West Seattle, Washington
07 Saturday
(refresh/scroll down for the newest information; Monday school changes we have so far – Holy Rosary 10 am start, Holy Family 10 am, Our Lady of Guadalupe 10:30 am, Hope Lutheran 10:30 am, Seattle Lutheran 11 am, Shorewood Christian CLOSED)
(California/Thistle after dark tonight – look close to notice the glistening ice)
Our Sunday morning coverage is here; our Sunday afternoon coverage is here; now it’s time to start a new post for Sunday night – especially as we look ahead to tomorrow, and what conditions will be like as people look ahead to the workweek, and school (the last week before winter break, for most). Keep posting your reports, and sending photos to editor@westseattleblog.com – the information you provide is helping thousands of your West Seattle neighbors stay up to date with what’s happening, particularly important since most accounts suggest our area was hit harder than other parts of the city. Thanks again for your collaboration. First up, another update from the Goulds, reporting on multiple areas in south West Seattle:
Barton Street fairly good. Buses moving up the hill fine. Some folks are still a bit nervous going down, including the buses, so quite a bit of slow going down hill, at times. Did see a another sander and a de-icer truck going up.
It is our sense that the sand is in short supply and they are using it very judiously. It has been very hit and miss where we saw the sand. They may have also been trying to hit the worse spots as quick as they could, covering as much ground as possible, until they had time to do more thorough coverage.
Barton east of 35th – now much better, I followed the sander and de-icer to Target. 35th from Roxbury to Avalon is generally good. Some spots both lanes are not completely clear so folks are trying to avoid the icier lane. Most people do seem to be driving quite sensibily, but you can easily tell who the
folks are that are not having a fun time.Roxbury – east and down the Olsen Place hill and across the Cloverdale Bridge: Roxbury overall is in better shape than 35th. Olsen Place hill is fine – clear and no apparent problems.
Also for folks interested in Thistle, I saw the sander and de-icer coming east on Thistle, crossing 35th and continuing on. So my guess is, is that Thistle is also in pretty good shape now.
The newest forecast now says “quite cold through next weekend” and flatly declares “SNOW” for next Wednesday; see it here. Another road report now from Kevin in Arbor Heights: “100th west of 35th appears to be sanded but still very slick. I’m a couple of houses south on 42nd SW and our street is just solid ice as most likely the case with all the other side streets.” He says vehicles DO appear to be proceeding slowly and cautiously. However, Meg reports a nearby trouble spot:
There are three cars stranded at the curve on Marine View Dr SW, just south of 45th and Endolyne Joe’s. It’s very slippery on the curve headed South, and on the straight-away part of the hill where you come out of all the foliage. No sand or de-icer truck all day, which is typical, the hill is treacherous.
Updates as we get ’em (photos welcome too – anybody going to the Christmas Ship? – editor@westseattleblog.com) 6:05 PM: Folks are discussing power flickers in the comments – no power outages listed on the city site so far; here’s where they will be, if something big happens (hope not!). 7:39 PM UPDATE: As mentioned in the comments, some people in that area of Morgan Junction lost power entirely. That’s not listed on the city site; we’ll check by phone to see if there’s information on what’s going on. We’d heard from Vlad Oustimovitch, who lives in the area, that his wife Kathryn had called City Light to ask about the microoutages and was told about “20 blocks” were affected by the blickering and that crews were en route. However, now, in addition to the comment here, we also just received a note from someone whose friends near Thriftway are without power. 7:48 PM UPDATE: City Light says the outage is affecting 200 “customers” (which means homes/businesses) between SW Graham north, SW Webster south, 39th SW east, 47th SW west, and says crews are “currently patroling to find the cause of the outage.”
8:10 PM UPDATE: No outage updates yet. Meantime, we’re watching both the Seattle Public Schools site and SchoolReport.org for any school info for tomorrow morning that might affect folks in this area – as we mentioned earlier, though, the district often does not make the decision until early in the morning. It’s also a tough call when the weather conditions don’t affect the city (and therefore the district) uniformly – you may remember a time a few years back when the north end had snowy, icy conditions, while West Seattle was in relatively great shape, but schools were closed anyway because more routes were dangerous around the city than not. One other note – the WSB Forums have a few weather-related topics going, including “what’s better for your driveway/walkway: kitty litter or salt?” Join the conversation here. Good news for bus riders (and drivers who share the road with buses): King County promises buses will be chained tomorrow! (That same link contains other general commute-related info from the county, mostly re: unincorporated areas.)
8:23 PM UPDATE: Just a note while things are relatively quiet – besides watching schools and roads, we are also watching for other information relevant to tomorrow – government agency operation changes, major employers, what have you, so please share that kind of information too if you think it’s of value to more than a few people (comments and/or editor@westseattleblog.com). Besides keeping watch till late tonight, we will of course be updating for the morning commute too, monitoring various sources for West Seattle-specific/relevant road info. Both the city and the county promise to be on their game.
8:50 PM UPDATE: We have paged Seattle City Light media reps in hopes of getting an update on the Morgan/Gatewood outage. If we don’t get any new information soon, we’ll head down the hill (the area is a mile directly north of us) and look for crews. Meanwhile, a photo just in from David Hutchinson, one of many people who contributed great photos earlier today too:
David says, “Just got back from seeing the Christmas Ship near the Don Armeni boat ramp. A small group braved the cold temperatures and wind. The bonfire was appreciated.” Also: Michelle, in comments, reports one West Seattle school change has been announced: Start time for Holy Rosary is 10 am tomorrow. By the way, if you’re looking for the website or phone number for a West Seattle school, we have a fairly comprehensive list (probably missing a few preschools – those are hard to track) on the WSB Schools page.
COVERAGE CONTINUED THROUGH MIDNIGHT – TO SEE THE REST OF IT, CLICK AHEAD:Read More
Before we launch our Sunday night edition of snow coverage, wanted to mention this – since it turned out to be particularly timely: Saturday morning, hours before the snow hit, volunteers from neighborhoods all over West Seattle got together to test emergency radios that could be used for West Seattle-wide info-relaying in case of catastrophe – the photo above shows preliminary results (broken lines are iffy, solid, better) – here are photos taken before participants fanned out for the actual test:
That second photo is Ron Zuber, a radio expert who coordinated the test (and the one we mentioned on Night Out in August) — that test had mixed results, so this time, they tried more powerful radios. Cindi Barker from the Morgan Community Association reports, “Not a perfect result, but there were enough inter-neighborhood connections that we think we can stick with family service style radios, and that way Block Watch and SNAP groups can hear our communications. Alki and Fauntleroy will be our biggest challenges, we may have to get a repeater to boost the signal all the way from end to end.” They’ll meet again next month to further develop the plan.
(this post covered the weather situation from noon till 5 pm – follow this link to find Sunday night updates – thanks!)
Starting a new post. Tons of info in the morning post, so if you haven’t read that already, start there, but please add new comments here (and e-mail us photos). Now, the latest: Jana called to say that Thistle is closed at 35th to the top of the hill (heading west). 35th/Roxbury has a stalled bus. The photo above is from The Goulds on Barton in Fauntleroy, who report:
Barton Street is an ice rink. Barton St, between the Ferry Dock and 35th is a graveyard of buses – 4 of the Route 54s and one Sound Transit 560. Buses were sent out this morning with no chains, some sort of bad call by Metro Transit authorities. Drivers indicate there are only two trucks for all of King County that can rescue the buses and get chains put on them. Some folks can get up and down Barton, others cannot and give it up. Success seems to be tire and driver skill related. We have seen all 4 wheels on some 4-wheel drives spinning.
Here’s another one of their photos:
They promised to try to walk to Westwood Village to see how things are there. 12:22 PM UPDATE: Heather has provided some photos from Alki – first, Alki Ave doesn’t look much better than the roads in higher areas of West Seattle:
Another angle:
Seattle Public Utilities has just sent a news release headed “Coldest Weather in 18 Years Forecast, Take Steps Now to Protect Pipes From Freezing.” We’ll upload the news release as a PDF here in a minute if we can’t find a link on the city website. (Here it is.) Editorializing now, that is the FIRST official communication we have received from local governments all morning. Maybe there’s a media list we’ve missed being on. But media lists aside, the websites are not updated (just look at seattle.gov). Can’t someone at least be updating them from home? Good business for us, but we would much rather have Web/RSS/Twitter/etc. access to official info to filter for you and link to – WSDOT is something of a trendsetter in that regard. In our old-media days, many of us were under orders to get to work even if we had to walk, to get TV and Web coverage going. 12:49 PM UPDATE: Looks like sanding/plowing may have made some progress – check the latest “live” picture from the Fauntleroy/Alaska traffic camera (looking to the northeast):
Remember, the WSB Traffic page has screengrabs of all the West Seattle-area traffic cams (and related ones on I-5, 99, etc.) – find it here. As for other areas – not so lucky. This just in from Julie:
We live on Admiral Way and 53rd. Admiral is a mess. There have been no snow plows this side of California Way on Admiral and it’s a sheet of ice. Drivers are attempting it and either getting stuck or rethinking and turning back down the hill. We had planned to go to the grocery store and tried to go out in it but about 6 cars were stopped or stuck in various parts of the road. According to the city snow plow map, they only service Admiral up to California Ave, and not West.
ANOTHER EVENT CANCELLATION: The Esoterics concert at Holy Rosary is cancelled. It was scheduled to begin at 3:00 pm. We’ll also add that to the “events canceled/happening” post we’ve been keeping. AN EVENT STILL HAPPENING: If you are able to get to The Junction SAFELY (walking, perhaps?) – Santa is on hand at Cupcake Royale as planned – for photos, with donations to benefit local nonprofits – till 4 pm. (More info on the West Seattle Junction [WSB sponsor] website.)1:03 PM UPDATE: An explanation from County Executive Ron Sims himself on what’s up with the lack of bus info online – We sent a message via Twitter (which he uses quite avidly) to ask why no updated bus info on the Web; he said “Our network went down” and, they’re fixing it. 1:08 PM UPDATE: Another snow hazard, just described on the scanner – location unknown, may not be West Seattle but certainly could happen here – blowing snow suddenly falling from branches, roofs, awnings, etc. So walkers beware as well. (We see this happening in our back yard right now, in fact.) Also – JayDee is back from a trip to PCC and sent photos (we’ll post in a moment), as well as saying, “Overall, I don’t understand why people are driving. The 51 I took home was fishtailing and if he’d had to stop on the hill the driver said ‘If I stop on the hill, I am spending the night on the bus’.” First photo’s from 55th/Spokane:
This one, 56th SW near Schmitz Park:
Another photo to add – this one’s from David Hutchinson, who took it at Don Armeni, where the Christmas Ship is due at 7:10 pm tonight:
1:21 PM UPDATE: Looks like Metro’s website is indeed now offering updated information – here’s the bus-problems page. If your route is on a “reroute,” here’s the link again with the map of all such snow/ice routes. (That’s from our early morning post with a long list of helpful links – see it here if you missed it.) A new comment says Hanford is closed east of California (map). 1:45 PM UPDATE: Just went out to watch the California/Thistle plateau intersection. Lots of turning around from people reaching it and looking eastward up the Thistle hill. A smidge of video shortly. (Scanner has somebody totally stuck further east on Thistle, at 36th, calling for a tow truck. Update – that may be a bus – Jana called to say one is stuck around Thistle/41st, which is where the 22 usually turns to head north.) Meantime, scanner reports complaint of people riding motorcycles (ATV’s?) on the sidewalk on northbound California at Fauntleroy. Great. Also, another Morgan Hill update from Pamela McCarty: “It is not sanded or plowed. I have lived by here for 10 years and have never seen it closed. 35th is sanded and plowed and saw a 21 bus pick up going north (with no chains) at 1:09.” Photo, taken two blocks west of 35th:
We’ve had a suggestion we post some fun photos too. How about video? This was uploaded to YouTube by Jeff Johnson, who sent us the link:
And from Darren Pilon in Arbor Heights, a dog who looks quite at home in the snow, his American Eskimo named Abby:
2:07 PM UPDATE: The good news for those of us here in Upper Fauntleroy is, there seems to be a snowplow pointed west on Thistle. The bad news is – there’s a Sound Transit bus sideways blocking its progress (thanks to Jana for the phone tip on this):
2:21 PM UPDATE: And another break for a “cute kid in snow” photo – this one’s from Admiral
As for the roads – update from Mona, who’s in Arbor Heights, stuck behind 2 stalled buses at 35th/106th (map) – she also sent this photo:
If you’re just joining us, remember to read the comments too – lots of great info there and while we will repost major items (road closure reports, etc.) here in the main post, that doesn’t cover anything. Meantime, here’s even more about the Arbor Heights situation (and vicinity), from MargL:
Just walked up to the intersection of 106th and 35th in Arbor Heights. Talked to a Metro 21 bus driver (pic attached) who said he’d been stuck at the intersection since about 8AM. He estimated that last 21 that got thru was probably around 10AM. He’s waiting for his supervisor to bring some chains and enjoying the circus show of folks trying to get around the corner from 35th AVE to SW 106th. We were both pretty surprised bus maintenance decided not to chain the buses this morning given the advance weather reports and the condition of the roads. 106th heading east toward White Center is a sheet of ICE. Saw many many cars fishtailing and skidding down the hills and one delivery truck stuck sideways on the curb. Saw no evidence of plowing or sanding anywhere. On the walk home also spotted a Seattle Public Utilities employee on a service call to a house – but it wasn’t a power outage, just some low hanging wires.
Photo:
2:31 PM UPDATE: Thanks to Hopey for sending the Metro real-time bus tracker link, which she says appears to be up to date (find it here). Meanwhile, Cathy Woo sent some pix from Alki including a snow-o-saur and snow family:
2:49 PM UPDATE: Speaking of families, the question has come up: What about school tomorrow? From old-media experience, we can say that the call sometimes isn’t made till very early morning – Seattle Public Schools, for example, sends a bus around to test the routes. However, given that you can kind of tell NOW what tomorrow morning’s going to be like, perhaps a decision will be reached sooner. One good place to watch (we’ll watch too) is the “emergency messages” page on schoolreport.org, which has member school districts (and some private schools) all over the region that report in. If you are a West Seattle or White Center private school and you DON’T report to SchoolReport.org, we invite you to call or e-mail us (all WSB contact info is here) when you make your decision and we’ll be happy to post it tonight/tomorrow (and of course beyond). On another note – 911 dispatch is sending two engines to 34th/106th, close to scene of the bus photos above, for a “motor-vehicle accident” call. ADDED 3:03 PM: Well, there’s more trouble, a “heavy rescue” dispatch to northbound I-5 – car into guard rail 200 yards before the West Seattle Bridge exit. Will monitor. Meantime, Vanessa is back home on Alki after a trip to LA and sent some photos from her return, including a view from the airplane window, followed by The Bridge (with heavy sanding evidence):
If anyone travels the Roxbury-to-Olson-to-509 airport route later today (or has already been), we’ve got at least one person in WSB-land who really needs to know the latest for that area, for a trip later tonight. Switching gears, another sledding video from Jeff Johnson:
3:15 PM UPDATE: The iced arterials near WSB HQ have finally gotten some sanding/plowing love – suddenly there arose such a clatter, we looked out the front window to see what was the matter, then what to our eyes did appear but:
A moment ago, it took off northbound on California, same way it’s pointed in that photo. (For the other side of the weather spectrum, this link just appeared in our Twitter feed: LA’s expecting an inch of rain tonight/tomorrow. 4:06 PM UPDATE: Back from a neighborhood walk to see how things are out there. Neighborhood kids/parents are sledding; e-mail reminds us that sledding in the street can be very dangerous if the street’s not closed (we just saw one close call ourselves). Also got word that the “Morgan hill” between 35th and Fauntleroy Way is open again — technically — Cindi Barker from the Morgan Community Association says, “the signs are now down but the conditions are only improved a little and will become icy again as the temperature falls,” so avoid that area anyway. Also from the inbox, a short news release from SDOT:
SDOT crews worked throughout last night and through today, Sunday, on major arterial city streets. Many sea-level streets remained bare and wet, but streets at higher elevations, on hills, and in shaded areas were icy. Crews used 18 vehicles to apply de-icer and sand as needed.
Crews are working on 12-hour shifts. The forecast for tonight calls for continued low temperatures. Night crews will replace day crews and will continue with 18 vehicles to patrol streets and treat as needed. As the night progresses, crews will focus on preparing streets for the Monday morning commute.
Got a Twitter message from Melanie that a plow was recently spotted heading westbound on Admiral. And another “Morgan hill” update from Cindi – it JUST got sanded. 4:22 PM: Going back through the inbox to make sure we didn’t miss anything big. We did miss an Admiral update from Bree hours ago, but this advice in her note still stands:
Also, can you please remind drivers to pay extra special attention when driving on ice. This morning I almost got rear-ended twice, first a guy on his cell phone was trying to go the speed limit and was following me way too close. The second time it was a couple of kids on Admiral who were going too fast and then slammed on his brakes, scary!
Nancy Folsom also sent an update on the Delridge group in this morning’s Jingle Bell Run downtown:
Some of the Delridge team had to bow out to colds and minor (we hope) surgery. But a few of us made it downtown for the run. It was fun. I don’t know how many people usually attend but it sure seemed jam packed for each event. It was particularly silly fun when we entered the first tunnel and the crowd broke out into song. “Jingle Bells,” of course, at full strength. Who cares if it was just one chorus over and over?
The only hard part was waiting for the return buses which we guessed were held up to due to weather or road conditions in West Seattle. Yea Metro drivers for getting people around town safely in these icy conditions!
4:36 PM UPDATE: Heads up that after 5 pm or so, we will start a “Sunday night” post – like this one, the Sunday morning version, and the Saturday night version – but for now, a few more things. Josh Sutton from the West Seattle Family YMCA (WSB sponsor) sends word on their schedule:
WS YMCA will close early at 6 pm tonight (no evening Yoga or Volleyball). Fauntleroy YMCA closes at 5 pm (normal). WS Y will be open at normal time (5:30am), but likely that many classes & programs won’t be running in early am – depending on instructor’s ability to get there. Fauntleroy will be wait & see, but likely open by 6 am. Status of our school-based programs will be based upon School District decision (if closed, we’re closed, etc).
No word yet on school; as mentioned earlier, you can watch schoolreport.org and, for Seattle Public Schools, their home page. Also — MAYBE some more snow in the hours to come – from the midafternoon “forecast discussion”:
FORECASTING DETAILS OVER THE PAST FEW DAYS HAS BEEN DIFFICULT TO NEAR IMPOSSIBLE. TODAY MOISTURE WRAPPING AROUND AN UPPER LOW OFFSHORE THAT IS MOVING SOUTHWARD HAS MADE IT UP TO TACOMA-SHELTON-HOQUIAM. AS A RESULT…THE WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY HAS BEEN EXTENDED OVER SOUTHERN LOWLAND LOCATIONS UNTIL 10 PM THIS EVENING. THE AIR MASS SEATTLE NORTHWARD IS DRY. ALSO…PRESSURE GRADIENTS ARE INCREASINGLY NORTHERLY. THAT COMBINATION ALONG WITH ALL GUIDANCE WOULD STRONGLY SUGGEST THAT SNOW SHOWERS MAKING IT FARTHER NORTH THAN IT ALREADY IS WILL NOT GIVE ACCUMULATIONS. WHAT IS TROUBLING IS THAT RADAR AND SATELLITE CONTINUE TO SHOW MOISTURE STREAMING NORTHWARD INTO WHAT APPEARS TO BE A DEVELOPING DEFORMATION ZONE WRAPPING INTO THE OFFSHORE LOW. IF THIS FEATURE MAKES IT FARTHER NORTH AND STALLS…HEAVIER AMOUNTS COULD OCCUR IN PLACES LIKE HOQUIAM…SHELTON…OLYMPIA…AND EVEN UP TO SEATTLE. WE WILL BE MONITORING SATELLITE AND RADAR CAREFULLY OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL HOURS.
Via Twitter, Pam from Nerd’s Eye View forwarded a link to this ominous-looking radar “blob” of wetness appearing to be heading this way. 4:52 PM UPDATE: Just pointed out in comments – Lander is closed below Admiral. Also, a question was posed in comments re: the condition of Barton between 35th and Fauntleroy Church (WSB sponsor), where there’s a choir concert in an hour — Pigeonmom just noted it’s “fine … just go slow.” Switching locations – before we move on to evening coverage, two views of the Alki Statue of Liberty in the snow; one from Amy, who had insomnia last night and decided to go see the snow at Alki; second one, from David Hutchinson earlier today:
We — and you! (thanks SO much for comments, photos, info) — are continuing to add to the “Sunday morning updates” post (and will switch to an “afternoon updates” post later) but we also want to have a separate list of what we know IS happening and what we know is NOT happening.
HAPPENING: West Seattle Farmers’ Market, usual hours – here’s one of the photos taken by WSB contributing photojournalist Christopher Boffoli just before it opened:
HAPPENING: Santa photos at Cupcake Royale (with donations benefiting local nonprofits), till 4 pm as scheduled
CANCELLED/POSTPONED: Glee Club concert at Peace Lutheran
CANCELLED/POSTPONED: WSB Forum members’ holiday party
CANCELLED: The Esoterics concert at Holy Rosary
CLOSED: Log House Museum is usually open till 4 pm on Sundays but we just got word it’s closed today
Please e-mail us with word of any other events scheduled for today that are canceled or postponed.
(this post covers snow coverage 8:41 am-12:09 pm Sunday. Follow this link to afternoon coverage)
(photo looking east up Thistle from California near WSB HQ)
(sunrise from 39th and Andover, courtesy of John)
(photo courtesy Babs)
Just got a note from Ron that the #128 bus is stuck on the Morgan hill at 39th, going eastbound. He adds, “Cars are also going west, down the hill and sliding most of the way down. I hope SPD or SDOT closes the road soon.” JayDee “above Alki” is hearing tire-spinning that doesn’t “sound successful.” Here’s the “live” city traffic cam looking northeast from Fauntleroy/Alaska:
Lina just added this comment on our early-morning post: “35th/Roxbury looks sketchy and the few cars i see are going really slow by my house.” 9 AM UPDATE: Just checked the conditions outside our house and at the nearest major intersection. The snow is CRUNCHY — aka ice — different from the softer texture when we were out walking after midnight, and the cars coming down Thistle hill toward California to turn north are going very slowly. This, to boot, is a “plow route.” This is the view looking north on California:
More photos welcome, road conditions and otherwise – editor@westseattleblog.com – official information on city roads is hard to come by so info-sharing like this is the best way to share word of what you’re seeing. A new forecast has just been posted – the “winter weather advisory” has been extended till 3 pm and there’s a prediction of possible “new snow accumulations” this afternoon. (Wondering how the Jingle Bell Run is going downtown? Here’s a pic that Mark from West Seattle just sent out via Twitter – and another one from when it started – quite the crowd!) Wildlife note: Previous post’s comments included a discussion about how to help hummingbirds (the flowers “ours” usually drink from are now frozen over) – here’s a WSB Forums post with a suggestion (and photo). 9:34 AM UPDATE: Shari reports, “I just wanted to let everyone know that 35th Ave SW at Camp Long is a sheet of ice. The road doesn’t look bad so I went and checked and it is ice — I was slipping all over in shoes. I see people helping heading to go down the hill but I haven’t seen anyone coming as though they came up the hill.” We can say the same thing for California/Thistle – just went out with video camera to see if anyone, snowplow included, would drive by, but not a soul – and if you walk out into the street, you can tap inch-high ice ridges with your shoe. Meanwhile, WSB contributing photojournalist Christopher Boffoli reports from The Junction that THE FARMERS’ MARKET IS ON – 15 to 20 vendors are there now, setting up. He’ll be sending pix in a bit but also reports, “Some of the vendors from outside of Seattle said that things outside of west Seattle were better. They were surprised the roads in WS were so bad. They said the bridge was pretty nasty getting over here.” Earlier in The Junction, Larry got this photo – describing it as “street art”:
CLICK AHEAD TO READ THE OTHER SUNDAY MORNING UPDATES, WHICH CONTINUED TILL NOON:Read More
Once it’s light, we’ll be checking on conditions, especially the roads, around West Seattle, since a lot is happening today — from the weekly West Seattle Farmers Market, to Hometown Holidays Sunday in The Junction (with Santa photos and more prize drawings), to the WSB Forum potluck holiday party and donation drive (everybody invited!) at Big Al Brewing. In the short term, some helpful links if you need them in the very early am:
City info on snow/ice routes/procedures (including link to plowed-routes map)
County info on snow/ice routes/procedures (including Metro reroutes)
Metro “adverse weather” service status
King County road alerts
Latest forecast
National Weather Service “storm reports” (record snowfall, etc.)
City Light power-outage list
WSDOT trouble spots via Twitter
Washington State Ferries “service bulletins”
Live 911 log for Seattle fire/medic calls
One more note – the Jingle Bell Run to raise money for arthritis is scheduled downtown this morning (here’s the course map; here’s the timetable).
Just discovered, while looking for snow/ice info on the SDOT website, that the department has posted the promised “Q & A” following up on the December 1st “open house” regarding the proposal to reconfigure – “rechannelize” — Fauntleroy Way between Alaska and California. Among other things, the city maintains that the changes would not add more than a minute to travel time along that stretch, and explains why this is considered to be different from the proposal that Morgan Junction community members voted down a decade ago. Read it all here.
WSB contributing photojournalist Christopher Boffoli has just sent snowy photos from The Junction vicinity, including that one from the “West Seattle Bros.” tree lot on Alaska west of Fauntleroy. We’ll be adding more of his photos – and others that came in from all over West Seattle, in just the past half-hour or so – for this early report (original Saturday night snow coverage here). CLICK AHEAD to see 10 more photos:Read More
(this post covered updates till 12:33 am Sunday; the next post is here)
(video from California/Thistle [map], added 8:50 pm)
At least here on one of the “higher hills,” as the forecast always refers to it. We have at least two Twitter reports of Alki/Beach Drive snow, too, so it seems to be West Seattle-wide. Adding photographic evidence shortly. “Teensy little flakes,” reports the snow-country-born half of the team, “must be REALLY cold up there (in the clouds).” Forecast has warned of the possibility of snow “showers” so we’ll see how long this lasts. 8:46 PM UPDATE: Getting heavier. And drivers on our hill are starting to sound, shall we say, challenged. Send pix if you have ’em! editor@westseattleblog.com
CLICK TO SEE THE REST OF OUR SATURDAY NIGHT SNOW UPDATES, WHICH CONTINUED TILL WE STARTED A NEW POST AFTER MIDNIGHT:Read More
That video’s from the windswept shore at Seacrest less than an hour ago, as the Christmas Ship and its entourage visited to serenade onlookers with holiday music by Northwest Girlchoir Vivace. A different choir — Canterbury Belles — will be on board when the Christmas Ship stops at Lowman Beach (8:50 tonight) and Alki (9:40 tonight); Soundwave will sing during its stop at Don Armeni at 7:10 pm tomorrow. Here’s the full schedule for the rest of its season. (If you’re new to the area – the Christmas Ship is a civic enterprise of sorts, in partnership with tour-boat operators Argosy Cruises; different choirs are on board the boat as it makes scheduled stops throughout much of December, and in addition to listening for free from the shore, you also can pay to be on the Christmas Ship itself — sold out for the rest of this season, but there’s room on some of the “follow boat” voyages — that same schedule page will lead you through the ticketing process.)
In the two days since the two “scenarios” for Alaskan Way Viaduct Central Waterfront replacement were announced — one, a “couplet” of surface streets; the other, a new single-deck viaduct, 2 side-by-side structures — we have brought you expanded comments from some well-known voices: The West Seattleites on the Stakeholders Advisory Committee, Vlad Oustimovitch of Gatewood (read his thoughts here) and Pete Spalding of Pigeon Point (read his, here), as well as former West Seattle Herald editor Jack Mayne (read his guest editorial here). Tonight, another voice, advocating on behalf of West Seattle economic concerns: the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce. WSB received a copy yesterday of this letter sent Thursday to area elected officials:
Re: Alaskan Way Viaduct Replacement Options
Dear Governor Gregoire, Executive Sims and Mayor Nickels:
The West Seattle Chamber of Commerce adopted position statements in May 2006 on various transportation issues. Included in this document is a position for the Alaskan Way Viaduct replacement project:
The Alaskan Way Viaduct capacity needs to be fully replaced in either an elevated or tunnel alternative, the “boulevard” concept is unworkable.
Importantly, the current plan to remove all viaduct capacity during two years of construction is completely unacceptable due to the disastrous consequences of such a plan to both commuters and emergency vehicles.
These positions were adopted after very careful consideration. While the West Seattle Peninsula continues to absorb great population growth (home to approximately 20% of the City’s population), our region has failed to be recognized as meriting the transportation and economic infrastructure that it deserves to create a community that can be self sustaining.
Given this dynamic, West Seattle’s population continues to seek employment, medical care, goods and services that are situated off of the Peninsula. Our community sends thousands of cars OFF of the peninsula onto SR-99 and I-5 every day (presently including the Southworth and Vashon ferry traffic as well as industrial / freight transport) and thousands of cars returning each day. Our gravest concern is that the construction impacts along the waterfront will impede our community’s ability to access job, critical medical care, and services not available on the peninsula. It is equally clear that the re-routing of traffic to I-5 will cause great hardship to our commuters, our businesses, the neighboring industrial community, and emergency vehicles. We must remind you ALL that access to jobs and medical care is paramount.
We have strong concerns about the long term impacts of a surface design and strongly urge you to retain at least one tunnel option on the short list.
The tunnel options provide for on-going movement to the downtown corridor during construction; lessens the overall impact of any additional congestion on I-5; maintains capacity for freight and commuters thereby easing a significant burden on West Seattle; and after completion, provides for both through access and an improved waterfront boulevard, the best of both worlds.
We request you give careful consideration to the long term impacts on the West Seattle community that would result should a surface option be implemented. We formally request a more thorough investigation and disclosure of genuine economic and social impacts on the West Seattle community as a whole.
The superficial and cosmetic appeal of a surface option will quickly disappear when the West Seattle Bridge and Spokane Street Viaduct become parking lots; when Alaskan Way, Second Avenue and Fourth Avenue become truck routes; and traffic sits idling at stop light congesting our streets.
We urge officials to preserve the tunnel options and consider truly “putting people first.”
Our organization is committed to working with state, county and city transportation agencies to bring about change for the good, to help meet the demands, but our adopted positions are ones that speak clearly on behalf of our community.
Thank you for your attention.
Sincerely,
Dawn Leverett
Chair
(West Seattle Chamber of Commerce board)
Thanks to those who have shared their Viaduct opinions with us so far; there’s still room, and time for more (editor@westseattleblog.com) – and your comments are vital too. All WSB Alaskan Way Viaduct coverage is archived here, newest to oldest; project information is at alaskanwayviaduct.org; and as mentioned previously, an important opportunity to voice your opinion “in person” is the public forum at Town Hall this Monday night, starting at 5 pm (here’s a map/directions to TH). To read what citywide news sources are reporting about the Viaduct, see the latest links on the WSB “More” page (which also automatically picks up citywide media coverage of West Seattle).
(photo added 3:26 pm, after SUV was righted, view from slope on north side of bridge at Avalon end)
ORIGINAL 2:36 PM POST: Westbound bridge is closed – that word from Desiree – not sure how far it extends but we are en route to check out a “heavy rescue” call westbound on The Bridge at Admiral, which undoubtedly is the reason why. More shortly. The traffic camera that points westward in that area isn’t showing much, but the one pointing eastbound shows the lanes empty all the way back to 99, which suggests there is a detour or barricade that far back. 2:52 PM UPDATE: Looks like the westbound bridge is open again – traffic camera now shows vehicles heading that way. Patrick found a viewpoint and sees a maroon SUV, on its side, that’s apparently about to be hauled/towed away. He also saw an aid car leaving the scene. 3:02 PM UPDATE: There may still be some slowing for a bit – authorities are checking now for any “(oil) sheen” on the bridge and getting ready to clear the scene – sounds like SDOT will sand the area after the wreckage is cleared – it appears that traffic is now being diverted off at the Admiral exit till the towing and sanding is done (Patrick is watching from the Fauntleroy foot bridge). So if you’re seeing this from downtown or points further east, a good idea to delay your trip West Seattle-bound for a while. 3:28 PM UPDATE: Still no word on the people who were in the SUV that crashed; this photo is from Sharonn Meeks, looking at where the bridge was blocked off just past Admiral:
Just back from a whirlwind visit to two holiday bazaar/sale events under way in West Seattle till 3 pm. Above, sisters Danielle Aguilar and Bri’Anna Smith are selling not just warm handmade hats at the Delridge Community Center bazaar, but also the coolest recycled-material lunch bags we’ve seen in a while — quilted out of plastic grocery bags. Bri’Anna makes it all and you can find her online at myspace.com/knitagainstthemachine – meantime, we found another West Seattle sister team selling holiday-gift treats (including flavored nuts and creatively packaged candies) nearby:
Those are from Twisted Sisters Emporium, created by Connie O’Donnell and Diane Radischat (who you may know from Special Editions Studio). Also at Delridge Community Center till 3 pm, those gorgeous West Seattle Hi-Yu Festival handmade glass ornaments, with Hi-Yu Queen Margo Femiano and Junior Court Princess Anna Fuller on hand:
Next, it’s over to C & P Coffee, where a cozy but bustling arts/crafts sale also continues till 3 pm. We were captivated by these neighborhood-pride (little map segments of West Seattle and other Seattle neighborhoods) magnets that Cyn Moore (cyncity pendants) is selling:
She says you can find her neighborhood pendants and other items at Twilight in The Junction, too. One more craftsperson you’ll find at C & P today – Machel Spence of WavyShell:
More of today’s events (Christmas Ship tonight – three West Seattle stops!) are listed on the WSB West Seattle Weekend Lineup.
(photo added 12:15 pm; Cooper parent Brittany Abbott at the info display)
Just got word that Cooper Elementary is getting the “Save Cooper” word out today with a table at the Delridge Community Center bazaar that’s continuing till 3 pm. Otherwise, next official meetings in the process are Tuesday’s 6:30 pm hearing at Genesee Hill, with speaker signups already under way, and Wednesday’s 6 pm School Board meeting at district HQ in Sodo (speaker signups start Monday morning).
THE CHILL: Snow or no, just be ready for COLD by nighttime. Latest analysis here.
THE FUN: Click here to go directly to the Saturday section of the West Seattle Weekend Lineup. A few new listings came in after we published it yesterday, so even if you checked once, worth another look! (If you’re shopping, our Coupons have discounts and freebies.)
First there were eight, then there were two. Since we first saw the two “scenarios” to which the Alaskan Way Viaduct Central Waterfront options list has been narrowed, and relayed them to you in as-it-happened coverage from City Hall late yesterday, we also have been glad to facilitate the sharing of opinions as well. You’ve heard from West Seattle’s representatives on the Viaduct Stakeholders Advisory Committee, Pete Spalding (his reaction here) and Vlad Oustimovitch (his, here). You’ve heard from dozens of WSBers in comments on our Viaduct reports (all archived here). Now another West Seattleite’s voice — that of the veteran journalist who wrote editorials for the West Seattle Herald for years, until his position as editor of the WSH and Ballard News-Tribune was cut last week. Jack Mayne contacted us this week and asked if we would be interested in editorial contributions. WSB itself has not taken official editorial-style positions on issues since our first year, before evolving into a news site. But this is certainly a place for voices to be heard, and read. Here is what Jack Mayne has written about the latest turn in the road to the Viaduct’s future (followed by a personal note from him):
BOTH VIADUCT OPTIONS DOOM WEST SEATTLE
Editorial by Jack Mayne
Special to West Seattle Blog
Yesterday, transportation officials chose two preferred options to replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct. Both of them would shaft West Seattle, dooming commuters to long, slow traffic-snarled slogs to downtown, and even dooming promised added bus routes by enmeshing them in the traffic mess either option would create.
We strongly urge anyone who commutes to downtown daily, or who travels north of downtown to Ballard and beyond: Attend and make your concerns known at a public forum this Monday, December 15th, beginning at 5 pm at Town Hall.
The first option chosen is a new elevated viaduct, starting at Safeco Field and connecting to the Battery Street Tunnel. At first blush, this sounds as though it would be a good replacement for the viaduct the governor has said she will tear down in 2012.
But it is not.
Gone would be the Seneca Street offramp that allows people working downtown to move directly into the central city.
There would still be an offramp onto Western Avenue just before the roadway enters the tunnel, as is the case now. This arrangement would mean a commuter would either have to drive north of the city center and backtrack on surface streets, or would have to exit State Route 99 at King Street and then negotiate numerous traffic signals and downtown city traffic to their destinations.
But the real stake through the heart of this proposal – which would have an end cost of well over $3 billion – is that Mayor Greg Nickels has vowed again and again to never allow an elevated roadway along the waterfront. Nickels, Metropolitan King County Executive Ron Sims, and Governor Chris Gregoire are the three who will make the final decision. Further, the Seattle Downtown Association, the Metropolitan Seattle Chamber of Commerce, and numerous politicians have opposed the construction of another elevated roadway to replace the viaduct.
That option appears to be only a stalking horse for the politicians who want it their way or no way.
The second choice by the transportation agencies is the real disaster for West Seattle. It needs a stake driven so deeply into its heart that it never, ever comes up again. That is the so-called surface and transit option.
A two-street surface esplanade has magical music for many downtown romanticists — but West Seattleites, think what it would mean to you.
Pigeon Point resident Pete Spalding said this on West Seattle Blog last night:
“If you leave West Seattle and drive through downtown going to north Seattle you will encounter 28 stop lights, a 90 degree turn to proceed through the Battery Street tunnel and a 30 mile per hour speed limit. On top of this there is no mention of how the ferry traffic (entering or exiting Colman dock) will be figured into the traffic flow.”
Remember, buses will travel many portions of this route, too, so taking the bus may not save commuters any time.
Besides Nickels and Sims, we are told that West Seattle resident and City Councilmember Tom Rasmussen is in favor of not replacing the viaduct with anything but city streets, thus making downtown streets into clogged transportation corridors.
Not only will this option cost almost as much as the elevated option, more than $3 billion, but it will doom West Seattle resident to an estimated two hour commute each way. Traffic will mean buses will be caught in the gridlock.
You can forget going downtown for anything but the most important of missions, considering the traffic snarls on the way, then the exorbitant cost of parking once you get there.
Shoppers will find it is faster, cheaper and easier to journey to newly renovated Southcenter, with relatively easy access via Highway 509 and free parking once there.
The 20 percent of Seattle’s population that lives here seems to mean nothing to the politicians who are making this choice. The only question on final judgment now is Gov. Gregoire, who does have a wider constituency to answer to.
We urge West Seattle residents to crowd Town Hall next Monday night and demand that we have a say in this. Old-timers remember the bleak days when the West Seattle Bridge was down and being replaced. Many businesses went under, others barely survived. Getting to the job center downtown was a daily nightmare.
The one good thing out of this is the decision to keep the deep-bored tunnel option on the table for the future. That is a best answer to moving traffic through the city. It would not permit direct access to Ballard, but it would to the north. The tunnel as now conceived would start at Qwest Field and come out a couple of blocks north of the current mouth on Aurora, allowing connection of some surface streets around Seattle Center.
We need to kill the surface and transit option once and for all — or else maybe we should take up the old cause of leaving Seattle and becoming the City of West Seattle (again).
-Jack Mayne
jgmayne@gmail.com
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Note from WSB editor/co-publisher Tracy Record: We are checking with Councilmember Rasmussen re: his current official stance on Viaduct replacement; in 2006, this link reminds us, he voted with a majority of Council colleagues to support the cut-and-cover tunnel option, and clearly voiced opposition to an elevated replacement.
Now, one more note. After Jack met with co-publisher Patrick Sand and me earlier this week, we also offered him the opportunity to publish a personal note regarding his change in status, as so far as we can tell from the newspaper’s website and current print edition, it has not posted anything aside from changing the name on the masthead. Read on for Jack’s message:Read More
Cold? What cold? More than 100 people gathered at Our Lady of Guadalupe for tonight’s tree lighting. That’s Father Jack Walmsley leading the countdown and the blessing – reminding the crowd this date was chosen for a reason special to OLG – and that’s parish member and Channel 13 reporter Brian Callanan emceeing with Father Walmsley. Of course, caroling ensued:
And thanks to WSB’er Celeste, here’s a photo of the tree, post-lighting:
If you want to see the OLG tree, it’s atop the city’s highest hill (500-plus feet), 35th and Myrtle, east of the reservoir/water tower/future park site (map). Tomorrow and Sunday night, two more great chances for outdoor holiday caroling and celebrating, as the Christmas Ship and its miniflotilla visit West Seattle shorelines – see the West Seattle Weekend Lineup for times and places.
Thanks to Bob Bollen for that sea-spray shot from south of Alki Point (your photos are welcome too! – editor@westseattleblog.com). No reports of major problems in the area so far, but here are some links to watch:
Latest forecast (wind advisory’s in effect till midnight)
National Weather Service “storm reports” (high wind gusts, etc.)
City Light power-outage list
WSDOT trouble spots via Twitter
Washington State Ferries “service bulletins”
King County road alerts
Live 911 log for Seattle fire/medic calls
Got a link to add? We’d love to hear about it. P.S. We checked with Our Lady of Guadalupe a bit earlier and tonight’s 7 pm tree lighting is still on, at last report. ADDED 9:22 PM: A bit of slushy snow earlier, as mentioned in comments. And we got e-mail about a snowplow/sand truck stationed on the south California SW hill (near Ida; here’s a map) just before 8 pm. Will check later if it’s still there. 10:06 PM UPDATE: Newest “forecast discussion” is out. Looks like things aren’t too crazy-cold until tomorrow night, though snow showers are still a threat during the day.
Thanks to several WSB’ers for e-mailing us in the past day and a half or so to point out that those speed bumps have just gone in on 16th SW north of South Seattle Community College. The ironic and head-scratch-inducing aspect of the installation, however, is that they are very close to the massively pitted stretch of 16th SW that was supposed to be repaved this year (but as we reported last month is now on hold till 2009). So what’s up with that? we were asked. We in turn relayed the question to SDOT, whose communications chief Rick Sheridan managed to track down the vacationing project engineer to retrieve this explanation:
The speed cushions installed by SDOT on 16th Avenue SW are part of a series requested and approved as a small Neighborhood Street Fund (NSF) project. After the community requested them through the NSF process, SDOT studied vehicle speeds in the area and determined that speeding could be controlled with these devices. Speed cushions will be installed on 16th Avenue SW, SW Dawson Street and 21st Avenue SW.
When the work is complete, 16th Avenue SW will have two sets to help address speeding. The first set, reported by your readers, was installed in an area that is not scheduled for repaving. The second set will be installed in an area of 16th Avenue SW that, funds permitting, will be repaved and so we are waiting until that work is accomplished.
Got questions? We do our best to get answers, so we’re always glad to get notes about sightings like this … we don’t say “thanks” often enough. Any time: editor@westseattleblog.com (or if you’re on Twitter, @westseattleblog)
One year ago tomorrow, we covered a public meeting about Hiawatha Playfield improvements, at the adjacent community center. In the report we subsequently published, we noted that the city expected construction to be complete this fall. This past June, Parks sent an update saying work would be done by March 2009. But late today, we got an update from the Parks Department, which is now talking about construction completion by September of next year, almost 7 years after the first public meeting on the project:Read More
You’ve certainly seen that bumper sticker before. But there was something plaintive about seeing it on the side of a car door parked outside a school where parents are about to plot strategy to try to save their kids from getting moved out of their school because of district budget troubles. Two nights after Cooper Elementary officially materialized on Seattle Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Maria Goodloe-Johnson‘s list of “potential final recommendations” – with the “potential” proposal being, close the Cooper program and move Pathfinder K-8 into the Cooper building – dozens of members of the school community gathered in the library, as heralded by the whiteboard near the school’s front doors:
Key points of what they said and what they’re strategizing, ahead:Read More
(added 1:44 pm, video of the tree that’s going to fall on WSB HQ someday)
Got a note from Jo on Alki, and we’re seeing it here in west-facing Upper Fauntleroy (over Lincoln Park) – strong wind within the past half-hour, and sideways rain. Batten down! More to come. The forecast was updated less than an hour ago, by the way, for the metro area:
REST OF TODAY…WINDY…RAIN. HIGHS IN THE LOWER 40S. SOUTH WIND 20 TO 30 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 45 MPH.
TONIGHT…RAIN TURNING TO SHOWERS AND WINDY. PRECIPITATION MAY MIX WITH OR CHANGE TO SNOW AT TIMES WITH SLUSHY ACCUMULATIONS OF AN INCH OR TWO ON HIGHER HILLS AWAY FROM THE WATER. LOWS IN THE LOWER TO MID 30S. SOUTHWEST WIND 20 TO 30 MPH EXCEPT NORTHWEST WINDS NORTH OF SEATTLE. WIND DIMINISHING OVERNIGHT.
Regardless of what the weather does or doesn’t do, this is perhaps the very best pre-Christmas weekend – second-to-last weekend before The Holiday, so nobody’s in pre-holiday panic mode yet. And what a wonderful thing that is, since we have a tree lighting tonight, Christmas Ship visits Saturday and Sunday nights, Santa in The Junction and at Westwood Village, wondrous musical offerings, and the WSB Forum members inviting you to a great party and donation drive on Sunday … It’s not all holidays, though – there’s “hardcore karaoke” tonight at Skylark (WSB sponsor), for example, and a circus/acrobatics show at Youngstown! In all, more than 50 West Seattle events listed ahead:Read More
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