One way I strive to be able to stop for pedestrians wanting to cross 35th is to go the speed limit on 35th. It’s 35 miles per hour, not 40 or 45 or 50. Of course, about two-thirds of the cars are passing me on the left. But those of us in the curb lane are at least in a position to slow down and stop, and since there’s usually at least two or three of us going the legal speed, that is a lot of cars to be stopping and drivers in the other lanes pay attention. I’ve stopped for any number of pedestrians in the area around Camp Long up to Morgan St. and had no problems and others eventually stopped to allow the pedestrians to cross. By not recognizing the need to stop sooner, others merely delayed the entire flow of traffic as the pedestrians weren’t going to cross until all 4 lanes were stopped – as it should be. We can subtly enforce the laws ourselves by actually abiding in them. Strange concept, I know. Oh, I also bike and walk on 35th – all the time, and ride the bus. So I do have a good feel for how traffic flows throughout the day and week. The alternative to not being nice, by the way, is to put 35th on a road diet – reduce it to one travel lane in each direction with a center turn lane. Which would be better?
If you’re lucky, on a Comcast main trunk, in a popular area for them then you’ll do fine. If there’s a lot of Comcast folks in a single neighborhood, they respond fast if one of them has a problem, they don’t want to generate a serious customer migration. We’ve got two digital set boxes – now about 5 years old, and two equally ancient remotes. The Comcast software is only slightly less sucky than the AAT MotoRazr software on my cell phone – which is to say they both suck a lot. But they work, and like an old microwave, they do what you tell them to do even if it takes some weird contortion of the buttons to do it. If you’re in some isolated Comcast, single customer, zone, I’d expect your service would get pretty bad even if you had their latest set boxes and fancy, back-lit, remotes. Ask around, if other neighbors in your area have Comcast and are happy with it, then you in the right area for Comcast. If you see a lot of dish antennas on people’s houses or balcony’s, see which one has the most logos and ask a couple of folks what they think.
I personally think it totally depends on where you are in West Seattle. I think Highland Park/White Center is a dish network area. Gatewood Hill seems to be a fairly happy Comcast area. The Junction seems to be in love with their DSL (and why not, the freakin’ switch is about 100 yards from everyone).
I personally boycott Starbucks. The coffee is terrible, and the environment is just fake and creepy. And, seriously, does West Seattle really need 11!? Flippin’ outrageous! Why do people support that place? Stick with the little guy shops. The coffee is usually great, and the people you buy from actually have personalities. It’s nice to see your joe hand-made instead of recreated via button pushing. Just my 2 cents.
Dear All:
I just bought a HD TV and it is being delivered tomorrow. I have normal Comcast Cable, but I dislike Comcast (Value, Customer Service are my beefs), and would like to explore other possible HD sources.
My main concern is how well these work in West Seattle in terms of HD picture quality (PQ) and the local vendors. Secondly comes price. My sister pays $100 plus for her Comcast HD and that seems steeper than the real (not intro) costs of Dish or Direct. If Dish is $59, Direct is $49 (for instance, for similar lineups) then PQ and equipment/service would be the deciding factor. From my exploration on the web, I’ve seen that PQ is a local thing, and connected to quality of installation, and cable equipment, dish set-up.
If Comcast is really superior in PQ (Because, with HD, PQ is key) then maybe it is work sucking it up. But my experience has been less than Comcastic and I am willing to change.
Thanks for your advice – JayDee
When I was looking for something unique I went to every nursery in the greater Seattle area. The choices were slim and not that healthy looking. A friend sent me to Bamboo Gardens of Washington. It’s between Redmond and Fall City, but if you have an afternoon, it is so worth the drive. They have a complete forest almost, of full grown (some are 30+ feet) bamboo. You really get a feel for what they will become. I thought I was looking for black, like everyone always is. But when I saw all the choices, many were much more attractive. Look at their website and you’ll see what I mean. Everything from shrub to timber varieties.
The California alignment would be better for me personally, but I’d support the Fauntleroy alignment for speed improvement, depending on how much speed. credmond, do you know the differential? One of my concerns about this “rapid” ride is safety of pedestrians, bikes, and cars sharing the road with these buses. (That grade-separation problem, again!) Seems to me this need for safety will surely slow the buses down. How would the safety compare California vs. Fauntleroy? I have a hunch California has fewer accidents, and if that hunch is correct, I’d guess it has to do with the lower speed on California. How would the “rapid” (I plan to keep quoting it to remind everybody that this is NOT a Rapid Transit solution) buses affect both streets? Would it make less difference on Fauntleroy because it’s already faster?
Jan, – Ah yes, Tastykake – I think they were out of Philly and everyone I knew wanted the three-pack of caramel icing-covered cakes. You could eat the whole package in – like – six bites. Perfect for teenagers with no sense of diet (that was me, btw). I used to work in the Harrisburg Farmer’s Market and sold souse, scrapple and tons of other “exotic” items. Scrapple wasn’t that bad if you fried it and poured real maple syrup on top of it. But then, Spam wasn’t that bad either if you sliced it thin and fried the dickens out of it. Almost had a bacon (cheap, albeit) taste and with the addition of maple syrup was totally edible.
I don’t know if anyone else has driven onto “the island” yet today (01/01/08), but it appears that someone wrecked on one of those triangle, off-ramp dividing impact barriers leading up to Admiral Way on the West Seattle Bridge. New Years revelry go on a bit too long? Any info on this? Any other reported NYE accidents?
How about a streetcar down California … say, Myrtle to SW Seattle. Oh wait, we had that, what, 60 years ago? But seriously, the poll idea is a good one. We’ll put this in queue for the main page as everyone else starts waking up from post-holiday stupor in a few days.
My number one Christmas pet peeve used to be dead lights in the tree. I never trusted those little lamps and every two or three years I’d have to replace a whole string. The larger bulbs were too hot and were dangerous for little kids so we never got used to having them around. We had one string when our youngest was a toddler and we finally chucked it. This year, for the first time, the tree lights are all LEDs and I’m hoping they last longer than a few years.
Otherwise, all the other pet peeves are okay. I kinda like sneaking over to Southcenter and breezing in and out. I go to Guitar Center and REI there sometimes because it can be quicker than trying to get over to Westlake area – either by bus or in a car. There’s a way, if those are the only places you’re going, to get from Gatewood there and back in an hour or less. Also, if you park by the bus center and just walk in the long way, there’s no real parking hassle. I always park in what we used to refer to back east as West Bumf*** – fewer dints in the car and you usually remember where you parked.
I’ve been both a driver and a pedestrian and have felt the frustration from both sides of the issue. What I have to remind myself as a driver though is that I have the greater power over the pedestrians, therefore I also have the greater responsibility. A mistake I make as a driver has a much greater impact given that my vehicle weighs thousands of pounds and is typically traveling at speeds of 30mph or more. If I need to pay greater attention or slow down a little in order to spot and wait for pedestrians, then that’s a responsibility I have to accept. It’s the tradeoff I should be willing to make for the speed and convenience of personal motorized transportation.
That said, in practical terms everybody’s got a lot on their minds and sometimes people do forget to check every corner at all times for a pedestrian. One idea that could help is speed bumps. A well-placed speed bump can be just the thing to remind the distracted driver that they need to check their speed and watch for pedestrians. In areas such as 35th where people tend to drive faster (although the speed limit is 35mph), a series of the rumble bumps — not sure of the correct name for them — might be in order.
To me it seems like the least we could do when people are quite literally being killed in the streets.
hehehe…House…I’m afraid our prison system couldn’t handle them all. And I totally agree with you. I, too, am both. As a pedestrian I walk with a cane, hopefully temporarily. I’m a little slower than the average person, so really have to be heads up about where and when I cross. As a driver I try to pay attention, but we have to remember that we have a big hunk of metal (erm…sometimes plastic…hehe) around us, and it’s not always able to stop on a dime. There are times when drivers are damned if they do, and damned if they don’t.
I’m both a pedestrian and driver in West Seattle and Downtown Seattle. The fact of the matter is that there is fault on both sides of the coin on this matter. Yes, there are many drivers that ignore crosswalks but there are just as many pedestrians that either don’t pay attention crossing the road or dont pay attention to the crosswalk signals. When you’re driving 30-40 mph and don’t see a pedestrian until right before the crosswalk, you may be risking an accident more by slamming on your brakes (might get rear ended). The easiest way to avoid all of this is if we simply jail stupid people.
I am not a fan of Fastan either. I went there a few times and the service was poor and the people behind the counter acted as if they had better things to do than wait on me. And regarding what CMP said above, the tanning salon north of Charleston is Island Tan, and they are great! The place is clean, breezy, and they have good package deals.
I hate to be a party pooper, but given the reality of this situation this just sounds like a lot of whining. As someone who frequently is bus riding pedestrian (using crosswalks marked and not) as well as a bicycle commuter this whole discussion sounds *exactly* like when people complain about bicycles dart around and don’t obey traffic laws and adhere to all traffic laws. Except somehow its from the point of view of the pedestrian/bicycle. Stay with me for a second. 99% of the road using public are car drivers. Anything that is as restriction to people driving is a frustration and a source of aggravation, they don’t care why, all they know is your slowing them down the 15 seconds that might make a difference. Usually the people behind the wheel blame everyone but themselves, and insist on laws to keep peds and bicycles from slowing them down. Read the hate and vitriol that drivers have for bicyclists. http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/soundoff/comment.asp?articleID=344924
now remember for a second, that if a ped or a bicyclist makes a mistake they fall down. If a car blows a crosswalk, someone dies.
Sorry to get in you face about it, but if you want people to care that your in a crosswalk, start treating it like its your life. Make a bigger deal about it, cause a scene, call the cops. because right now your just that 1% of people using the road that are easily dismissed. did we all forget that a rabbi on his cellphone hit his SECOND pedestrian in a crosswalk last summer? The gentlemen that was killed was a assistant to the city council. What did the driver get? NOTHING. You think emailing the council is going to do something?
Another nod for Sleepless on Alki–nice, smooth mochas. Re: Java Bean–WOW! I have never had a bad experience there, I’m sorry to hear that others have. Don’t forget the new Bubbles on Delridge–really cozy, comfy atmosphere, good coffee and sandwiches too!
Drivers don’t stop at ANY crosswalks in West Seattle, or downtown. This is a huge pet peeve of mine. I catch the bus at the park and ride below the West Seattle bridge and I always have a difficult time getting drivers to stop. The crosswalk I use was faded away and I called the city and metro. Within DAYS the crosswalk was repainted. However, drivers still do not stop unless I step into the crosswalk and force them to. Sometimes they just swerve around me into the other lane. Last spring my husband bought two buckets, put gravel in them, and made bright orange flags for me to use in that crosswalk. They’re gone now! The flags were taken and somebody dumped out the gravel and took the buckets. I have e.mailed the mayor about how to make our crosswalks safer, but got no response, other than my name was added to his monthly newsletter. His campaign to improve crosswalk safety needs to start with the drivers, not the pedestrians. Pedestrians in a marked, and unmarked, crosswalk at an intersection have the legal right of way, not the driver. What we need is drivers blowing through occupied crosswalks to be ticketed!
I’ll go out of my way to get a coffee from Cupcake Royale and also <3 Sleepless on alki for drive-thru.
I am glad someone brought up this issue. I moved to WS 3 months ago and I am seriously missing the great burgers from Red Mill, Burgermaster, Dicks, and Kidd Valley. Not one of them resides in West Seattle, yet there are multiples of each in North Seattle. We need to take action and demand a good take out burger joint in West Seattle!!!!!!
For those of us that fully understand that UV rays are bad but like to soak up some fake sun before going on vacation pay special attention when signing up for those “specials” at Fastan.
Here’s what happened to me:
Between 8/14/2006 and 12/7/2006 I purchased Tanning sessions from Fastan on Fauntleroy. I went into the store today (12/27/2007)for a session and was told that my credits had expired. Like rubbing salt in an open wound I was then told that if I wanted to sign up for an additional package, I would be credited the expired tans. I remember thinking, “so let me get this straight, I didn’t use all the tans I previously purchased, but if I buy more tans that I probably won’t use, then you’ll do me a favor and give me back what I already paid for.”
I expressed my disappointment in their policy with hope of some good explanation by the sales representative but only got what appeared to be a well rehearsed response of “we tell all of our customers that they expire
While I was in the store, I noticed that none of the advertised specials that were prominently displayed mentioned that the credits would expire after any set period of time. When I inquired as to why there was no written disclaimer, the sales representative told me they verbally tell customers at point of sale and that it is stated in the contract that is signed. I asked to see an example of this contract where it was stated in writing that my tans would expire and wanted to see where I signed acknowledging this, and they could not produce one for me. If I wanted a copy I was then told that I would have to get it from their corporate office. What is most confusing is that some of my tanning credits are set to expire in 1 year while others last two years. At no point in time do I recall this being explained to me, as I would have been reluctant to purchase as many credits as I did. I’m not really into tanning but go before vacation so I don’t burn on the first day when exposed to sun.
In the end I asked for the regional manager and was only given a first name and a phone number which I later learned was their Burien location. When I asked for the managers last name, i was told that she didn’t know it. Seriously, who doesn’t know their boss\managers last name. Anyways, I’m done with Fastan, they may have gotten my unused tanning credits but lost a customer.
Anyone have a good recomendation on where I should go for fake sun?
I am so-far quite satisfied with the message boards. I have for some time been looking for a place to communally kvetch about the ridiculously long east/west traffic-light at California and Charleston. Now ‘the Blog’, as it is referred to be my close circle, has given me this opportunity.
Keep up the good work
Right there with you on this. Southcenter is pure, unmitigated Hell.
There is a lady who has been behind me in stores twice now, on two different days in two different Westwood Village stores, singing Christmas Carols. Just as I was sighing a breath of relief that they weren’t playing overhead for that 5 minutes, she started up. She had a nice voice; I’m just over the Christmas music. (bah humbug, Grinch I am)
Shout out to three folks I encountered tonight also at Westwood Village. The first one was a mother and daughter team at B&N. I walk with a cane. Daughter (4-ish?) was heading toward me and Mom reeled her in a bit so she didn’t smack into me. Daughter pointed and asked “Mommy, what’s that?” Mom replied “It’s a cane. People use it to help them walk better.” So many parents “shush” their kids when they’re asking perfectly normal, natural questions about the differences between folks. It’s nice to see one answer in a matter-of-fact way.
Both of the other two were at QFC. I was exhausted by the time I got there. It must have showed. A kind man using a scooter back near the butcher asked me if I wanted a lift, which made me giggle.
I asked an employee where-the-heck they were hiding the raisins, as I’d been around the store 3 times, and down the baking aisle each time and hadn’t seen them. The woman not only went and got them for me, but then offered to carry my basket for me to finish my shopping. I must have really looked as tired as I felt. I’ve been fighting a pretty major medical issue, and tonight was a night where the “above and beyond” as well as the touch of humor were just so appreciated. It really made my night.
We’re looking for restaurants that will be open on Christmas. From breakfast to fancy dinners anything will be appreciated. Obviously not in WS, but I know House of Hong in the ID is going to be open, but we’re hoping to find one local so we can celebrate in style. :)
Thanks!
