West Seattle, Washington
28 Saturday
Too bad we didn’t get this note before a van almost broadsided us coming off a side street onto a south-WS arterial this morning: A reader notes that if you see a driver doing something heinous, you can post the plate at Platewire.com, which is celebrating its first anniversary today. The reader writes, “Having nearly been hit in the croswalk (with stroller) up at Admiral and 41st, being constantly subjected to delirious speeders up Admiral, and having neighbors who have been hit while legally crossing at crosswalks, I’ve had it. There’s only so much that posted signs and occasional enforcement can do.”
Apparently there’s trouble on the ramp to I-5 from the east end of the bridge (the Spokane Street Viaduct section) – a truck is blocking it.
Six months after the crash that killed Tatsuo Nakata at 47th/Admiral, a reader tells us the flashing lights/crosswalk sign have FINALLY gone up.
The state ferry system’s new electronic ticketing arrives at Fauntleroy (and Vashon, Southworth, Tahlequah, Point Defiance) as of today. These are the last terminals/routes to add the system, so now you can buy tickets for any ferry route at dock kiosks or online (could be handy for those summer-weekend trips on the busiest runs).
City Council members voted today to spend $millions studying something resembling The Third Option.
It’s closed this morning (Saturday) 9 am-11 am for WalkAmerica. By the way, if you’ve been wondering about the viaduct’s fate post-election, the City Council’s taking it up on Monday.
Here’s the latest. Good news for some of the folks north of The Junction, at least.
While 35th/Holden Chevron still has the top-priced regular gas in WS ($3.44), the top price for any gas (therefore, premium) is at Admiral Chevron: $3.75 (left) — which becomes the most likely spot we’ll see the “magic” $4 number first. As for the cheapest regular, it was Charlestown/Cali 7-11 at $3.19, as of midmorning. Share the word about changes via comments here or e-mail. (P.S. One way to cut your gas use: Vente Caf reminds us it’s Bike-To-Work Month.) 1:42 PM UPDATE: Just passed 35th/Holden Chevron, up to $3.49/regular since late morning.
Guess the 35th/Holden Chevron got word that the Fauntleroy/Alaska 76 had finally matched it at $3.39/regular; within the past couple hours, 35th/Holden added another nickel, landing at $3.44/regular and retaining the crown as Most Expensive Regular Gas In WS. As for Cheapest RGIWS, as a commenter pointed out here, it’s the Charlestown/Cali 7-11 — as of late this morning, still $3.17, though nearby Exxon went to $3.19.
Anybody who hasn’t left home yet and has to drive Harbor Ave — two big City Light trucks are down there in the (for now) greenbelt zone, working with a power pole. Traffic cops are stopping cars, one direction at a time, so it’s a bit of a holdup.
As of this morning: no price change for either the cheapest or the most expensive.
The city website just put up this alert about paving work on Roxbury over the next few days.
According to Councilmember Dow Constantine’s ace staff, the official count for Elliott Bay Water Taxi passengers on kickoff day was 2,545 — which they suspect was an all-time WT record (previous known high, 1,600-plus on the day last summer when a crash closed The Bridge). As for the King County Ferry District plan that could ensure the WT’s future — DC’s team says it made progress today in the council’s “Committee of the Whole” (8:17 PM UPDATE: click ahead to read the full press release on that):
Last week we tracked the 35th/Holden Chevron, which to our knowledge still has the highest posted price for regular gas in WS (holding at $3.39 as of an hour ago). 
Some folks wrote us asking for help in finding the cheapest gas. As of our unscientific drivearound survey last night and this morning, the Cali/Andover Exxon and Cali/Charlestown 7-11 (left) appear to be tied for that honor, at $3.17/gal for regular. (Both are in the repaving zone, so getting there requires patience.) As of last night, the Arco near Home Depot on Delridge wasn’t too far above that, at $3.19. Let us know if you’ve seen cheaper!
#1 — Avoid the parking crush by Seacrest (photo below; it stretched for a mile each way); walk or take the water-taxi shuttle (weekend schedule here; also this year they’ve printed schedule cards, easier to use than the brochure formats from previous years). The shuttle is running 7 days/week but parking probably won’t be quite as crunched on weekdays.
#2 — If you want to save a few bucks, now that the annual freebie day has passed, the best bargain for WEEKEND WT use is the Metro all-day pass. $2.50/person gets you all-day use for one full day on Metro buses and the Water Taxi – which otherwise is $3/each way. Remember that you can only buy this pass on board a Metro bus, only on Saturdays/Sundays, and it’s only good for the day you buy it. But what a deal!
We’ve been so eagerly awaiting the return of the Elliott Bay Water Taxi, we couldn’t resist getting up to glimpse its first Seacrest arrival of the season. Below is the proof (before the sun came out!), as it approached the dock @ 8:50 am today. (The kickoff party isn’t till noon but the Water Taxi is running its official schedule; first run from WS was at 9.)
The Water Taxi and Farmers’ Market, both returning on Sunday … Easy Street’s new “afterhours” shows continuing tonight … your chance to help shape a West Seattle landmark’s future … all part of the weekend preview roundup, a click away:
Gas Price Watch update (no, we’re not picking on the 35th/Holden Chevron, just happens to be our baseline this week – next week we might track someplace else): Up a dime/gallon this morning (photo at left). That’s 21 cents since early Monday morning.
One month after putting it up, city crews finally pulled the covers off the left-turn light at 35th/Thistle this morning, and it’s up ‘n’ running:
Gas Price Watch update (if you’re just joining us, we found ourselves tracking the Chevron station @ 35th/Holden after witnessing a price change in progress Monday morning): After a day off, the rise resumes, perhaps inspired by the headlines. Up three cents overnight to $3.29/gal for regular (up 11 cents in all since the weekend).
When the city reported that the repaving was moving fast, that was no exaggeration. If you have to drive the north half of Cali, be forewarned that as of this morning, the heavy equipment has all moved north, currently focusing on a stretch from Admiral Safeway to McDonald’s — particularly challenging for drivers, considering there are two schools in that stretch (Lafayette Elementary and WS High). The work this morning is centering on the west side of the street and the crews are still straightening out the traffic flow on the east, so be patient — and watchful — our trip through was a bit of an adventure.
The automated ticket machines and other components of “Wave 2 Go” have been working their way down from ferry routes further north; now the date is set for their Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth debut.
For those of you who have asked — the city transportation department says the Admiral/Olga cam that popped up a while back will not be providing webpix like other city cams; it’s for traffic-signal “video detection” only.
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