Search Results for 'ge'

[TheHouse]

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.

[TheVelvetBulldog]

Thanks for these suggestions–I’ll do a drive-about and check ’em out!!

[GenHillOne]

Recently got to visit a Kidd Valley for the first time in years – son had never been. Grrreat! We did the whole shabang…burgers, deep fried mushrooms, onion rings, banana milkshake (with chunks of fresh banana clogging the straw, mmmm). Please, please come to WS!!

[Aim]

Try Elliot Bay’s BBQ burger but have them substitute the crispy shoestring onions (from the pork sandwich) instead of raw ones. OH MY YUM. We go there at least once a week, sometimes twice. And my weight gain this year reflects it. ;-)

[barmargia]

The Circa burger is the best in WS, I do agree with Beth though…we totally need a Red Mill

[andrea]

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.

[atown]

Excellent thread. I too am new to west seattle and always on the lookout for a good hamburger.

I dig elliot bay’s bbq burger but will be sampling the other places soon, and no doubt with frequency.

[dustin]

Maybe too far south, but the Arbor Heights area (Roxbury and 35th) has a bunch of small homes (two bedroom, 1 bath) all built in and around the 1950’s. I know that since they’re smaller that they usually rent for cheaper. I think I saw one a while back for $950 a month. They usually come with a garage and nice lawns.

[vincent]

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?

[Sue]

As a frequent pedestrian, I sometimes have a driver stop for me on Fauntleroy, and then get upset that I don’t go. The problem is, I appreciate that they stopped, but usually it’s the other side of the street, and the car on the side I will first cross is racing towards me and I am not sure they will stop, so I cannot safely cross. Meanwhile, the nice person who did stop is pissed off at me because I’m not crossing. I can’t assume that everyone will stop, so I need to be safe. I may have right of way, but that doesn’t mean I should just start walking in front of oncoming traffic!

Then one time they did all stop, I started crossing, and someone decided to drive *around* the stopped traffic (in the parking lane) to blow through the intersection and almost hit me in the crosswalk.

I, and a few neighbors, were in touch with people about putting in a crosswalk or traffic light or at the very least some pedestrian crossing signs, but they gave us the runaround for a very long time and then didn’t get back to us. Then I tried contacting the SW Precinct, telling them what’s been going on here with no one yielding to us, and they emailed back saying that pedestrian safety was very important, and they were going to come out and take a look and start ticketing people who don’t yield. That never happened. I’ve never seen a cop car yet during my morning commute, nor has the situation changed. I don’t know what else I can do to get the rules enforced, other than praying I don’t get hit someday.

[WSB]

Hi, nyx, thanks for constructive criticism. The monthly archives and categories actually do get clicked, believe it or not. The look/feel will change when the site design evolves before too long, hopefully with an additional sidebar so more of the site content is reachable from any page, not less. However, datapoint, it’s actually not something we built ourselves – it’s bbPress; a free hosted site is not feasible for us since, as a business, the pages, views, and ads need to stay on our domain. Re: the small symbols for replying – what browser and OS are you using? We’re on Firefox/Mac OSX at the moment and both the heading “reply” and the button “send post” beneath the reply box are pretty big. Let us know and we’ll check.

[BlairJohnson]

The way I understand the law, drivers must stop for pedestrians if they step off the curb in a crosswalk (marked OR unmarked). If the pedestrian is standing up on the curb or sidewalk, drivers can legally drive in front of them.

So I wish more pedestrians understood that if they intend to wait for all the traffic to clear, they would stay up on the sidewalk, back from the curb. Sometimes I see a pedestrian up ahead standing off the curb in the crosswalk, so I come to a stop, only to have them just stand there. Finally, I have to gesture “oh well” with my hands and drive in front of them, risking a ticket.

When I am a pedestrian (and I walk frequently) I make sure I communicate my intentions clearly to motorists.

[nyx]

I don’t like the current forums at all, although I am glad you’re adding this feature. The layout and typography isn’t particularly nice compared to other forums, and the user interface is sort of clumsy. You should improve that tiny little >> you have to click on to reply, for example! That’s just making it unnecessarily hard for us. Also, remove the line at the bottom of every page “Put code in between backticks“. We aren’t posting formatted code here and “backtick” isn’t a word any real person uses anyway.

You don’t need to use the regular WSB sidebar on this part of the site, either, it’s just wasting space. Ditch the links to the monthly archives (no one’s clicking on those anyway, folks…) and category links. Those things point to content that’s separate from the forums, so it’s irrelevant here. Once that’s gone, use the full width of the content area for the forums.

Given the homespun feel of this thing, I suspect you don’t have the admin tools necessary to handle these forums if they see any real growth. I expect it will get out of hand quickly if there are lots of people posting often on lots of threads. I would encourage you not to try to build your own here, just go with a free hosted site like Proboards (http://www.proboards.com/index.html).

[pabloa3]

Here is the site for pedestrian laws:

http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/walk/Laws.htm

I know I’ve been guilty of not yielding to peds at unmarked intersections on 35th…quite honestly, I’m sure everyone has been guilty of this. Drive down 35th at almost anytime and there is always going to be someone waiting to cross at some intersection…most of the time cars don’t stop. Not exactly the safest street for a car to just stop on. However, it is not always obvious that the ped is there to cross – many times I’ve seen cars stop only to have the ped just stand there.

My big beef are peds that cross against their light or in the middle of the block…I see this issue much more frequently as a driver. As a ped, I’m not often bothered by crossing fauntleroy, California, or 35th…there are always breaks in the cars (even by the ferry dock – I’ve crossed there many times)…no use risking your life attempting to get traffic to stop both ways when you can just wait for a break in traffic.

[BlairJohnson]

At either end of Delridge:

•Uptown Espresso at the north end of Delridge has a nice atmosphere, comfortable seating and impressive menu board chalk art. Good coffee too.

•Cafe Rozella at the south end of Delridge has an intimate atmosphere and interesting artwork. Good people watching out in front if the weather’s nice. Events like music nights. Community spot to find out what’s happening in South Delridge and White Center. And of course good coffee too.

[TheVelvetBulldog]

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!

[linnea]

We use Harrahs on California Ave. in the Admiral District, by Blockbuster and in back of Click!. Ron and his partner are reliable and good, always keeping the cost to the customer in mind. They also maintain a service record on your vehicle(s)so they get to know them. They are all about cars.

[robm]

IMO, the West Seattle take-out burger hierarchy goes like this:

1) Circa

2) Jak’s

That’s it. The Elliot Bay burger is totally hit and miss. Too risky if you’re doing take-out.

[flowerpetal]

We have always felt good about the service we have gotten at Dere Automotive on 35th and Barton. The shop manager is Lee, nice guy, always upbeat and friendly. Never had any problems with the work done there.

[Wes]

Circa is the best I have found in West Seattle.

[swimcat]

The 35th/Avalon SBUX is the worst! I have complained numerous times to the staff and to corporate, and nothing improves, they just sending me free drink coupons. The new SBUX at Jefferson Square is great though- quick, friendly barristas and a fully stocked pastry case. And if you go in the morning you don’t have to deal with the bad parking since no one is there.

My favorite though is the coffee at Thriftway. Great prices, friendly baristas and grocery shopping all in one stop. I order Americano’s, and I’m always impressed there is a beautiful, thick crema on top. As Wes suggested above, if you want to tell the good from the bad or mediocre, just order a shot and drink it straight.

[BlairJohnson]

Related to this topic is pedestrian right-of-way on sidewalks. Some people seem to think the sidewalks are their property. Maybe back before the area was platted and subdivided and annexed to the city it was. Now it is city property. Cars parked across the sidewalk can be ticketed. And property owners who fail to keep vegetation from growing over the sidewalk can be assessed a charge if the city has to cut it back. I suspect the people who block the sidewalk in front of their house are the same ones driving in front of pedestrians in the crosswalk.

[squareeyes]

I have firsthand experience!

According to an entomologist I spoke with in Puyallup about five years ago, WS is the northernmost area that has subterranean termites (let’s call them ST’s). They apparently have no interest in any areas east of here. ST’s need food and moisture, so if you have areas of standing water around your house try to fix that. Also remove any wood that may sit close to your house.

In my case, I discovered ST’s when they ate through a bit of caulk at the doorway of my mudroom. Mudroom has a cinderblock foundation (bad!), and the ST’s came up through the holes in the cinderblock and ate most of the mudsill and partway up the vertical supports. A handy friend removed the drywall inside and a few rows of siding outside to effect repairs and we tried to fill in as many cinderblock holes with quikcrete that we could access.

Cascade Pest Control was the only company I found in Seattle that deals with ST’s. He had to dig a shallow trench around the affected area, mix up several gallons of Termidor, and fill the trench with it. Termidor doesn’t repel ST’s, they go through the treated soil, and take it back to the nest where it kills everyone. It continues to work for five years. Next summer will be five years for me so I plan to have Cascade back for another treatment, just to be safe. It’s not cheap – cost around $400 just to treat around the mudroom, would be $1200-$1500 to treat around my 800 square foot house. If I remember correctly, Cascade will guarantee for five years if you treat around the entire structure, in my case I only did the one room so no guarantee.

I could go on for an hour about ST’s. I find them both horrifying ($$$) and fascinating.

If the inspector you used at time of purchase didn’t notice any damage to the mudsill in the crawlspace perhaps this is an early discovery. I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you.

[LauraLou]

I have to cross 35th each day at an intersection to catch the bus. This means I’m crossing an “unmarked crosswalk.” (FYI all intersections are unmarked crosswalks and drivers are supposed to yield to pedestrians.) I can’t remember the last time a car actually stopped for me, though. Last June or July, probably.

The City took away several crosswalks on 35th because they were unsafe. (??) Then said that in fact, all intersections are crosswalks so there should still be plenty of places to cross safely. Uh-huh, whatev.

I typically practice what I call “defensive crosswalking” when in a crosswalk. That means I wave to the oncoming driver, which tends to help get their attention, and even try to make eye contact, before venturing out.

I think some drivers don’t think they have to stop unless the ped is IN the crosswalk. That’s very untrue. If you are a ped and standing on the curb waiting to step out until it is safe, you absolutely have the right of way, and if the driver gets cited, the ticket is pretty steep.

I think Councilmember Richard Conlin is very tuned into pedestrian issues. If your email to the mayor was ignored (shocking!) I’d try Conlin’s office.

[BobLoblaw]

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!