to leave the park.”
“… There was a police response as a belligerent and violent man was accosting his fellow transients but also two innocent men who were literally just walking by on the sidewalk.”
“… We have had instances of our tenants being verbally accosted while trying to cross the street at that location and an instance where a colleague was chased by one of person s congregating in the park.”
The WSJA’s page makes it clear that it’s fully aware that the big picture involves “significant health, economic, and social challenges” and services are needed. But in the meantime, it’s concerned about safety – of the vulnerable people in the park as well as others in the area. It is asking all those with concerns to contact the Human Services Department (info). So far, after previous contacts, the only response from the city is a reply that just acknowledged the concerns and added:
You are correct that providing mental health and drug addiction counseling services is a broader question that needs to be addressed city-wide.
The Hygiene Station program team includes representatives from the Human Services Department (HSD), Seattle Public Utilities (SPU), Seattle Parks and Recreation (SPR), Office of the Mayor, Finance and Administrative Services (FAS) and Department of Neighborhoods (DON). Many team members are also working on COVID-19 and homelessness response issues and policies.
Aside from that acknowledgment a week ago, nothing, says Radford. So here’s how you can help if you have concerns too:
When you observe illegal behavior or see drug and mental illness issues in the park – first and foremost, please call 911. Please do not engage with the persons.
Send an email to Human Services. Together, we can work to elevate the need for more mental and drug counselors at the park. Let’s get people to the services they need, and support accountability:
Copy/paste into the send line of your email
Tom.VanBronkhorst3@seattle.gov; Frank.Coulter@seattle.gov; Bill.Benzer@seattle.gov; Tess.Colby@seattle.gov; Lisa.Gustaveson@seattle.gov; Donna.Waters@seattle.gov
cc: Lora@wsjunction.org
Or Call Human Services
Tom Van Bronkhorst
Office: 206.233.3954
Other business districts in the city have similar concerns; WSJA recently joined with some of its counterparts in this letter to the city. An excerpt:
We ask you take small businesses and the owners, employees, customers, and adjacent residents into consideration when assessing the public safety needs for the constituents of this city. Seattle is at a crossroads and is choosing its path forward. It’s time for us to ask our leaders, both legislative and executive, to find a way to work together to achieve what they essentially agree on: a reimagined municipal social contract—especially around public safety—that protects and lifts up all of us. Confronting and dismantling systemic racism and providing a safe environment for our neighborhood business districts are not mutually exclusive; indeed, they rely on each other completely.
For the Junction Association, the bottom line is at the end of its new page: “Join us. It’s time for action.”
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