West Seattle, Washington
13 Friday
SDOT‘s weekly update on the repaving-and-more project preparing for the RapidRide H Line is complicated this week – some continuing closures, some new ones, some reopenings. First the good news:
REOPENINGS:
*Southbound Delridge between Holden and Thistle, “by Monday,” and with that, the following:
*Long-closed SW Thistle east of Delridge – the project team says, “The east side of SW Thistle St will reopen as soon as we are done with upgrades on Delridge Way SW between SW Holden St and SW Thistle St. The final upgrades and subsequent reopening of SW Thistle St are planned to happen by Monday.”
*SW Henderson east of Delridge – this too is expected to reopen by Monday
NEW CLOSURES:
*Once the aforementioned work is done and southbound Delridge reopens between Holden and Thistle, southbound Delridge then will close between Thistle and Henderson (24/7)
*SW Trenton will close east of Delridge once SW Thistle has reopened
*26th SW northbound, between SW Barton and SW Roxbury “soon” (this is King County work, no start date yet, more info expected next week)
*”For the weekends of July 30 – August 1 and August 6 – 8, all travel lanes on Delridge Way SW between SW Henderson St and SW Cambridge St will be closed to people driving and taking transit.”
The full weekly preview for the entire project zone is here.
4:12 PM: Just in from Seattle Public Utilities, for a project starting tomorrow:
Starting as soon as Tuesday, July 20, Seattle Public Utilities will be working on a drainage structure in the 2600 block of SW Genesee Street. SW Genesee Street will be down to one lane as crews remove soil and material from a nearby drainage structure; flaggers will control alternating one-way traffic.
LOCATION
2600 block of SW Genesee Street between 26th and 30th Avenues SW.SCHEDULE
Work hours are Monday through Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Work is expected to start July 20 and take about a week to complete.ANTICIPATED IMPACTS
Traffic on SW Genesee Street will be reduced to one lane; flaggers will control alternating one-way traffic. There will be parking restrictions in the area and construction-related traffic, noise, dirt and vibrations. Lane closure information may change based on project needs.
ADDED 8:32 PM: Here’s more information on the reason for this work – maintenance of what SPU calls “Genesee Pond.”
SW Genesee west of Delridge is NOT closing again this weekend after all, according to SDOT. (Added 1:33 pm – SDOT clarifies that it IS closed today, but will reopen when work is done and will NOT close Saturday-Sunday.) The work at that intersection was will be completed ahead of schedule. The RapidRide H Line preparation project‘s weekly update has just arrived and here are the other key points:
*Street and sidewalk upgrades between Delridge Way SW and Puget Blvd SW/23rd Ave SW to begin as early as next week
*Street demolition and paving along Delridge Way SW between SW Holden St and SW Thistle St to continue through next weekend, July 24-25. Southbound traffic along Delridge Way SW should continue to detour around this area via SW Holden St, 35th Ave, and SW Trenton:
*SW Trenton St closed at Delridge Way SW to complete intersection upgrades as early as July 26. Once SW Thistle St is upgraded, we will reopen the street to traffic. SW Trenton St will then close for upgrades. We’ll have more information and a detour map for this work next week.
*Full closure of Delridge Way SW from SW Henderson St to SW Cambridge St to complete street upgrades beginning as early as July 29. This work will continue through the weekend, with night work planned for July 30. We anticipate reopening the street by Monday, August 2. A full closure is required because of how narrow the street is through this area. We’ll have more information and a detour map for this work next week.
*Intersection upgrades at SW Henderson St continue through next week
See the full project preview for the week ahead by going here.
That’s southbound Delridge Way SW just south of SW Holden, and we wanted to remind you tonight that SDOT says it’ll be closed for about two weeks starting as soon as tomorrow morning. The southbound closure between Holden and Trenton is part of the ongoing work to prepare for the RapidRide H Line; while crews have this blocked off, they will “demolish and rebuild” that section of the road. 35th SW is the recommended detour route between Holden and Trenton. (Here’s reroute information for Metro Route 120.) Work hours are 7 am to 7 pm, but the southbound closure will continue during the non-work hours too. Other continuing road closures include SW Thistle and SW Henderson on the east side of Delridge.
2:15 PM: Big SFD response for what’s described as a fire in a vacant building in the 9400 block of 18th SW. Many of the responding units have been dismissed but five are still on the call; we’re on our way there to find out more.
2:23 PM: “Small exterior fire,” says SFD.
2:38 PM: They believe the fire started with someone cooking at this abandoned house (photo added above), but nobody was there when firefighters arrived; no injuries reported.
We’ve already reported on two road-work closures this weekend – SW Genesee west of Delridge, and westbound SW Alaska west of California. A roundup of alerts from SDOT today include two more worth noting:
SW ROXBURY REPAVING: First, the good news. Hard to see in the early-evening shade but our photo above shows a rutted section of SW Roxbury between 24th and 25th that SDOT plans to repave later this month:
In partnership with King County, SDOT crews will repave SW Roxbury St between 24th Ave SW and 25th Ave SW. Expect traffic slowdowns on Monday, July 19 and Tuesday, July 20.
Work hours are 7 a.m. to 4 PM Monday, July 19 and Tuesday, July 20. For people driving, traffic will be reduced to one lane with crew members directing drivers. Please go slow when driving in the area. Watch for people biking and walking, follow signs, and expect delays. For people walking, rolling, and biking in the area, sidewalk access will be maintained.
In addition, tree pruning will occur on Wednesday, July 14 through Thursday, July 16 in advance of the paving work. This shouldn’t impact traffic flow, but there will be crew activity in the area. This tree pruning effort is to make room for the large paving equipment to ensure that we don’t damage the trees or the equipment.
The once-planned major Roxbury repaving project remains on indefinite hold, but spot projects like this come up now and then – in May 2020, for example, Roxbury was repaved between 16th and 18th.
DELRIDGE DETOUR: The weekly update on the Delridge Way work preparing for the RapidRide H Line has a new addition – southbound Delridge Way will be closed “as soon as 7 am Monday” (July 12th) between SW Holden and SW Trenton. SDOT says, “The street will remain closed for about two weeks as we work to safely demolish and rebuild both the northbound and southbound travel lanes on Delridge Way SW.”
The full list of this week’s highlights for the Delridge project – starting with the SW Genesee closure that’s already under way west of Delridge – is here.
Two road-work updates:
36TH/OREGON: Repairing this heat-damaged stretch of street was expected to take up to two weeks, but instead, it was done in one. The closure continues tonight while the new concrete finishes drying, but SDOT plans to reopen the street “as soon as crews have verified that the concrete has finished hardening, which will likely be tomorrow morning.”
SW GENESEE CLOSURE: Reminder – this closure west of Delridge Way (previewed here) starts at 7 am tomorrow. SDOT sent a new detour map today:
The street is expected to remain closed until early Monday, the first of two consecutive weekend closures, for “street upgrades” related to the RapidRide H Line preparation project. SDOT says that during the closure, “For people wishing to travel between Delridge Way SW and SW Avalon Way, we encourage them to detour to SW Orchard St during this closure. The streets marked in black will be open to local traffic only.”
As of this Friday, the Delridge Grocery Co-op storefront at 5444 Delridge Way SW is open three days a week for shopping.
The Delridge Grocery Co-op is excited to announce the addition of a third day of open market hours. Starting July 9, the DGC will be open on Fridays from 3–7. We’re also open on Saturdays from 9:30–1:30 (when we are also packing and distributing DGC Essential produce boxes) and on Sundays from 11–3.
We’re adding more inventory to the store this week, including Bob’s Red Mill quinoa and grits, Bragg apple cider and nutritional yeast, Dr. Bronner’s soaps and toothpaste, as well as jams, salsas, noodles, marinara sauce, and more.
This next Sunday (July 11) is also our monthly Owner-Member Discount Day, when those who have paid full or partial ownership shares in the Co-op will receive a 10% discount on in-store purchases. A full ownership share costs $100 per household. Learn more about becoming and owner-member of the Delridge Grocery Co-op at our website.
We also continue to offer our weekly DGC Essentials produce box, full of 9 to 11 pounds of fruits and veggies, as well feature local products as add-ons. This week we’re partnering with West Seattle-based Milpa Masa Company to offer their freshly made organic yellow corn tortillas and organic fresh masa (for making your own tamales and tortillas at home).
DGC started store hours with Saturdays two months ago, then added Sundays a month later
The Southwest Design Review Board gave its approval Thursday night to the project that now carries the address 9208 20th SW [map], formerly 9201 Delridge Way SW. No public comments were offered, and board recommendations were few; most of the changes proposed at the previous meeting in October (WSB coverage here) had already been incorporated into the design presented during the online meeting.
Four SWDRB members were present – chair Scott Rosenstock, newly appointed members Patrick Cobb and Johanna Lirman, and member Alan Grainger. The city was represented by planner Tami Garrett, who’s handling the project, and Design Review program manager Lisa Rutzick. Read More
That’s the detour map provided by SDOT for closures of SW Genesee coming up the next two weekends – Friday, July 9th, until early Monday, July 12th, and the same timeframe July 16th-19th. Genesee will be closed between Delridge Way and 25th SW for “street upgrades” as part of the ongoing project to prepare for RapidRide H Line. Here are other key points of the weekly preview:
-Street demolition and paving along Delridge Way SW between SW Holden St and SW Thistle St to begin as early as July 12
This work includes upgrading several sections of the street in both lanes of traffic. We’ll share more details and a detour route for this work soon.-Overnight and weekend demolition and paving in select areas between SW Henderson St and SW Cambridge St to begin as early as July 16
We will mostly work near Boss Drive-in and Two Fingers Social.-Intersection upgrades at SW Henderson St continue into July. We are still working to upgrade the street at this intersection. Once this work is complete, we will begin upgrading sidewalks. We anticipate keeping the street closed during sidewalk upgrades due to the narrow width of the street and needing space for our equipment to operate.
Other details of upcoming work along the corridor are here. Still no estimate of how much longer SW Thistle, on the east side of Delridge, will remain closed.
That’s 9208 20th SW, formerly 9201 Delridge Way SW, which goes back to the Southwest Design Review Board for an online meeting at 5 pm Thursday (July 1st). That meeting will include the opportunity for public comment on the design of the project, which would replace a former auto shop with what the project page on the city website describes as “a 5-story, 77-unit apartment building with 73 apartments, 4 small efficiency dwelling units, and office.” No offstreet vehicle parking is planned. See the meeting design packet here. This is potentially the final review meeting for the revised project; the previous one was last October (WSB coverage here). Under a different architect/ownership team, and before a zoning change, the site originally was planned for redevelopment as a self-storage building. Thursday’s SWDRB meeting will be accessible via a video link and dial-in number that you can find on the official notice, which also explains how to send written comments in advance.
(Department of Ecology photo)
An investigation is under way into the source of a spill that has polluted Longfellow Creek in east West Seattle. First, here’s what Seattle Public Utilities spokesperson Sabrina Register tells us:
About 10:30 am yesterday, SPU Spill Response responded to a call about a white substance in Longfellow Creek. SPU inspectors determined the substance to most likely be some of latex paint. The amount is unknown but estimated to be in 5-20 gallon range.
Per protocol, staff called Department of Ecology and Department of Fish and Wildlife and consulted with them on the best course of action. While SPU has captured and disposed of some of the contaminant in the pipe, the two agencies determined last night that a full-scale cleanup of the water would cause more harm than good and recommend leaving the water undisturbed. The water in the creek may be a milky white for a few days to come. SPU Inspectors will continue to source-trace to see if we can find the responsible party and will continue to monitor the creek for several days.
The affected area is centered near 24th/Thistle, a greenspace just east of the Chief Sealth International High School campus, but the spill was followed to an “upstream pipe,” according to information from Ecology that was forwarded by Puget Soundkeeper, which is also monitoring the situation. The Ecology report says part of the reason that pumping out the polluted water isn’t recommended is that it could dry up the creek, which is already in a tenuous situation this time of year, as it’s part daylit, part undergrounded along its path from Roxhill to the Duwamish River.
As the repaving/utility work along Delridge Way gets closer to concluding, a new phase of RapidRide H Line preparation begins – bus-station construction. The first two West Seattle/White Center work locations are about to get started, with this work ahead in next three to four weeks:
SW Barton St (SW Barton St and 25th Ave SW intersection, and the crossing between 26th Ave SW and 29th Ave SW)
-Demolition
-Storm, sewer, and utilities work
-Sidewalk and curb ramp installation
-Demolition and electrical work on northbound and westbound stations at SW Barton St and 26th Ave SWSW Roxbury St and 15th Ave SW
-Demolition
-Storm, sewer, and utilities work
-Sidewalk and curb ramp installation
-Traffic signal modifications
-Demolition and electrical work on northbound and southbound stations at SW Roxbury St and 15th Ave SW
Crews also will be working at station locations further south in White Center and Burien. See more info on the Metro website. The H Line’s multiple-times-delayed launch is currently set for fall 2022.
As for the ongoing Delridge work, here are the highlights for the week ahead:
-We are continuing to work at SW Findlay St. We have recently completed some sidewalk upgrades in the area, but will remain near the intersection to install a new RapidRide bus station on the east side of the street.
-SW Willow St will be closed at Delridge Way SW for upgrades to the street
-The stairs near SW Holden St between Delridge Way SW and 20th Ave SW remain closed while we continue to upgrade lighting
-Intersection upgrades at SW Henderson St will continue for several weeks as we rebuild the street. We are also upgrading sidewalks as part of this work, which will take place in July.
-In the coming weeks, we will return to SW Barton Pl to upgrade the sidewalks on the west side of Delridge Way SW
This week’s full preview can be seen here.
(WSB photo)
Tonight we have a two-part update on the Delridge Way repaving/utilities project that’s preparing for the conversion of Metro Route 120 to the RapidRide H Line next year.
THE MEDIAN PLAN – AND PLANTING STRIPS: As part of the work, medians have been created along several stretches of Delridge. The concept for these dates back long before the RapidRide plan – neighborhood advocates had envisioned Delridge as more of a “boulevard.” But as the project progresses, the median spaces have lain empty, and readers have wondered what’s the landscaping plan, including maintenance. We took the question to SDOT, and here’s their response via spokesperson Madison Linkenmeyer:
We will install landscaping in the medians that will ensure year-round evergreen coverage, including species that are low-growing and derived from Pacific Northwest native plants. These plants were chosen due to their tolerance to mowing, which can help protect the plants from invasive weeds. This vegetation will be maintained by our contractor and the Urban Forestry maintenance team for the first three years after planting to ensure that the landscaping has been properly established in the medians and crossing islands.
After this three-year period, we will continue prioritizing maintenance in areas to ensure sightlines are clear for people traveling along the corridor. This maintenance includes trimming trees in the planting strips and other public right of way as needed. This type of maintenance is consistent with all landscaping throughout the city. We will mow and control weeds as needed in the medians.
In addition to the landscaped medians, the planting strips between the curbs and sidewalks along Delridge Way SW will be restored with grass lawns. Grass lawn is the standard type of landscaping to be used for permanent erosion control in Seattle. As with all properties across Seattle, it is the property owner’s responsibility to maintain the planting strips adjacent to their property. For people living in apartments or renting, it is the responsibility for the property owner/landlord, property management team, or homeowners association to maintain the public right of way. You can read more about these responsibilities on our website.
If residents are concerned with maintenance of the grass lawn, they are able to request that we look into installing wood chip mulch in the planting strip instead of grass. A planting strip with wood chip mulch would limit the maintenance needs and be helpful to those without lawn mowers. Residents would be responsible for planting their own landscaping in these planting strips in order to help with erosion control.
THIS WEEK’S PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS: Here are the key zones for this week’s work:
*Final channelization in Zones A and B will be wrapping up next week
-We will begin painting lane markings south of SW Orchard St later this year*We are continuing to upgrade sidewalks, curb ramps, and electrical utilities at SW Findlay St through July, and will begin demolishing the sidewalks between SW Juneau St and SW Graham St through June. Paving for this work will occur later this summer.
*Bus stop upgrades at SW Myrtle St and SW Holly St continue. We will begin pouring the cement bus pads next week.
*Bus stop, sidewalk, and curb ramp upgrades at SW Thistle St on the west side of Delridge Way SW continue next week
-Additional sidewalk and curb ramp work will happen at SW Thistle St later this summer. The street will remain closed as we rebuild sidewalks and relocate pedestrian signal poles in the area. We will reopen the street as soon as possible.*We will begin restoring the street between SW Holden St and SW Thistle St next week
-Driveways will be temporarily closed while we pour concrete in the street*Intersection upgrades and road closure at SW Henderson St continue
-Please reference this detour map for additional details
Full details for this week’s work zones and closures can be found here.
While a long-in-the-works development plan proceeds for the north side of SW Orchard just east of Delridge Way, there’s now a new one for the south side of the street.
An early-stage site plan has just been filed with the city for 2051 SW Orchard (the site highlighted yellow in the screengrab above from King County Parcel Viewer). The site plan shows 39 townhouses, with offstreet parking in “shared underground garages.” The prospective development team is currently the most prolific in West Seattle – an entity of STS Construction (WSB sponsor) is listed as the owner (though not yet in county records), with architect Atelier Drome. Since this is an early-stage plan, there’s no timetable yet for feedback, reviews, and public comment.
As for the proposal on the north side of the street – city files indicate the 18-townhouse project, which hasn’t yet finished Design Review, is still being actively pursued. That project has a different owner/architect team.
Just announced by the Seattle Public Library – it’s reopening more branches next week, including Delridge (5423 Delridge Way SW) and High Point (3411 SW Raymond), as well as the Central Library downtown. Here’s the announcement we received:
On Tuesday, June 22, the glass and steel walls of The Seattle Public Library’s Central Library will fill with visitors for the first time in 15 months when three levels of the internationally acclaimed building reopen to patrons. Nine other Library branches will also reopen the week of June 21.
The Columbia, Delridge, Greenwood, High Point, International District/Chinatown, Magnolia, Queen Anne, South Park, and University branches all join the Library’s growing list of reopened locations.
Patrons can browse books, pick up available holds, use computers or Wi-Fi, speak to Library staff, charge devices and more at these locations beginning the week of June 21. A complete list of reopening dates and operating hours is provided below. Meeting rooms, study rooms and in-person programs are not yet available at these locations.
At the Central Library, Levels 1, 3 and 5 will be publicly accessible and will include access to the Children’s Area, Adult Fiction and World Languages, as well as computers, Wi-Fi, self-checkout, reference assistance, Library card sign-ups, device charging, courtesy phones, the FriendShop, restroom access and more. Other levels of the Central Library are not yet available to the public, but will reopen in coming weeks.
The Library is making other changes: Reopened locations will no longer close for a one-hour midday cleaning break, as routine cleaning will occur during open hours. This will allow for uninterrupted service throughout the day and more open hours. All open libraries will continue to operate under Gov. Inslee’s currently mandated Phase 3 guidance for Washington state libraries until at least June 30. Physical distancing and mask requirements remain in place until further notice.
With this latest expansion, 17 of 27 Seattle libraries are reopened in advance of the governor’s anticipated statewide reopening on July 1. In addition to providing In-Building Services at these 17 reopened libraries, The Seattle Public Library will continue to provide Curbside Services at the Northeast, Northgate and West Seattle branches; material return service at the Green Lake Branch; and returns service and public restroom access at the Capitol Hill Branch until these libraries are able to reopen. Five libraries – the Fremont, Madrona-Sally Goldmark, Montlake, NewHolly and Wallingford branches – have not been able to provide services during the pandemic due to either staffing constraints or spatial limitations that cannot accommodate physical distancing.
Several more libraries are expected to reopen the week of July 5. The Library will announce those locations the week prior to reopening.
The Library will continue to reopen additional locations as staffing levels allow. The schedule of newly reopened libraries will vary depending on staffing. Open hours for Library locations are expected to increase throughout the summer.
Delridge and High Point will open on Wednesday, June 23rd. Right now the Southwest Branch (9010 35th SW) is the only one in West Seattle with in-building services.
From flowers to food, the inaugural vendors at the South Delridge Farmers’ Market are there for another half-hour plus!
We dropped by a little while ago and were told things had gone so well, at least one vendor had already sold out. They’re also taking suggestions for what future markets should offer:
A special addition for the first time out – a Seattle Fire Mobile Vaccination Team is there with all three vaccines, too. The market is coordinated by African Community Housing and Development:
They’ll be back on the second Saturday every month through November, 11 am-3 pm, at the courtyard of Hope Academy (9421 18th SW), so the next one will be July 10th.
Friday afternoons bring the latest update on the Delridge Way repaving/utilities/more project preparing for RapidRide H Line. Today, there’s word of weekend work and more overnight work. First, the key points highlighted by the project team:
*SW Barton Pl intersection upgrades are nearly complete and the street will reopen soon
*The east side of the SW Henderson St and Delridge Way SW will be closed as early as Monday, June 14 for upgrades.
-This work will last approximately three weeks. I’ve also attached a detour map for this work to this email.*Seattle Public Utilities will be demolishing areas throughout the corridor for underground water utility upgrades this weekend, June 12 – 13
*We are continuing to paint final lane markings along the corridor. Parking restrictions will be in place while this work occurs. As a reminder, we will be working overnight.
*Bus-stop upgrades continue at SW Myrtle St and SW Holly St at the site of the future RapidRide stations
*We are wrapping up electrical utility upgrades between SW Holden St and SW Thistle St
-We will begin restoring the street as early as June 21
(That’s separate from the work that has SW Thistle still closed on the east side of Delridge.) Here’s the full preview for the week ahead.
Today is the first day without the city-run vaccination hub in West Seattle, but Seattle Fire‘s Mobile Vaccination Team will be back in two days for a pop-up:
The new South Delridge Farmers’ Market was announced 2 1/2 weeks ago. It’ll happen on the second Saturday each month through November.
New info on two long-term east-west road closures – the results of separate, unrelated projects – that we’ve been tracking:
SW YANCY CLOSURE WEST OF 28TH: This closure is part of the Rise at Yancy Street supportive-housing project for local nonprofit Transitional Resources. TR CEO Darcell Slovek-Walker has just sent word that the contractor says the street is now scheduled to reopen June 19th – one week from Saturday.
SW THISTLE CLOSURE ON EAST SIDE OF DELRIDGE: This closure is part of the SDOT repaving/utilities project preparing for Metro Route 120 to become the RapidRide H Line in fall 2022. The SDOT project team says it is still closed because “we are currently evaluating a slight design change to the southeast corner which will require us to keep SW Thistle St closed to through traffic. This evaluation may result in some additional work in this area. If a design change is needed, we will follow up with more specific details on this work and the schedule.”
That rendering from Atelier Drome Architecture is part of the “early design” proposal for 9038 21st SW [map], an apartment building planned for rapidly redeveloping South Delridge. It’s on a site that’s been upzoned from single-family to lowrise. We first mentioned the plan last September. Now it’s going through the city’s Streamlined Design Review process, which means public comments are accepted but no public meeting will be held. As part of that, the design packet is available (90 MB document). The plan is for a 3-stories-plus-basement building with about 24 apartments, no offstreet vehicle-parking spaces (none are required because of transit proximity), 24 long-term bicycle-parking spaces. The formal notice isn’t out yet but if you have comments on the project, send them to theresa.neylon@seattle.gov.
8:46 PM: Thanks to Matthew for the photo and report from Delridge/Trenton:
Not sure what happened here, but the bus appears to have come down the alley between 22nd and Delridge heading north and can’t make the turn out to delridge heading east because of a car parked in a temporary no-parking spot (not pictured). I don’t know how this bus managed to get through the alley to begin with.
Radio communication indicates police are trying to find the mis-parked car’s owner.
9:22 PM: All clear, Matthew reports in a comment.
Another Pride Month event in West Seattle: An exhibition opens tomorrow at Nepantla Cultural Arts Gallery in South Delridge. Here’s the announcement:
Pride art exhibition featuring art from queer BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) artists that embody what queerness means beyond rainbows. Queerness is embodied and full and this art exhibition is meant to give queerness room to breath, in all of its beautiful layers.
Come see and/or purchase artwork and visit the gift shop for art from other BIPOC artists as well!
The Divine: Beyond the Bounds of Queerness
June 5 – June 27, 2021Nepantla Cultural Arts Gallery
9414 Delridge Way SW,Hours: Thursdays – Sundays 12 PM – 6 PM
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