West Seattle, Washington
28 Saturday
Checked the 35th/Holden Chevron station this morning, for the 2nd straight day. Somewhere between midnight and 10 am, the price of regular jumped another 4 cents to $3.26/gallon (as shown at left). Our subsequent unofficial drivearound survey suggests this may currently be the most expensive price in WS (let us know if you find differently).
The headline about 4-buck gas might not be so far off. Example: We passed the 35th/Holden Chevron twice in the past hour. First time by, a worker was taking down the 3.18/gallon price for regular. Second time by, when we had a camera in tow, the new price was up (left). Good site for checking local gas prices is here. UPDATE: Even the state wants to know how come we pay more around here.
Metro is marking Earth Day with free bus rides all day tomorrow. Worth checking out even if you don’t regularly use buses and don’t plan to; we use Metro for weekend trips downtown on occasion simply because it’s a relief not to have to hassle with parking.
Update from the city says the Cali repaving is a week ahead of schedule. Remember to show some extra love to the businesses behind the lines, when you can, to help them get by!
The Metro bus driver under investigation in the deadly Enumclaw accident the other night usually handles a Sound Transit bus route from WS, according to the Times.
In addition to all the new info on the Water Taxi page, Councilmember Constantine’s staff e-mailed us with more on the April 29 (one week from Sunday) kickoff: Since the noon-2 pm WT celebration overlaps with the 10 am-2 pm season opener for the West Seattle Farmers’ Market, there will be an added shuttle running directly between the two events; also, joining Dow C on the dignitary roster will be County Exec Ron Sims and even the CEO of Argosy Cruises, plus music by Bronwyn Edwards Cryer and Friends. (Check your mail – our delivery today included this year’s version of the cheery annual Water Taxi postcard, with a coupon for a free ride plus a jaunty picture of Dow C looking into the distance from the WT’s bow.)
The Seattle Weekly has just posted an article with a few points we hadn’t heard before, including documents suggesting Tatsuo Nakata’s family considered suing the city, and a quote from the driver charged with a misdemeanor in the crash (who also has hired a lawyer), saying he “will probably release a statement soon.”
Thanks to this week’s edition of the WS Herald for (indirectly) reminding us we hadn’t checked the Elliott Bay Water Taxi page in a few days (we’d been watching for more info since Councilmember Constantine’s staff updated us all last month) — now the page is updated, with schedules, fares, the shuttle-route maps, and the traditional kickoff-day party plan (noon-2 pm April 29, free rides all day).
As noted and spiritedly discussed here 2 weeks ago, the driver who hit and killed City Council staffer Tatsuo Nakata at 47th/Admiral last November won’t face felony charges, but there’s a new development – the city has decided to charge him with misdemeanor assault.
Somehow missed this till a reader tip … Sound Transit will study the possibility of a light-rail extension between West Seattle and Ballard. Maybe even Burien.
As Mars Hill prepares today for its first services at the ex-Doxa location on 35th, seems it’s not the only local church coping with parking challenges. Just north of The Junction, West Side Presbyterian Church has posted a detailed “parking possibilities” plan, made necessary by the Cali Ave repave-o-rama.
Just written up by the Northwest Asian Weekly — had not heard it before, though it appears the decision happened earlier this month: No felony charge in the crosswalk crash that killed Tatsuo Nakata.
Drivers beware, road crews aren’t just working on the north-of-Junction repaving today — there’s also some work in the heart of The Junction itself. Looks like restriping, possibly also on the “raised crosswalks.” No lane closures when we passed through just now but could be a little congested later, so consider yourself forewarned.
-One person who now declares herself an ex-Admiral Safeway customer because of the parking crackdown says the parking patrollers are marking tires. So, she wonders, what if you happen to spend an extra-long time in the store?
-Another reader wrote to ask the nearby Sanctuary At Admiral what they’re doing about parking, and got back a note from its owner, saying its guests have permission to park in the Safeway back lot. OK, so, now we have exceptions for them, Lafayette Elementary, and the senior citizen field trips. Who else?
The state had said it wouldn’t release results of last weekend’s viaduct inspection till tomorrow but the information is actually already available. Bottom line appears to be, it’s still in bad shape, but hasn’t gotten any worse since last checkup. Whew.
If you drive east from WS, thru South Park and Georgetown, you need to know about this. As for our WS paving work … lots of dirt to be seen in the center of Cali as you travel the zone … if you are imaginative, it might make you wonder what WS looked like pre-paved roads, although on that stretch of Cali, the pavement apparently goes way back!
Looks like Admiral Safeway has budged a little from its hard line against non-shoppers using its parking lots. We were just forwarded this snippet from a bulletin sent to Lafayette Elementary families by the principal:
I have spoken to Steve Rood, the Manager of Safeway. He assured me
that Lafayette parents can continue to use back (south) parking lot for up
to 2 hours for drop-off and pick-up. Also, if we have an evening event,
with prior notice, we can continue to use the Safeway parking lot.ÂÂÂ
Our post about the start date for this year’s Elliott Bay Water Taxi season brought lots of questions — we took them to County Councilmember Dow Constantine’s office, which has graciously provided lots of answers. His staff’s entire, info-laden reply, after the click:
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This seems to be moving pretty fast. All but one outside lane in each direction is now chewed up/dug up all the way to SW Spokane on the north edge; the southbound lane is extremely groovy, and not in the good sense of the word.
Businesses in the repaving zone are hopeful we won’t all abandon them during this time of inconvenience. We’ve been to Hotwire, where a handwritten sign on the door says, THANKS FOR BRAVING THE CONSTRUCTION/YOU MAY PARK IN THE COURTYARD FOR 5 MINUTES. If you’ve got any artistic inclination, you’ve got a week and a half more to get in on their “First Annual Coffee Cup Design Contest.” Submit a design by 3/31; customers will vote on the entries in early April. (Entry form & guidelines here.)
This morning’s P-I dissection of Pointlessness at the Polls points out, pointedly, that despite WS being home to Hizzoner, our collective voting position was a 180 from his. (P.S. Don’t forget, the Lame-Duck-A-Duct is closed most of this weekend.)
The date is set for its 2007 debut — April 29 — running thru late September.
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