West Seattle, Washington
16 Friday
6:23 PM: Sage K reports that Delridge is closed northbound between Trenton and Cloverdale (map) with police diverting traffic. Nothing on 911 for this either – we’ll check to see what’s up.
6:39 PM: Though we don’t know if that incident is weather-related, we’re going to use this post for weather/traffic notes throughout this stormy night, and invite you to do the same. First one isn’t West Seattle but might affect you: Amtrak service between Portland and Seattle is suspended. I-5 also has closed for a 20-mile stretch in Lewis County.
6:06 PM: The meeting has just begun. Looks like not much “conventional media” here – no TV in evidence so far, anyway – likely because crews are out covering the flooding emergencies around other areas of Western Washington. Board president Michael DeBell opened the meeting by mentioning that Superintendent Dr. Maria Goodloe-Johnson and her husband will be attending the inauguration in Washington, D.C., week after next. We’ll add more notes here as the closure-plan-related news (or anything else major) happens. 6:24 PM UPDATE: So far the public comments have focused on opposition to the proposed African American Academy closure and the proposed split of the APP top-level-gifted program (currently at one elementary for the whole city, one middle for the whole city, but the new proposal calls for two each). Several opponents of the proposed Summit K-12 closure are speaking too. No one has spoken yet regarding the West Seattle section of the closure proposal, but Cooper teacher Cori Jaeger is on the list of speakers coming up. While we are just updating West Seattle-related highlights, you can read in-progress updates on the entire meeting at saveseattleschools.blogspot.com (or watch the meeting live on cable TV). 6:58 PM UPDATE: Jaeger yielded her time to Shelly Williams, who asked, among other things, why the district was willing to change the assignment plan so that the Cooper program could be discontinued, but not “to support us” (by expanding the “reference area” so there are more potential students from which Cooper could draw).
7:19 PM UPDATE: The public-comment period has ended, and chief academic officer Carla Santorno (a West Seattleite) is going to update effects/components of the closure plan regarding special education, bilingual, and advanced learning.
8:04 PM UPDATE: No new WS information in that presentation; district budget boss Don Kennedy is presenting an update now, and says the money picture is still bad – $25 million shortfall projected, up one million from the projection as of last fall – but not as bad as it could have been (at one point before the governor’s budget was unveiled recently, there was concern the district deficit could have wound up as high as $37 million).
8:45 PM UPDATE: Meeting has resumed after a 15-minute break. The three motions that comprise the “final recommendations” for closures/changes are being officially introduced now (again, the final vote is not scheduled till a special meeting on 1/29).
9:07 PM UPDATE: Board members are asking questions and voicing comments. West Seattle’s rep Steve Sundquist said that while he has heard a lot of concerns about the process and how the recommendations have changed along the way, he feels the “open” process that’s ensued over the past month is “transparent” and better than “the alternative.” He also asked for data about the West Seattle elementary schools to which Cooper students would be reassigned if their program closure does happen — that would relate to concerns voiced about members of the Cooper community, that the students will be reassigned to schools with worse educational performance (such as West Seattle and Roxhill elementaries).
9:30 PM UPDATE: Board president DeBell also voiced concern about the fact that ending the Cooper “program” would break up a school that is making enrollment and academic progress, as the Cooper community has been pointing out. By the way, the second and third of the three items being “introduced,” together comprising the “final recommendations,” also include components of the Cooper-discontinuance proposal – one would change the Student Assignment Plan so that current Cooper students can get transportation to their “newly assigned” schools even if they’re “out of cluster”; the other would merge the Cooper and Sanislo “reference areas.”
While heading to Sodo for tonight’s school board meeting, we spotted the first West Seattle regular-gas prices to creep back past $2/gallon – both stations at Fauntleroy/Alaska (including the 76, seen at left). We haven’t done our regular Sunday night price surveys for a few weeks because of the weather woes, but hope to get back on track starting this weekend. (The F/A 76, for comparison’s sake, was at $1.89/regular when we last did a survey 12/8, but that wasn’t quite the bottom of the curve – we saw some $1.60s and $1.70s around WS before the new price rise began.)
That’s part of a citywide group of about a dozen protesters is keeping vigil outside district HQ right now, half an hour before the start of the first School Board meeting since Superintendent Dr. Maria Goodloe-Johnson announced yesterday her final recommendations for which schools/programs to close. As we reported yesterday, those recommendations include ending the Cooper Elementary “program” and reassigning its students to other West Seattle schools, in order to move Pathfinder K-8 into Cooper’s building, before closing the Genesee Hill building that Pathfinder’s been at for more than a decade. The citywide closure-opposition group (Educators, Students, Parents, Alumni, Community Members Unite for a better Vision of Seattle Public Schools) has announced an anti-closure rally and march for 2 pm January 25 (starting at TT Minor at 1700 E. Union), four days before board members are scheduled to take a final vote. A different group calling itself Students Against School Closure is also distributing flyers here this evening, calling for a student walkout on the day of the final vote, January 29th, with its supporters asked to gather at Westlake Center at 3 pm for a march to district HQ followed by a 5 pm rally before the 6 pm board meeting. Back to tonight’s board meeting: The “final recommendations” are to be officially introduced, and as always the meeting will begin with a public-comment period; the list of speakers includes at least one person we know is affiliated with Cooper.
Not sure yet what’s up, but police cars are blocking the eastbound bridge entrance at 35th/Fauntleroy. Text message mentions accidents, but nothing on 9-1-1 yet. Also thanks to Todd in Westwood for word that scanner traffic around 4:30 indicated an eastbound crash that sent debris onto the westbound side. 5:21 PM UPDATE: Marco reports in comments that it’s reopened at Fauntleroy/35th.
Need something to look forward to, as this windy, rainy, post-snow, post-holidays first-full-week-of-the-year chugs on? How about — tomorrow night’s West Seattle Art Walk! Second Thursday of every month, 6-9 pm, and if you haven’t checked it out lately, you might not realize it’s spread far beyond its original Junction-area borders, with venues in Admiral, Alki, Delridge, Morgan Junction, and more – in fact, one of the newest participants is in Fauntleroy – The Kenney. The venues and artists are listed on the official West Seattle Art Walk blog, where you can get the walking map too.
If you were planning on going to tonight’s meeting of the Southwest District Council (reps from community groups and other key local organizations), SW District neighborhood coordinator Stan Lock just sent word its location has changed; instead of the board room at South Seattle Community College, it’s in a conference room at Brockey Center on the south side of SSCC. 7 pm tonight, all welcome; the agenda includes updates on two key local transportation projects — Metro RapidRide and the widening/ramp reconfiguration of the Spokane Street Viaduct.
Caught the classic blustery-day-in-West-Seattle scene at Constellation Park about an hour ago — when high tide meets semi-high wind, the seawall show begins south of Alki Point. (High tide today was around noon.) Also while roaming around to check for any sign of West Seattle storm woes, happened onto a sight that some Fauntleroy and Westwood drivers – among others – will be happy to see:
Along Barton, west of 35th, contractors are picking up some of those huge steel plates that have been (bumpily) covering the street cuts from the gas-line-replacement work, and filling the holes beneath. Traffic is down to one lane controlled by multiple flaggers, so it’s slow going through there while this is under way. (Puget Sound Energy told us in November the work would be done by year’s end, but we’ll spot them a weather delay.)
We mentioned West Seattle Hi-Yu Summer Festival‘s quest for a “new” float trailer last fall. That’s still a work in progress, and now the float needs a home too. Can you help? Here’s the latest, from Hi-Yu treasurer Kelly Mitchell:
Planning is underway for the 2009 parade season, so what’s next? The engine repairs completed at the end of last season will make it possible to keep the float running for the next 2 years while we raise funds and build a new float platform. With a few repairs to the frame and an upgrade to the sound system, it will be ready for this year’s many parades. The theme for the 2009 float has been chosen; it’s West Seattle Hi-Yu 75 Years ‘How Sweet It Is’. [as reported here last month] That being said, there are two critical issues to resolve.
This year’s parade season depends on obtaining a covered car trailer for the float. Our existing flatbed trailer has become too demanding and dangerous for the volunteers. We are consistently the last crew to leave a parade. Getting the float on the trailer requires a carefully followed procedure for bracing the trailer, driving the float up steep ramps, and securing it. Then the unwieldy tarp must be pulled over the float and secured for freeway-speed winds. This whole process takes about 1 ½ to 2 hours on a sunny day. At midnight and/or in the rain, it can take substantially longer. Our peers with covered vehicle trailers, drive in the float, secure it with a built-in system, and shut the door & leave. Unless we happen to have volunteers with trucking or equipment hauling experience, people have to be trained each year. The unpleasant hours that volunteers spend at this reduces the hours that we have available for coordinating community events.
We are planning to buy a new trailer similar to the one that the Leavenworth Autumn Leaf Festival purchased this year. Photo shows the trailer at the Seafair Torchlight Parade:
This 30′ extra-height vehicle trailer will cost about $12,000 and should last at least 20 years. We believe that is an obtainable goal this fall and winter, in addition to the annual memberships that we depend on for the festival’s annual scholarships and events.
Additionally, Harbor Properties is beginning construction on the site where we have been storing the float. Hi-Yu thanks them for graciously providing us with this space. Since we now need to vacate we will once again need a storage location. A covered trailer will provide many more storage options in, or close to, West Seattle, but until then we are looking for a new home for the float. To store the float we would require space in the dimensions of 30′ x 15′ and a larger space would accommodate the work activities that go into building the new items for this year’s theme. We are very excited to get started on this year’s float but we need your help and quick! If you have a space or know of anyone who may be able to help us or you want to help with this year’s construction, please contact Kelly Mitchell at kelly_mitchell@isp.com or 206-932-0665.
Here’s the latest official release from Seattle Public Utilities – please note the number to call if you DO have a problem. Latest forecast says that while the city’s been in a bit of a “rain shadow” for some hours this morning, heavier rain is expected again soon.
Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) flood crews remain on standby waiting for the rains and high waters that have so far missed the city, but which could yet arrive.
“Even though we have not yet received the anticipated rain our crews are ready to respond if necessary,” said Nick Pealy, deputy director, Field Operations and Maintenance.
SPU crews have cleared inlets of debris at locations where there have been past ponding and flooding calls during recent weather events. Crews have inspected and removed debris as needed from culverts, trash racks, overflows and weirs.
Sand & sandbags are still stockpiled at 3 locations for citizens and crew to fill as necessary:
— Meadowbrook Pond (N. entrance).
— South Park (7th Avenue S. dead end).
— Sand Point Way & NE 95th.SPU is urging customers to make sure storm drains on their street and neighborhood are clear of debris and to call or report any flooding immediately.
To report flooding or blocked drains, please call (206) 386-1800.
We’re heading out shortly to survey for wind/water-related trouble – seen any? Also: If you have a road trip planned anywhere around the state – WSDOT is monitoring multiple trouble spots – the major mountain passes are all currently closed, and a new state update includes this warning: “Major rivers in Washington are rapidly rising including rivers adjacent to Interstate 5 in Lewis county. Forecasts indicate that portions of Interstate 5 could be underwater as early as this afternoon.”
City Council President Richard Conlin, once mentioned as a possible challenger to Mayor Nickels next year, has just sent a news release (read it here) announcing he’s running for re-election to the council. Meantime, a WSB Forums member recently launched a campaign … not for mayor, but to find a mayoral candidate. (The other three councilmembers whose terms are up this year: Jan Drago, Nick Licata, and Richard McIver, who previously indicated he wouldn’t run again.)
Just out of the WSB inbox from Lisa:
There’s a scam going on at Westwood Village this morning. A guy ‘recognized’ me as someone who had offered earlier to help him. The story is that he has a van with his 7 yr old sister and they’re trying to get back to Bellingham but they’ve run out of gas. There’s another ‘helpful person’ who has gas cans and is willing to drive this fellow to a gas station to get the gas, but doesn’t have money herself to buy it. When I offered to take him & his little sister to a gas station and buy both gas can and gas, he got huffy and found an excuse to break off the conversation. Both are caucasian, and possibly in their 30’s. He’s younger, and is tall & skinny with blemishes. She’s older and heavy-set and is in a white sedan. Just thought I’d pass a warning along. I also let the manager at Target know about the situation so that he could call the police to drive through the area.
You’ve probably seen this one a few times yourself, but if not, our favorite scam/urban legend site, Snopes.com, has a page about it.
Longtime WSBers know we are a bit Blue Angels-crazy here when Seafair rolls around at summertime. So we are sharing the news that one Blue Angels jet (#7) and two pilots (#7 and #8, Lt. Ben Walborn and Lt. Amy Tomlinson) are expected to land at Boeing Field sometime around 1 this afternoon (time may vary) for “winter briefing meetings.” This year’s Seafair air shows will be July 31-August 2. (P.S. Lt. Tomlinson may be the first Blue Angel we’ve found with a MySpace page; here’s her official bio. As #8, she serves as event coordinator, though as you’ll see in her bio, she’s a pilot with a distinguished resume. The Angels have not yet had a female pilot in the six-member main team; the USAF Thunderbirds have had at least two, as we side-noted in this story.)
Quick reminder that the latest images from traffic cams in and around West Seattle (including the I-5 ramp and the 1st Ave S bridge vicinity) are on the WSB Traffic page, where you can also find a couple links to see if anything’s going to get in your way (also, here’s a direct link to the full regional state-cam network, and if you’re heading way out east/rural, here are some county alerts). It’s been blowing 30-40 mph all night so watch out for tree limbs, too. (And if you encounter any major problems – please alert us so we can get the word out – phone 206-293-6302 if that’s quickest/safest, or put our e-mail address in your phone so you can text us, editor@westseattleblog.com)
Tonight (Wednesday), the Seattle School Board will formally receive Seattle Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Maria Goodloe-Johnson‘s “final recommendations” for 
the next round of school closures.
As we first reported when she unveiled the plan Tuesday afternoon, the West Seattle components of the proposal haven’t changed from her previous update a month ago – the Cooper Elementary School “program” is slated for closure, so that Pathfinder K-8 can be moved into the Cooper building (left) once the Genesee Hill campus – which had been closed for years before Pathfinder was placed there 15 years ago — is shut down.
You’ll probably recall that Cooper wasn’t on the “preliminary” list, first announced back in November – Arbor Heights Elementary was instead recommended for program closure and Pathfinder relocation. The superintendent was asked at the Tuesday afternoon media briefing to elaborate on why Arbor Heights is now “off the list”:
That’s not the only recommendation that has changed along the way.Read More
The current Seattle Public Schools school-closure process has included prominent recent mentions of “design teams,” to be created — with participation from various school/community representatives — in hopes they’ll help the upcoming transitions succeed. 
That said, we wanted to note that a “design team” is continuing to work in West Seattle right now – the one that’s been helping the district plan what will be done with the Denny Middle School site after the school buildings close when the new Denny is done on the nearby Chief Sealth High School campus. That team will meet again next Monday night (1/12), 7 pm at the Denny library – and in the meantime, you can see what ideas are in the works, by viewing a video posted on the district website. As the video’s written introduction explains, few team members attended the last meeting December 15th because of the weather – so the district asked its landscape architect to record his presentation on video. You can see it here; other links related to the ongoing process are here (including photos and graphics from recent meetings – that’s your editor with the laptop in photo #1).
Keep the flashlight at bedside, just in case – this is the wind advisory renewed by the National Weather Service a little more than an hour ago:
…WIND ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 AM PST WEDNESDAY…
A STRONG STORM WHICH IS BRINGING HEAVY RAIN TO THE MOUNTAINS IS ALSO CAUSING STRONG WINDS ACROSS THE URBAN CORRIDOR FROM TACOMA NORTHWARD TO EVERETT INCLUDING THE SEATTLE AREA. EXPECT SUSTAINED SOUTH WINDS OF 20 TO 30 WITH GUSTS TO 45 MPH. THESE WINDS WILL CONTINUE OFF AND ON THROUGH THE NIGHT AND DIMINISH WEDNESDAY MORNING.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…
A WIND ADVISORY IS ISSUED WHEN SUSTAINED WINDS OF 30 TO 39 MPH OR GUSTS OF 45 TO 57 MPH ARE LIKELY. WINDS THIS STRONG CAN SNAP SMALL TREE BRANCHES…TOPPLE SMALL OR SHALLOW-ROOTED TREES…AND CAUSE LOCAL POWER OUTAGES.
A flood warning also is in effect through Thursday morning for possible “small stream” and urban flooding. We’ve just been out for a drive around some of the usual areas where this hits first – no trouble yet but if heavy rainfall continues as expected for hours to come, could be a different situation by morning.
12:28 AM UPDATE: We’re working on some other stories so we’re keeping watch on weather too; midnight readings from the NWS included 30 mph sustained/40 mph gusts at Alki Point (K91S on our favorite hourly list). Nothing on the City Light online list of outages.
1:14 AM NOTE: 34 mph speed, 44 mph gusts at Alki Point at 1 am.
(12/29 WSB photo)
Seattle Public Utilities is the focus of our third report (first one: snow-clearing; second one: Metro) on today’s three-hour Seattle City Council briefing regarding Snowstorm ’08 and how public services were delivered while the city was snowbound. SPU reps actually talked with council members about gearing up for possible pipe trouble during the pre-snow deep freeze, and gearing up for possible urban flooding when the snowmelt began, but since neither of those happened – and trash troubles DID – that’s the part of the discussion we’re writing about – read on for details:Read More
PICKUP CATCHUP, THE LATEST: Seattle Public Utilities finally officially confirmed that yes, they’ve been catching up today on some yard waste that wasn’t picked up yesterday — for those who would have had yard-waste pickup yesterday on the NORMAL schedule (check your “normal scheduled” online here) – and if yours still hasn’t been taken away, do call to report it (684-3000). Meantime, we’re working on the SPU angle from the city briefing earlier today, so that’ll be posted as soon as it’s done.
POWER-OUTAGE ALERT: Just in case the wind and rain intensify (video clip shot within the past hour – showing how fast the low clouds were moving in the wind) and lead to outages, Seattle City Light has issued a news release with reminders about what to do, what not to do, and who to call – click ahead to read it:Read More
(photo added 3:12 pm)
ORIGINAL 2:04 PM POST: Just a small note – we’re off to Seattle Public Schools HQ, where the “final recommendations” in the latest school-closure process are to be released within the hour. You’ll see them here as soon as we have them.
2:52 PM UPDATE: Just handed out. Cooper is still recommended for discontinuance. Genesee Hill building still recommended for closure, with Pathfinder K-8 moving to the Cooper building on Pigeon Point.
2:56 PM UPDATE: Full list: Building closures, Genesee Hill, Mann, TT Minor, Van Asselt, Old Hay (with subtext “may be temporary depending on enrollment.” Relocated programs: Half of Lowell APP to Thurgood Marshall. Half of Washington APP to Hamilton. NOVA to Meany. Pathfinder K-8 to Cooper (as mentioned). SBOC to Meany. TT Minor Montessori to Leschi. Thurgood Marshall EBOC to Dunlap and Hawthorne. Van Asselt to AAA. Also: New programs, New K-8 at Jane Addams. Discontinued programs: African American Academy, Cooper, Meany, TT Minor, Summit K-12. Again, the Cooper program closure/Genesee Hill building closure/Pathfinder move is the only West Seattle component of the list. This will now be introduced at the School Board meeting tomorrow night; final vote scheduled for January 29, and certainly the plan could change before then.
3:03 PM NOTE: Just FYI, we are in the board room at district HQ, where Superintendent Dr. Maria Goodloe-Johnson, Chief Academic Officer Carla Santorno, and other district officials will brief the media shortly and answer questions. We will add anything West Seattle-specific, and a full report later. A few more details about Cooper programs: The two autism self-contained and one inclusion program, as the district describes them, would “REMAIN at Cooper to become part of Pathfinder K-8,” according to the documents we’ve been given. The plan for other Cooper students is described in the summary as “reassign … to other schools in West Seattle.” District PR says this will be on the district’s website shortly – we’ll add the link when we see it.
3:13 PM UPDATE: Thanks to the commenter who found the link first: Here it is. One detail we omitted: West Seattle APP elementary students would go to the Thurgood Marshall half of the split program.
3:19 PM UPDATE: In case this part is not on the website yet, we are reading the detailed briefing book about the final recommendations. Here’s what it says about Cooper students:
Students who attend Cooper Elementary and live in the Cooper reference area are assigned to Pathfinder, Gatewood, Sanislo, or West Seattle Elementary depending on where in the reference area they live. Students who live within the walk zone for Cooper as well as some additional students who live near the Cooper building would be reassigned to Pathfinder where they could continue in the same building and become part of Pathfinder. The other reassignments (listed in the book) contemplate that the Cooper reference area would be merged with the Sanislo reference area, putting it in the West Seattle South Cluster.. Transportation would therefore be provided to students in the Cooper reference area who attend a school in the WS South Cluster. Transportation is also provided to WS Eleentary from both the West Seattle North and West Seattle South Clusters. Cooper studnets whose reference area is in the West Seattle North Cluster and who live close enough to walk would be reassigned to their reference area school. If not, they would be reassigned to West Seattle Elementary.
3:31 PM UPDATE: We just asked the superintendent about the fact that this would mean two buildings closed in the past few years in the West Seattle North cluster, which has had far less excess capacity than the south. She says a process is under development that will keep the district from getting to this kind of capacity imbalance in the future – no specifics yet, but it’s in the works.
3:38 PM UPDATE: The superintendent says there WILL be a “design team” process for Cooper if the final recommendation for program closure does get final approval – in which a group will be assembled to work through the transition of its students to other schools. As for what happens to its teachers – she says “the teachers go with the students” in general since enrollment isn’t declining, students are just moving; as for how it will be determined where teachers, like those at Cooper, go, she says that will be determined “by existing labor contract” terms.
3:44 PM UPDATE: The briefing has just ended. More links with long and short versions of the recommendations, as well as an updated FAQ and the official news release, are all now linked to the “Capacity Management” page that the district has used as a central repository for information on the ongoing process. Here’s that link. We’ll be writing a more detailed update a bit later; the superintendent had some comments about why the final list, citywide, was so dramatically different from the original “preliminary recommendations,” and also the role advocacy played or did not play in the final determination of what’s on this list.
5:16 PM NOTE: Before we get to that update – leafing through the full report, we see the “why the preliminary recommendation changed from Arbor Heights to Cooper” explanation is in it – if you want to read that, follow this link and click ahead to page 20. In part, it says:
In general, the Cooper building is a more logical choice for the relocation of the Pathfinder program. The building is nearly 30,000 square feet larger than Arbor Heights, and the building layout is more suitable for a K-8. Typically, K-8 programs prefer to physically separate the elementary and middle school students and the Cooper building allows for this. Cooper also has a full size field suitable for middle school PE. Cooper is also located on a large site that has a natural area that can be used by the Pathfinder program in support of their environmental education focus.
6:43 PM NOTE: One more link’s been added to the SPS website – the final report with appendices added – click ahead to page G-9, which is actually about 50 pages in, in order to get the specifics on where current Cooper students would be reassigned, depending on what “reference area” they’re in now.
Now, our second report (more to come) on the Seattle City Council‘s second day of briefings on December snowstorm response: This time, we focus on what the council heard from, and asked, Metro director Kevin Desmond. Biggest revelation – It’s clear now where the bus system’s customer-communication system broke down – there’s a major bottleneck. More about that in a moment. First, Desmond opened by stating the obvious: “This was the most severe weather, snow emergency in Metro’s history … We appreciate our customers’ patience and understand their frustration. Nobody likes to wait by the curb for a long time, for a bus that may or may not show up or may pass by because it’s crowded.” His bottom line: Metro has a snow plan, but it had to go out the window because it was written for a less-severe, shorter-duration situation. It’s an “80 percent” (service) plan, but he says Metro needs a “50 percent” plan, one that can be pro-actively put into effect with enough time to warn customers. That observation was just the beginning – read on: Read More
(December 23 WSB photo)
The City Council‘s second briefing on the December snowstorm response wrapped up a short time ago – after more than three hours. So much was said, we will publish several separate reports, each focused on a particular area, rather than one mega-report. First: An encore appearance by SDOT director Grace Crunican, toward the hearing’s end (following her stint on the hot seat yesterday), to talk more about the problems of getting, and keeping, the roads cleared. One key point was the issue of whether more help could have been called in. For example – the road grader you see above was one of several pieces of equipment borrowed from other city departments. SDOT also procured a small amount of private contractor help. Crunican revealed those details today: Two contractors were called in, one for three days, one for one day. She said they were called in at the peak of the problems, and discontinued because they felt they had a handle on the situation. In hindsight, she says, she realizes that wasn’t the case. Councilmember Nick Licata said at that point, “It’s clear that information was being exchanged between (city) departments, but was it being COORDINATED? We’ve talked a lot about departments communicating to the public, but what about the information from the public, to the departments? If SDOT thought it had a handle on the situation, that’s not what people were telling us.” West Seattle-residing Councilmember Tom Rasmussen also reopened the issue of who decides which routes get plowed first — Crunican said the official, publicly distributed SDOT plan (see it here) is evaluated annually — and voiced a concern that in WS, nothing west of California SW is on the map (see it here). Crunican (also a West Seattleite) mentioned that at one point, Admiral Way was plowed to 63rd, after the primary routes were cleared. Rasmussen suggested that Alki SW and Beach Drive should be on the plow routes and quipped that people who live uphill from there could “slide downhill on garbage bags” if they had to, to at least be able to catch buses along those routes. And back on the topic of bringing in private contractors, Councilmember Jan Drago said, “I’m the only councilmember who was also here in ’96 (the last major “snow event”) and this whole issue is ‘deja vu all over again’ … There was a huge public outcry to buy more snowplows. I want to know if the decisions that were made then are still in place. What we decided then was that storms were so infrequent, we weren’t going to invest in a big fleet of snowplows, but we did agree to retrofit a number of our own vehicles.” Crunican noted that the city had fewer than a dozen plows then and has 27 now, so, she said, “The question is, do you want to staff up for more, do we want to go the contracting route, or do we want to look at (retrofitting) other city vehicles?” She also said: “I’m not immune to the fact we didn’t get the job done for the public.” More recaps to come – next, we’ll write about how Metro director Kevin Desmond explained what went wrong with his system and how its status was, and wasn’t, communicated to riders.
As has been observed in the trash-talk thread, it’s getting windier out there. The morning forecast suggests it will be windier tonight than today.
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