Rant!! 32nd Ave SW STILL CLOSED!

[nuni]

I’m getting tired of all of the extra traffic on 34th Ave SW. It appears as though it is one of the only outlets for the High Point community, even though 32nd Ave SW looks like it’s completely finished and they even put a light up! WHEN ARE THEY OPENING THIS STREET? We are tired of the congestion outside our house and it is especially annoying when people have to get over to let cars through and completely block our alley so we can’t park our cars.

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[Ken]

Those of us who have to use 34th are also more than annoyed.

Tom Phillips has heard enough from me and probably others and it is time to take it to SDOT and the city council.

In case your wondering, I think it has been closed for almost 6 years.

The traffic light at 35th and Raymond will be a tiny help but since I don’t see any traffic triggers going in, it will probably be on a timer and cause more accidents than it avoids or make law breakers out of those who wish to turn south when there is no traffic on I-35 in the early AM.

But note one thing that is for sure. There was nothing but several haughty “screw you” comments made by SDOT and SHA employees until the Developers were gifted with several million dollars worth of SHA property. Even though the rest of us in the neighborhood have large lots and tax assessments that are larger then the tiny condos and town homes, we were not only ignored but abused actively by SDOT, SHA and now the homeowners association.

I have been boiling for some time now about this issue as well as other that indicate that the city has no intention of doing the right thing in this neighborhood until they are forced.

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[nuni]

I feel your pain Ken! I can’t believe it’s been closed for 6 years?!?! WHAT THE HECK! So Tom Phillips is the person I need to contact to complain to then? I don’t care if he is tired of it. We are tired of it!

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[Ken]

The street could have been turned over to SDOT when they started putting up the poles for the light (or crosswalk) so SDOT might be in charge now.

But I am sure Tom Philips will tell you. :)

I think Tom Rasmussen is on the SDOT oversight committee (if that’s what it is called) of the city council. I am pretty sure he is the reason SDOT started on the light at 35th after the residents got nothing but “when hell freezes over” from years of requests to SDOT for a light there.

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[nuni]

I just don’t understand it. Is it because we don’t live in the North Admiral area that we get crapped on like this?

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[Ken]

The Highpoint home owners association gets respect because…

umm they owe a lot more money on their houses and have far less equity than we do?

The all own SUV’s that won’t fit in their tiny garages?

I’m stumped.

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[Dalamar437]

I’m glad to see I’m not alone in my frustration with the congestion on 34th. I’m one of the most patient people I know but waiting in my car for over 5 minutes sometimes just to get down a street that should take 20 seconds is ridiculous and really annoying. I just want to get to my house! I guess this is too much to ask!

I will say that people are often courteous and pulling over and waving so no complaints there, but all of it shouldn’t be necessary.

I guess what really gets me is that all these other streets seem totally ready for vehicle traffic but are fenced off for some mysterious reason. Maybe somebody can accidentally go open one of the fences and be my hero :)

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[WSB]

hi all, I just saw this thread. I try to read everything in the forum for story leads but I also request that if there’s anything you think might be worth a WSB news story, and this is exactly the type of thing we specialize looking into, please e-mail us at editor@westseattleblog.com … I will check with SDOT myself although since it’s after business hours now I don’t expect to hear back till tomorrow.

-TR

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[Dalamar437]

Thank you lowmanbeach. For the past who knows how long 34th Ave SW has been the street of choice for all of the High Point Community going to and from Morgan/Sylvan way. Not only that but the street (34th Ave SW) is a COMPLETE MESS with a ton of different patch jobs which look awful, they should have just redone the entire street. It’s ridiculous that so many people have been traveling down this street the past 6 yrs and it looks the way it does. 34th Ave SW between Morgan and Graham is mainly a residential street but gets enough traffic to be a main thoroughfare.

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[WSB]

Hey, if any of you HPers see this before I get out there in an hour or so to make sure I am inquiring about the right spot (we have visited HP frequently to cover stories in the past year but I still am not as intimately familiar with it as I should be) – is this the Lanham/Morgan side of what would be 32nd, just past the park? Or the other (south) side of Morgan/32nd? The folks with whom I’ll be inquiring are of course downtown so I will need to be laser-specific – TR

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[nuni]

Yes, it’s the Lanham/Morgan side. On the west side of the (still closed) street is Bridge Park Retirement home and on the east side is the new little park with the community garden. I feel bad for the old folks that are renting there with the knowledge that there’s only one way in and out of their residence and if that somehow became blocked they are SOL.

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[Ken]

http://www.highpointneighborhood.com/sea34dems/

A map of highpoint I had to make since the SHA will not release theirs.

the intersection in question used to be 32nd and Morgan, but now is Lanham Place and Morgan. Several maps do not show the change. Google maps has an updated aerial view but still shows long gone streets.

The street we all use to get safely to Morgan and the light at 35th, is 34th between SW Graham and Morgan. (not shown on map)

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[WSB]

OK – now I know exactly where you’re talking about. Will see what I can find out. Thanks for the map, Ken, I also noticed the big G was way out o’date. – TR

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[WSB]

Well, I got the answer from SDOT. The decision is up to SHA regarding when to open the street. My contacts at SDOT offered an e-mail address so I’ve sent the inquiry in that direction and we’ll see what that yields … TR

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[nuni]

Thanks again lowmanbeach for looking in to this! Please let us know what you find out. Really appreciate it.

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[WSB]

With some extra help, I got to a helpful person in SHA PR – and she procured this information, which I will be posting on the home page shortly:

>>Seattle Housing Authority shares the goal of opening up the

Lanham-Morgan connection as soon as possible, while keeping in mind the

safety of the public as well as traffic convenience. This process is

not solely up to the Housing Authority — it is a collaborative effort

between us and our SDOT sponsors.

The final traffic sensors in the streets are being connected and

inspected next week, after which SDOT will turn on flashing yellow

lights for about another week. We expect that to happen on Monday,

August 18 or sooner.

Once the lights are flashing, the barrier from Morgan to Lanham can be

removed to allow traffic to enter and exit with caution. After that

time, the signals will shift over to green, yellow and red lights at the

intersection. The pedestrian crossing signals will also be operating at

that time.

We appreciate everyone’s patience as we move toward the street opening.

We understand that this has been a significant inconvenience, but both

Seattle Housing Authority and SDOT staff are also concerned with the

safety issues.<<

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[hpweb]

We posted this theead on the high point neighborhood website a few weeks ago. It has contact info in case anyone has further questions:

http://www.highpointneighborhood.org/2008/07/17/update-high-point-roads/

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[WSB]

I check the HP site daily and would have linked there if there had been a recent update – saw that one when you put it up. The quote in the post says “a few weeks” and certainly it’s already been “a few weeks” since July 17th. But if you catch the barricades down and the lights flashing before we do, please send me the link to your post and we’ll point people at your report rather than duplicating it! P.S. to anyone interested, the HP site is one of the permalinks in the “neighborhood groups” site list in the WSB sidebar, if you ever need a quick link – TR

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