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Spotlight Stories

West Seattle Thursday: Big day/night!
May 20, 2010 8:28 am
|    Comments Off on West Seattle Thursday: Big day/night!
 |   West Seattle news | WS miscellaneous

RAINBOW FESTIVAL AT SOUTH SEATTLE COMMUNITY COLLEGE: Third and final day/night of this celebration – here’s the schedule of events for today/tonight, running all the way from 10 am-9 pm!

TASTE OF WEST SEATTLE: The West Seattle Helpline‘s been doing this fundraiser for a while but it’s never been this big: More than 30 food/beverage purveyors from all over the peninsula will be in multiple areas of The Hall at Fauntleroy (the old schoolhouse, 9131 California), and your ticket (you can still save $5 by buying in advance online) gets you in to try them all, 6-8:30 pm. (WSB is a Taste of West Seattle co-sponsor.)

TRIANGLE PARKING: This is not a Triangle Advisory Group meeting, though it’s related to their work – this is a public meeting (that means YOU) to air any and all issues about parking, present and future, in The Triangle. Think we need park-and-rides? Think we should have less parking and more walking/biking/busing capabilities? Got another idea? This is the place to be. 6 pm, Senior Center of West Seattle (SE corner of California/Oregon – entrance on Oregon, the meeting room’s upstairs).

ALKI COMMUNITY COUNCIL: In addition to the ACC’s regular business, there’s a bit of a wildlife theme tonight, as Seal Sitters founder Brenda Peterson and West Seattle Wildlife Habitat Project‘s Dolly Vinal are the highlighted guest speakers. 7 pm, Alki UCC Church (6115 SW Hinds).

STUDENT MUSICAL, PHOTOGRAPHY EVENTS AT WSHS: “Once Upon a Mattress” has the first of six performances at 7:30 tonight at the West Seattle High School theater (here’s our preview from earlier this week). Also this afternoon/evening, student photographers open a show in the WSHS Library, as described by Martha Tonkin:

Sixty talented Westside photographers in their first public exhibition, “Face to Face: Portraits by West Seattle Teens”, up May 20 – May 28, 2010, in our beautiful library! Students were asked to pick a subject they were very close to, take 300 photos of them, edit 5-9 of their best images in Photoshop, print, mat and write artist’s statements about their series. Come and see how they’ve done with this challenge!

The official opening is 4-8 pm today, and the photos will continue on display till May 28th.

WEST SEATTLE DEMOCRATIC WOMEN: As noted last night, they invite you to join them tonight in a politics/art/mingling event with a long, high-powered guest list – all the way up to King County Executive Dow Constantine and Mayor Mike McGinn. Meet your reps AND enjoy art at the Woodside-Braseth Gallery, 9th/Lenora downtown.

Even more – see the WSB West Seattle Events calendar!

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West Seattle school news: More success for Denny, Sealth bands
May 20, 2010 7:44 am
|      1 COMMENT
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle schools

Turns out the West Seattle Hi-Yu Festival float (photos here) wasn’t the only West Seattle winner in last weekend’s biggest regional parade – Denny International Middle School‘s band brought home awards too. With a month to go in the school year, its director Marcus Pimpleton shares several big updates about not only Denny’s musicians, but also the band members he guides at Chief Sealth International High School:

I just wanted to take a quick second to brag on my amazing middle and high school band students.

The Denny International Middle School Marching Band traveled to Port Townsend to participate in the Rhododendron parade this past Saturday May 15th. The band took first place in the middle school band division which included bands from five different middle schools around Washington State. In addition to taking 1st in the middle school band division, they were also awarded second place in the middle/junior high drill category (which tells me they must’ve scored the drum majors in the drill category). Pictures from the event are available at www.dennymusic.org

On Monday, both the Chief Sealth High School and Denny Bands participated in the Syttende Mai Parade in Ballard. The Chief Sealth Band took third place behind Columbia River High School in Vancouver and the Shorewood High School Marching Band in the band division which consisted of at least 8 bands from around the region including Ballard and Interlake High Schools who have dominated the event in recent years.

Both have big gigs ahead, too – read on for that news, plus word of a big grant:Read More

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Neighborhood note: New night for North Delridge meetings
May 20, 2010 4:09 am
|    Comments Off on Neighborhood note: New night for North Delridge meetings
 |   Delridge | West Seattle news

The North Delridge Neighborhood Council is changing its regular monthly meeting nights once more – they had to make a switch some months back because of library-schedule changes, and now they’re trying another tweak: They’re back at the Delridge Library as of June 14th, and will meet at 6:30 pm on the second Monday of the month from thereon out.

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West Seattle Weather Watch update: ‘Wind advisory’ extended
May 20, 2010 12:49 am
|      2 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle weather

(Video by David Rosen from SlickPix Photography)
That video’s from just after Wednesday night’s 11 pm-ish high tide – the classic Constellation Park waves-collide-with-seawall shots. And it illustrates the fact that the wind didn’t quite die down when forecasters had expected it to – they’ve now extended the wind advisory till 4 am.

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Also ahead: Dems, bikes, Ed Hume, dog show, “Pencil Me In” …
May 19, 2010 11:38 pm
|    Comments Off on Also ahead: Dems, bikes, Ed Hume, dog show, “Pencil Me In” …
 |   Fun stuff to do | West Seattle news | WS miscellaneous

Back on Monday, we previewed four big events coming up in the next four days – tomorrow night’s Taste of West Seattle, Friday’s KEXP Hood-to-Hood celebration, Saturday’s Westwood Village Street Fair, and Sunday’s West Seattle 5K (co-sponsored by WSB)/Seattle Summer Streets (aka Alki “car-free day”). Here are a few other things to anticipate:

THURSDAY – WEST SEATTLE DEMOCRATIC WOMEN “RUBBING ELBOWS” – The WSDW are heading downtown to the Woodside Braseth Gallery, 2101 9th Avenue (map) – for what organizers describe as “a wonderful evening of food, drink and beautiful artwork.” 5:30-7:30 pm, they’re expecting guests including King County Executive Dow Constantine, Mayor Mike McGinn, at least 4 City Councilmembers, County Councilmember Jan Drago, State Sen. Joe McDermott, State Rep. Sharon Nelson, 2 Port Commissioners … suggested donation $25 (or more) at the door; RSVP to Carol at 425-392-7390.

THURSDAY – FREE REMODELING WORKSHOP: May is National Remodeling Month, and if you’re thinking about a project, longtime WSB sponsor Ventana Construction has its next free informational workshop tonight, 6 pm. RSVP to 206-932-3009 .

FRIDAY – BIKE TO WORK DAY: Cascade Bicycle Club‘s annual event has commute stations around the city for bicyclists to visit, including the traditional one under the West Seattle Bridge, 6-9 am.

FRIDAY – ED HUME AT BRIDGE PARK: The well-known local gardening expert speaks at 3 pm at Bridge Park Retirement Center (WSB sponsor) – free tickets available at locations including West Seattle Nursery.

SATURDAY – DOG SHOW AT WESTWOOD VILLAGE STREET FAIR: Not only is the street fair back again this year with live music, bouncy toys, magic shows, raffles, and more, the shopping center is also scene of a dog show 11 am-1 pm – full details here. You can sign up in advance at Pet Pros at WV, or at the event, 10 am-11 am.

SUNDAY: PENCIL ME IN FOR KIDS FUNDRAISER – With about a month left in the school year, Pencil Me In For Kids is gearing up its campaign to raise money for school supplies for next year, with its first big fundraiser, featuring Tupperware, Party Lights and Creative Memories, 3-5 pm at West Seattle Eagles (4426 California SW) – more info here, from Illusions Hair Design (WSB sponsor).

And that’s still not EVERYTHING that’s happening in the next few days … more on the WSB West Seattle Events calendar, and more for Thursday coming in the first-thing-in-the-am preview.

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West Seattle-residing ex-city attorney Tom Carr gets Colorado job
May 19, 2010 9:48 pm
|      3 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle politics

Our regional-news partners at the Seattle Times are among those reporting that Tom Carr, the West Seattleite who lost his bid for re-election as Seattle city attorney last year, has a new job – same role in Boulder, Colorado. It’s a college (University of Colorado) town northwest of Denver, with a political climate much like Seattle; here’s a longer story from the Boulder Daily Camera, which says Carr will start the job on July 1st; for yet another take, here’s what Slog had to say this morning.

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1st Avenue S. ramp closure, day 3: SDOT’s take on how it’s going
May 19, 2010 8:32 pm
|      14 COMMENTS
 |   Alaskan Way Viaduct | Spokane St. Viaduct project | Transportation | West Seattle news

From this afternoon’s South Portal Working Group meeting for the Alaskan Way Viaduct project: This group has often received briefings on the Spokane Street Viaduct Widening Project, and that’s part of what kicked off today’s session, with a focus on effects of the permanent closure of the 1st Avenue South onramp to the westbound (high) West Seattle Bridge. SDOT‘s Bob Powers pronounced Monday and Tuesday as “pretty good” traffic-wise – but noted the congestion was worse on day 2. He says they’ve got observers out watching the traffic flow (and non-flow, “We’re taking a look at that, trying to fine-tune some of the signal timings down there to make it operate as best we can,” and keeping a log of how it unfolds. He mentioned the communication system, using dynamic-messaging signs and Twitter to get drivers advance word, if the “low bridge” has to open for vessels – checking the SDOT Twitter feed, it appears there was one bridge opening Monday morning and one Tuesday morning, but none today, and none during afternoon/evening rush hour since the ramp closed on Monday. “We have a very well-coordinated notification if a vessel’s coming through,” Powers said. Also from SDOT, Trevor Partap chimed in that “We’re calling in more police officers to help (direct traffic through the detour) … Today they (were) at Spokane and East Marginal, which was a little more congested yesterday. We’re continually monitoring, and once things settle down, we’ll look into” signal re-timing, etc. He also explained why lower Spokane Street, eastbound, did NOT open Monday as SDOT had announced it would during a media tour on Friday – and how long it’ll be till it can open – That plus a few other toplines from the meeting, after the jump:Read More

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Alki Beach update: Rough sand screened, finer sand on the way
May 19, 2010 4:43 pm
|      11 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle beaches | West Seattle news

Update this afternoon from Joelle Hammerstad at Seattle Parks, regarding the Alki Beach rough-sand trouble discussed here last week:

Our crews have screened the sand material three times at the Alki volleyball courts with some improvement to the overall quality. In addition to the 150 yards of sand already purchased, we have ordered an additional 80 yards of finer-grade sand materials which is scheduled to be delivered tomorrow, and will be spread on Friday. The volleyball courts will be ready for use this weekend.

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West Seattle business news: Cellular World taking over ex-Tully’s
May 19, 2010 3:33 pm
|      39 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle businesses | West Seattle news

Less than two months after Tully’s Coffee vacated the storefront on the southeast corner of Fauntleroy/California, we know what’s moving in: Cellular World. A few WSB’ers had e-mailed saying they’d heard “a cellular store” but we hadn’t been able to confirm which one – until we heard from Gypsie, who saw the signs go up today. Cellular World already has a store in Jefferson Square; we just talked with its manager Carlos, who says it’s not yet settled whether that store will stay open after this one is up and running. Whatever happens with that, he says, the Morgan Junction store is scheduled to open July 1st.

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Admiral Safeway project update: Trailer = interim pharmacy
May 19, 2010 2:29 pm
|      12 COMMENTS
 |   Development | West Seattle news

Thanks to those who pointed out the trailer that’s gone up in the Admiral Safeway parking lot, e-mailing to ask whether it marks the start of construction on the redevelopment, or something else. Safeway’s Sara Corn says the trailer will be the temporary pharmacy – they scrapped the plan to first build the smaller retail building along California on the northwest side of the parking lot, so it could serve as the pharmacy during construction:

The permit for the retail building was not issued per the planned schedule. Since Safeway wants to provide uninterrupted pharmacy service, we couldn’t demolish the store until the retail building was completed and the pharmacy was open. Waiting for this would cause our entire store construction to be delayed and likely pushed out to a 2011 start. For this reason, we decided to run our pharmacy out of a trailer so we can start the construction of the new store as soon as we receive our permits.

As for when construction will start – Corn says there are still a few steps ahead – the site rezone goes to the City Council in June (she expects public notice this week for June 9/23 meetings); no date yet for the alley vacation to be considered, but once that date’s set, she says they’ll have a construction schedule (which would include a date for the closure of the current store). The smaller retail building, she says, will now be built concurrent with the main store; Catalyst Commercial Partners is currently listing its retail spaces for lease. (Here’s our report from the project’s final Design Review Board meeting back in February.)

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West Seattle Weather Watch update: “Wind advisory” in effect
May 19, 2010 1:38 pm
|      1 COMMENT
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle weather

Update from last night’s forecast: From now till midnight, our area is under a “wind advisory.” The forecast says gusts up to 45 mph are possible – as are thunderstorms, as rain moves in. 2:04 PM UPDATE: The rain has begun and the wind is starting to pick up too. 12:10 AM UPDATE: Wind advisory now extended till 4 am.

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Missing play slide: Theft, or a case of “Spring FREE-ver”?
May 19, 2010 12:04 pm
|      47 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news

Sean shared that photo and this explanation:

Our kids play, live, and learn in the parking strips of West Seattle. While this area is also a convenient place for one man’s trash to become another’s treasure, people need to realize that when there is no ‘FREE’ sign accompanying an item, it is not free. Last night our daughter’s play slide was taken from the parking strip, and I would like the person with Spring FREEver to please return it. Thanks for your help.

The parking strip in question is on 36th SW between Hinds and Hanford (map).

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Ready to ride: West Seattleite about to pedal cross-country
May 19, 2010 10:51 am
|      3 COMMENTS
 |   How to help | West Seattle news | West Seattle people

This Friday – which also happens to be Bike To Work Day in our area – West Seattleite Coree Pelko (photo right) will be in the Bay Area to hit the road for a fundraising crosscountry bicycling trip, the Sea To Shining Sea ride to help disabled veterans. Coree happens to be in active service right now. And her trip now has a double purpose – as a shipmate who was supposed to ride with her, cannot. Here’s the story she shared:

I am active duty in the United States Coast Guard and I am embarking on a Cross Country Bicycle Ride with the non-profit organization World Team Sports. They are one of the largest Non-Profits for Disabled American Vets. They help Disabled Vets achieve feats that able-bodied citizens only dream of. I am riding to represent the US Coast Guard, Seattle & My dear friend David Moulton (Also Coast Guard) but who cannot ride as a result of unforeseen circumstances with his health that arose.

She explains, after the jump – and we also have a link you can use to support the ride:Read More

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West Seattle Crime Watch: Shooting followup; stolen car; drugs
May 19, 2010 9:58 am
|      6 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | West Seattle news

First note comes from last night’s West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meeting (previous story here), but we wanted to double-confirm it before reporting it: Lt. Norm James says the man shot and killed in White Center early Saturday is the same man who was arrested in The Junction a week ago tonight after a brief police-weapons-drawn search that followed a report of a shoplifter thought to have had a gun. We are checking with King County Sheriff’s Office to see if there are any updates in the case. Meantime, we have two WSB’er Crime Watch reports to share. First, from Sharon:

Could you please have your readers be on the lookout (BOLO) for my 2004 Toyota Sequoia (white in color). It was stolen from my driveway, in the 5300 blk of SW Dakota [map] between late Sunday evening and 0800hrs Monday morning. The License # is 954UAF. Please contact the Seattle Police Dept. (or local Police/Sheriff if found outside city limits) if found or noticed driving around.

And from a parent who did not want to give her name:

Will you please post a notice regarding the selling of drugs in Schmitz Park under the Admiral Bridge overpass. My two boys were walking through Schmitz Park to Alki last weekend with a few friends, when they were approached & offered drugs to buy. Please ask our Community to report any suspicious or drug activity.

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West Seattle school news: Madison MS principal appointment
May 19, 2010 8:44 am
|      6 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle schools

Another West Seattle school has principal news today: Thanks to Jeanne Merritt at Madison Middle School for forwarding the memo announcing that Henterson Carlisle, who’s been Madison’s interim principal, now officially has the job. Read on for the memo:Read More

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West Seattle Wednesday: Strategic Delridge; “…On a Sunday”; more
May 19, 2010 8:38 am
|    Comments Off on West Seattle Wednesday: Strategic Delridge; “…On a Sunday”; more
 |   West Seattle news | WS miscellaneous

Today/tonight’s highlights from the WSB West Seattle Events calendar: Day 2 of the South Seattle Community College (WSB sponsor) Rainbow Festival, with activities scheduled 10 am-3 pm (full list here) … A doubleheader at Youngstown Arts Center tonight – you’re invited to help shape the future of Delridge – not just the immediate area around the street but all of eastern West Seattle – during Strategic Delridge at 6 pm (explained here), followed by the Delridge Neighborhoods District Council meeting at 7, with City Councilmember Mike O’Brien scheduled as a guest speaker … In The Junction, the final week of “Tell Me on a Sunday” at ArtsWest (WSB sponsor) starts with tonight’s 7:30 pm performance … And if you’ve got a preschooler, you’re invited to Fauntleroy Children’s Center tonight for a 6 pm presentation by parent educator Jean Vye about teaching 3- to 5-year-olds to include at playtime (RSVP to fauntleroychildrenscenter@yahoo.com) … More of today/tonight’s events listed here.

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West Seattle Crime Prevention Council: Prowls up, burglaries down
May 19, 2010 1:02 am
|      11 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | West Seattle news

First toplines from Tuesday night’s West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meeting: The most dramatic crime trend mentioned by Southwest Precinct Lt. Norm James is a jump in car prowls – 124 in the past month, up from 97 the month before that. Lt. James suspects some of the rise can be pegged to more people reporting the break-ins, but they’ve also been studying the reports to look for a pattern – it seems, not surprisingly, more are happening where there’s easy bridge access (off Fauntleroy, for example), so they believe many car prowlers come from outside West Seattle, get some loot, and turn back around to leave. Emphasis patrols will start in the next few days to see if the crooks can be caught in the act; meantime, if it happens to you, Lt. James stressed the importance of reporting it, so patterns can be detected. On the other hand, residential burglaries are down – 40 in April, a little more than half the rate for the month before. Two other toplines: High Point is looking for 120 people to each devote just two hours a month to helping keep watch on the neighborhood this summer – they’re calling it the High Point Peace and Safety Team; you can reach Miranda Taylor through the High Point Neighborhood Association (its official website is at highpointneighborhood.org). Also, WSCPC president Dot Beard handed out a flyer (see it here) asking people to write the city to save the Crime Prevention Coordinator jobs, which are reportedly in danger of being cut if a federal grant is not renewed. City councilmembers’ contact info is here; mayor contact info is here. ADDED WEDNESDAY MORNING: One other note: There’s a new officer joining the Community Police Team: Jonathan Kiehn – Officer Jill Vanskike is leaving CPT to join the detective team.

The West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meets the third Tuesday of most months, 7 pm, SW Precinct.

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West Seattle Weather Watch: Wind on the way
May 18, 2010 11:01 pm
|    Comments Off on West Seattle Weather Watch: Wind on the way
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle weather

A “special weather statement” is in effect (read it here) – bottom line, it’s going to get windy again, with gusts up to 45 mph predicted for tomorrow night, after a breezy day. Here’s the full forecast. Meteorologist Cliff Mass calls it “a serious storm” and breaks it down bigtime here – but also points out the worst of it will be on the seacoast.

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Case closed, in the saga of the purloined pig from Joe’s
May 18, 2010 7:51 pm
|      14 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | West Seattle news | West Seattle restaurants

Case closed: Two months after it was reported missing, the Endolyne Joe’s pig is back. We noticed it this morning and asked Dickie about the backstory. She said it’s been back for a few weeks; a Joe’s employee was at a real-estate open house and spotted the pig in one of the bedrooms! The employee called Dickie; Dickie called the police; the pig was recovered. No info on the fate of the pilferer.

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See the newest West Seattle traffic cams, “live” online
May 18, 2010 6:03 pm
|      17 COMMENTS
 |   Transportation | West Seattle news

New city-operated traffic cameras (NOT “red-light” cameras, just traffic-monitoring live cams) are finally online in West Seattle. Three of the latest images are “live” above – 42nd/Alaska in The Junction, Fauntleroy/Cloverdale near the ferry terminal, and 11th/Spokane near the “low bridge.” A westbound “high bridge” image is showing now too:

And there’s one at California/Alaska (see it here). The newest ones are not on the “traffic cameras” list on the city website, but they are on the Travelers’ Information Map. And we’ll add these to the WSB Traffic page tonight. (Hat tip to our friends at Capitol Hill Seattle and My Ballard, who published updates after discovering “their” new cams are online, inspiring us to check on “ours.”)

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Followup: Tour of “The Hole” brings one rapid result
May 18, 2010 4:34 pm
|      6 COMMENTS
 |   Development | West Seattle news

Thanks to commenter “dd” for observing that a crew was at “The Hole” this afternoon, removing the tagged green tarp that had been up against the fence – one of the problems pointed out by the community leaders who led a walking tour of the site late Monday (here’s our original report, published this morning). We went over to check on “dd”‘s report, and got the photo you see above. The crew told us they’d be replacing the tarps.

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High-school sports: Chief Sealth’s spring wrap-up
May 18, 2010 3:49 pm
|      1 COMMENT
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle schools | WS & Sports

From Chief Sealth International High School athletic director Sam Reed, we have Sealth’s spring sports wrapup – just in time for Thursday night’s spring-sports banquet – read on for his full writeup:Read More

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Parking in The Triangle: Agenda for this Thursday’s meeting
May 18, 2010 2:20 pm
|    Comments Off on Parking in The Triangle: Agenda for this Thursday’s meeting
 |   Transportation | Triangle | West Seattle news

During the very first meeting of the special West Seattle Triangle Advisory Group (WSB coverage here), it was clear that parking was one of the hottest issues regarding the area’s future. City planner Susan McLain promised a special meeting would be devoted to that topic – and today she’s sent the agenda for that SDOT-hosted meeting, coming up this Thursday:

I. Introductions (10 min) Casey Hildreth, SDOT
II. Review of 2009 West Seattle Junction parking project (20 min) Danté Taylor, SDOT
III. Discussion of key issues (30 min) All
a. Employee parking
b. Residential (RPZ) parking
c. Hide-and-ride, park-and-ride
d. BRT parking impacts
IV. Next steps (5 min) Casey
V. Q & A (25 min) All

(BRT refers to RapidRide – “Bus Rapid Transit.”) The meeting’s at 6 pm Thursday, Senior Center of West Seattle, and everybody’s welcome. Meantime, the city has posted documents and graphics from past Triangle Advisory Group meetings here.

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