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.
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.
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.
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!
Worst thing that ever happened to us on this front didn’t exactly happen to us – but to the person who stopped for us – We (child included) were at the bus stop across from the Fauntleroy ferry, waiting for cars to stop so we could use the crosswalk to get over to the dock. Someone heading southbound on Fauntleroy finally stopped. Just as we were about to step into the crosswalk, another car roaring up from behind them rear-ended the first car, pushing it right to where we would have been in the crosswalk. We called 911, of course, and others rushed over to help, but boy, that was too close for comfort. For some reason people are not interested in stopping at that crosswalk – we stood there just the other day, waiting for a chance to cross, and no one ever bothered to stop; we just had to wait till there was no one coming at all.
Hello! We need a contractor for a small remodel job in our home, which includes removing a wall and sealing off a door. Anyone have any recommendations? I’d appreciate hearing from people who have personally hired the contractor you recommend, as opposed to contractors themselves or real estate agents racking up referrals. Thanks!!
Katherine, you can change the passwords. click on “member” below your name and it brings you to your profile. click on the “edit this information” link and you can change it there.
Hello West Seattle! I am a new home owner and am a little horrified about a new, likely termite discovery. :( I have scheduled an inspection, and have become increasingly nauseated at the prospect of infestation, damage, costs to exterminate or repair. . . Has anyone had any experience with this? Could really use some advice. ( or just a stiff drink!) thanks!!
i’ve decided that now that i have a mortgage, a puppy, and a grown up job, i also need a financial planner. anyone have recommendations for someone in w. seattle?
What’s with these passwords? I’ll never remember that mishmash. Can we change them to our mother’s maiden name, or our dog’s birthday, or something?
+1 for Elliot Bay. + 1/2 for Luna Park I used to really enjoy burgers at LP, but they seem to be going downhill.
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?
Hmmm, thanks. I just checked it out and there weren’t many recs on their for gyms and/or trainers. The links didn’t work.
I guess I will have to just research it out myself. :-(
MissK – before we moved RRRs to the Forums, we did have a thread on which some recommendations were requested and made, just a few weeks ago – check out the comments here:
https://westseattleblog.com/blog/?p=4665
Lucy,I agree…I much prefer Luciano’s over Amante’s. And Luciano’s now has a website where you can order online – love the hummus and spinach salad :)
http://www.mylucianos.com
Not the junction, but Luna Park makes a good burger too – I’m partial to their Gut Bomb Burger – as healthy as it sounds :)
We had to replace a sewer line, and some drainage, a few years back and used RayMark. They aren’t in West Seattle, but we thought they were fantastic. Little disruption of our yard, the job was done on time and UNDER budget. They also improved my great-aunt’s sewer system and made the previous company come back and fix their mistake, for nothing! Great people!
Looking for good burgers around WS, particularly take-out. Fries optional. Alaska Junction optimal. Thanks!
I like them. The format took a little getting used to since they’re very different than other forums I use, but they’re easy to use and it’s nice to be able to start a topic about something without hoping that you start it first, or hijacking another topic for something else. I’d love to see a “back” button though, or something to back to the main forum page – I didn’t find it instantly intuitive to click on the topic name to go back.
I really appreciate all the time and effort you put into the site!
There’s a place that has been there about 6 months called the Golden Thread and it is across from Corry’s drycleaner on California. In a small building on the left if you are going West down California toward Admiral. She did a great job, very professional and rates were fairly reasonable. She is my new tailor and I used to drive to the U Village!
For installing a new water heater we used Brennan (http://www.brennanheating.com/), and we were very happy with them — professional, fast, and reasonably priced — but I don’t know if they do what you need done.
I have heard great things about Guy Nelson from CBC Plumbing, but when I tried to hire him for something, he was too busy — perhaps a good sign.
Hello,
As the New Year comes upon us so do the resolutions. I would like to kick start my fitness routine. I would love to find a gym or personal trainer that is in West Seattle. I belonged to All Star a few years back. I would like to get your take on the different gyms or your personal trainers. Also if you could include the cost that would be great too.
Thanks so much and Happy New Year
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
I’m waiting for The Bohemian…there’s just something about the name that I can relate to :)
Beacon is decently priced (they don’t charge an emergency surcharge for weekend work like most of the big ones) and very professional. We’ve used them to fix an internal flooding issue, but never for upgrades or remodels.
If you’re just doing hot water heater work, you can try some of the services that specialize in water heaters, like Action, Fast, or Benla.
