West Seattle, Washington
11 Saturday
The rain’s not done yet, so SDOT has again postponed plans for its contractor to close SW Oregon at Delridge (south of Youngstown Cultural Arts Center). We asked late today if the closure – which had been scheduled to start Friday morning – was on or off, and the project team replied, “Our team has just determined that the forecast this weekend is looking too wet to fully complete this work. We will have one crew working this weekend on some other items, but SW Oregon St will remain open during this time.” We’re publishing weekly project updates, so we should know soon about a new date.
In case you’ve missed the mentions in our daily traffic (etc.) watch, King County Metro wants to be sure you’re aware that they’ll resume collecting fares on Water Taxis and buses one week from today (Thursday, October 1st). The WT reminder is here; Metro’s reminder is here. Both have implemented health/safety measures – the Water Taxi will have shielded fare-collection carts like this:
Both services suspended fares six months ago because of the pandemic.
(WSB photo)
Thanks to commenter Flo for the tip – Lime‘s e-scooters have arrived in West Seattle. We’ve been watching Alki and The Junction for sightings since last Wednesday, when Lime became the first of three scooter-share companies to deploy theirs as part of Seattle’s “pilot” program. This morning we saw several on Alki, the ones above in front of Outer Space Seattle (WSB sponsor) and a couple more between there and Seacrest. Lime told WSB they plan to deploy “a handful” here for starters, with more in the weeks ahead. Also getting the city’s go-ahead are Wheels (seated scooters) and LINK. Each of the three companies will have permission for up to 500 scooters citywide for starters, eventually up to 2,000 each “if things go well,” according to SDOT‘s announcement, which has more details on how the program is supposed to work.
A bumpy stretch at the east end of the SW Roxbury corridor is about to be repaved, as announced in SDOT‘s weekly West Seattle Bridge-related update:
On the weekends of September 26-27 and October 10-11 (weather-permitting), our crews will be repaving a section of
Olson Pl SW and 1st Ave S at the intersection with Myers Way S.Olson Pl SW will be repaved at the intersection, and the southbound lane of 1st Ave S will be repaved just north of the intersection.
Expect traffic impacts the weekends of Sept. 26-27 and Oct. 10-11 for this work. Traffic will be reduced to one lane in each direction during paving. Work will start in the early morning hours to open the travel lanes back up in the early afternoon both days. A noise variance will be issued to complete the paving.
1st Ave S has become a heavily trafficked corridor as part of the detour route for the West Seattle High-Rise Bridge closure. While there is additional pavement along 1st Ave S in need of repair, our crews are prioritizing this stretch of the roadway that is in particularly bad shape to make sure we’re off the detour route in the early afternoon. We will continue to monitor the pavement along the detour route to determine where repaving and repair is needed.
That’s the full Reconnect West Seattle “implementation plan” from SDOT. Got questions? Wednesday, join HPAC – the all-volunteer community coalition for Highland Park, Riverview, and South Delridge – in a conversation about what RWS will bring, and other upcoming projects. Beyond that, HPAC plans to “discuss how we want to work with the City to mitigate traffic impacts going forward” and will get a “preliminary introduction to the Home Zone concept – steps that will be taken to keep our area safe, walkable and connected during the WS Bridge reroute traffic.” The meeting is online at 7 pm Wednesday; teleconference/phone information is on HPAC’s website.
P.S. HPAC’s Executive Committee has openings, including chair, with longtime leader Gunner Scott having just stepped down after five years of service. Be at Wednesday’s meeting to talk about that too.
Today, as mentioned this morning, brought Metro‘s September “service change.” This time next year, the service change will bring the launch of RapidRide H Line, replacing Route 120. In the meantime, the extensive project to prepare for it continues. Here are the highlights of the week ahead:
*SW Oregon closure at Delridge – now scheduled for the next two weekends, Friday morning until Monday morning, September 25-28 and October 2-5, weather permitting. Delridge will remain open to north-south traffic. If you would usually use SW Oregon to get to/from Delridge, SW Andover will be the detour.
*Pipe work near SW Brandon – This has several more weeks to go, but SDOT says night work is complete. Next week will include pipe connections, so if your home/business is near there, watch for notification of water shutoffs.
*Paving will continue on the east side of Delridge in the project’s Zone A (north). Next week, this will focus on the section between SW Genesee and SW Dakota.
*Demolition on the west side of Delridge between SW Edmunds and SW Hudson will start as soon as Wednesday (September 23).
See the project’s full weekly bulletin here.
(WSB photo, Thursday, SB on West Marginal, north of Highland Park Way)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Since the West Seattle Bridge’s sudden closure almost half a year ago, West Marginal Way SW has become one of the most-traveled, and most-griped-about, streets in West Seattle: SDOT‘s latest stats show its volume has tripled, from 9,000+ vehicles a day to 27,000+. It’s the major route to the main alternate bridge, the state-operated 1st Avenue South Bridge, and beset with backups.
While the entirety of West Marginal was not part of the Reconnect West Seattle traffic-mitigation plan, it made an appearance in parts of that newly released plan, and SDOT has been promising a standalone package of West Marginal changes; we’ve been asking about it for weeks.
Today, it’s going public. We got a first look at the 6-point plan in an online meeting with SDOT’s West Seattle Bridge project leader Heather Marx and communications director Michael Harold.
Two notes related to the Delridge Way SW road project paving the way for the RapidRide H Line:
OUTAGE: SDOT confirms a crew working on the project hit a water line this morning. That caused an hour-long water outage, according to the Seattle Public Utilities map, which says more than 30 customers were affected. The photo above was sent by Josh, who says the crew also “hit our internet.” SDOT spokesperson Adonis Ducksworth tells WSB the department is “investigating the situation.:
POSTPONEMENT: In our exchange with Ducksworth, we asked if this weekend’s Delridge/Oregon closure was still on, since we hadn’t seen a mention yet of preparations such as bus rerouting. No, he said, it’s postponed; they’re aiming for next weekend, weather permitting.
(Seattle Channel video of Wednesday morning’s committee meeting)
When the City Auditor’s Office presented its audit of Seattle bridges to the City Council’s Transportation and Utilities Committee today, one thing was clarified right off the start:
“Our audit was not an investigation into the specifics of (the West Seattle Bridge closure),” stressed deputy auditor Sean DeBlieck. It was, though, a result of the sudden closure almost 6 months ago – soon afterward, committee chair Alex Pedersen called for it. We reported on the audit when it was made public Monday, in advance of today’s presentation. Here’s the slide deck they used:
Continuing the presentation, assistant auditor Jane Dunkel noted that while the report mentions 77 city-owned bridges, SDOT cites 124, because its count includes pedestrian bridges and co-owned structures.
No West Seattle bridges were in the “poor” category in SDOT’s most recent inspection ratings. But as Councilmember Lisa Herbold pointed out, pre-closure, the West Seattle Bridge was rated “fair,” so some of those bridges may have repair needs long before getting into the “poor” category.
A key point of the audit, as mentioned in Monday coverage – SDOT has averaged $6 million on bridge maintenance annually over the past 14 years, but should be spending $34 million to $100 million a year. (It should be noted that this was not an audit of SDOT’s budget in general, so auditors weren’t necessarily saying the agency needs more money, just that it should be spending more on bridge maintenance.)
The report’s 10 findings included that SDOT could be out of federal compliance, as suggested in an “informal” state/federal review last year (at SDOT’s invitation), which could cost the city dearly if it’s found ineligible to compete for federal grants, such as the ones that might factor into West Seattle Bridge repair or replacement funding.
Other recommendations included that SDOT should spend less time doing “reimbursable work” for others and should spend less time maintaining private bridges. SDOT deputy director Lorelei Williams noted that the department does not agree with the recommendation to cut back on reimbursable work, as, she said, it allows them to afford more staff. “Sustainable, scalable sources of revenue” are overall a big challenge for the department. Yet even if they had all the money more bridge maintenance would cost, she said, scaling up staff would take a while.
Williams also repeated a point SDOT director Sam Zimbabwe made in his written response to the audit, that SDOT does not believe the West Seattle Bridge problems resulted from any deficiencies in its maintenance program. She also mentioned that SDOT set aside Roadway Structures – which includes bridges – as its own division just last year. Its acting director Matt Donahue also participated in the meeting; Herbold asked him for clarification on the new load rating that the city has to do for its bridges because of new classifications of vehicles approved by the feds; the re-rating was ordered in 2015, to be completed by 2022.
Bottom line, the maintenance backlog and funding gap – identified as a nationwide challenge – was summarized as a “complicated and expensive problem.” Auditor Jones told councilmembers that this report isn’t a one-time check-in with SDOT – they’ll check with the department each year to see how the implementation of recommendations is going.
New to bicycling around the peninsula? Cascade Bicycle Club has a new set of maps and videos meant, according to the announcement, ” to help West Seattle residents impacted by the West Seattle Bridge closure more safely and confidently bicycle to downtown and throughout their community.” (Cascade also is advertising on WSB to help get the word out.) The featured routes:
West Seattle Junction to South Lake Union
White Center to downtown via the Spokane Street Bridge
Spokane Street Bridge Detour to 1st Avenue South Bridge
White Center to Georgetown loop
Cascade says those routes “encompass the most common commutes for West Seattle residents.” You can find the maps and more on this resource page that “also includes links to free resources designed to help bicyclists of all levels become confident riding on the streets, learn the rules of the road, and get a bike in road-ready shape.”
During the planning process for the now-underway project paving the way for the RapidRide H Line, the so-called Brandon Node area was a major focus of concern – some for example wanted to see the RR H stop at Brandon rather than Findlay, since the former already has a signal, as well as a library. Nonetheless, the stop is going in at SW Findlay, and the city is now seeking input on ways to get people to/from there, as well as SW Brandon:
Seattle Parks and Recreation (SPR) and Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) invite the Delridge and High Point communities to participate in creating better pedestrian connections in the Delridge neighborhood. Please take a tour of the site by watching this video:
Visit surveymonkey.com/r/C9HBJCF to provide input.
This design project will provide a plan for improving pedestrian paths along SW Brandon and SW Findlay streets and make trail entries to Camp Long and Longfellow Creek more open and welcoming to the public. One of the goals of this project is to improve access for the future new RapidRide H Line stops that will begin service in 2021 at SW Findlay and Delridge.
Find project info by going here.
6:57 PM: Just in from Washington State Ferries:
The #2 Issaquah is out of service until further notice due to #1 main engine issues. This cancels the 6:30 p.m., 7:25 p.m., 8:25 p.m. from Vashon to Fauntleroy, the 7:00 p.m., 7:55 p.m., 8:50 p.m. from Fauntleroy to Vashon, the 9:20 p.m. from Vashon to Southworth and the 9:45 p.m. from Southworth to Vashon.
9:34 PM: Still on one boat, and that one’s running behind schedule, WSF says.
12:10 AM: WSF says the Issaquah is fixed, and will be back in service starting at 4:05 am.
(SDOT photo)
As noted in our morning traffic report, the Admiral Way sinkhole is now filled. SDOT had said that crews were doing exploratory work first to see if they could find the cause. So, did they? We followed up today, and here’s what SDOT’s Kari Tupper responded:
Our crews restored two utility cuts and repaired the void (sinkhole) in the 5300 block of SW Admiral Way this week. Several teams of SDOT staff and Seattle Public Utilities coordinated efforts to make this happen relatively quickly. We have completed the paving.
We were not able to pinpoint the source (cause) of the void during our work. These issues can be difficult to diagnose. Crews ran a CCTV camera through pipes and also did other diagnostic tests of water and sewer lines but did not find any water leaks or structural issues with the pipes at this time. It’s possible that groundwater is the source of the issue at this site. We may continue to perform additional testing and/or work at the site in the future and will keep you posted.
We first reported on the sinkhole more than two weeks ago; SDOT covered it temporarily with a steel plate while planning further exploration/repairs. It’s not the first one in that area.
Thinking about ignoring the West Seattle low-bridge rules? Eric has a reason to reconsider:
(Wednesday night) while riding my bike home, I saw the low bridge backed up due to all the cars in line to cross. Then, an ambulance tried to get through. Took nearly 5 minutes. A Seattle incident-response vehicle [photo above] was stuck in traffic because they could not get around everyone safely.
It’s not just saving time. What helps you with a few minutes can mean the difference between life and death to someone else.
Yes, we know, somebody in the photo may be permitted, But here’s a refresher of the low-bridge policy, if you’ve forgotten:
-All traffic allowed 9 pm-5 am
-Rest of the time: Transit (including employer shuttles and “essential worker” vanpools), freight (as in big trucks), emergency vehicles, placard holders (limited amount issued to local business groups, for example)
-Bicycle/pedestrian path open 24/7
Camera enforcement is expected to start this fall, but without monetary penalties until early next year; in the meantime, traffic-enforcement officers are still assigned to the bridge at random times. The policies continue to evolve and, as reported here last night, SDOT is suggesting a subcommittee of the West Seattle Bridge Community Task Force to focus on that.
(WSB photo, August 26th)
A week and a half after a sizable sinkhole opened in the middle of Admiral Way, SDOT has set the date for permanent repairs. Just got word from SDOT’s Kari Tupper that “we are going to be working on the road repairs on Admiral Way and also working on two nearby Seattle Public Utilities water cut repairs on Tuesday and Wednesday (9/8-9/9), right after the holiday … the crews are expecting to maintain one lane of traffic in each direction throughout the days of work.” Pending those repairs, the sinkhole’s been covered by a steel plate.
Metro‘s September “service change” is now 2 1/2 weeks away, so today the transit service officially announced what’s changing, as well as new safety features.
CHANGES: Saturday, September 19th, is this fall’s “service change” date; all the changes – including continued suspensions – are listed here. A West Seattle highlight: “Almost all service” will be restored on Routes 55, 56, and 57. You can follow those links for new timetables, or, Metro suggests, ” Riders can use Metro’s online trip planner and enter a date of Sept. 19 or later to see options.”
SAFETY: Also in today’s announcement:
Metro is now installing safety partitions to allow front-door boarding in preparation for restoring fares, targeted for Oct. 1, although a firm date has yet to be announced.
The plexiglass safety partitions will swing into position when a driver opens the front door, minimizing interaction between boarding passengers and the driver. The partition also can be opened manually by the driver to allow them to leave their seat to assist passengers, including those who use mobility devices. …
Each automated partition is estimated to cost $3,200, about half the $6,000 cost for a comparable manual-only door from an outside vendor. Metro is using CARES Act funds to help pay for the equipment.
Metro has more than 1,000 barriers out of 1,444 produced today, and expected to have all partitions installed by October.
The new partitions were “designed, engineered, and fabricated by Metro’s in-house vehicle maintenance staff,” the announcement says, along with this:
Alongside new safety partitions, Metro is installing mask dispensers on 102 buses this month, starting with RapidRide buses on the A and F lines in south King county and 60-foot trolley buses on routes 7, 36, 43, 44, and 49 in Seattle. Metro intends to install more dispensers on other high-ridership routes in the future.
Each dispenser holds about 150 masks, and Metro will monitor demand and refill them as needed. The King County Council designated funds to purchase and make available masks on public transportation.
Metro says it sampled mask compliance on four high-ridership routes recently and it ranged from 72 percent to 85 percent. Ridership, meantime, is less than 40 percent of what it was last year (on weekdays).
Though the city hasn’t gone back to fully enforcing all parking restrictions yet, here’s one sign you do NOT want to ignore: The no-parking sign on Fauntleroy Way alongside Lincoln Park. The photo is from Ian, who emailed to say: “I live across from Lincoln Park and have seen an increase in towing over the last two weeks of cars that parked in the ferry line after 2 pm. As I type this I’m watching a family of 5 trying to arrange pickup after their vehicle was towed. I can see both sides of this, there are plenty of signs stating it’s a tow away zone, but there’s also no ferry traffic to speak of. Paying to recover a towed vehicle isn’t cheap especially in these economic times.” He counted 7 towed vehicles today alone, and suggested a PSA to remind people about the restrictions – no parking 2-7 pm weekdays, 9 am-3 pm weekends.
That’s the top 10 list of community-prioritized traffic-easing projects for Highland Park, Riverview, South Delridge, and Roxhill, emerging from the Reconnect West Seattle survey process. As mentioned at last week’s West Seattle Bridge Community Task Force meeting (WSB coverage here), you have one last chance to speak up if you have a comment or concern about the list, and tomorrow is the deadline for that. SDOT says two of the “priority” projects are already done – #3 and #4, left-turn pockets and signal changes at 16th/Holden – and another is in progress – #9, signal changes at Delridge/Orchard. The others are set to “advance to project development,” except for #2, road repairs, planned for “implementation” by year’s end. (For reference, here’s the original list that went out for prioritization.) If you have feedback on those – or the South Park, Georgetown, SODO, freight, bicycle project lists linked here – WestSeattleBridge@seattle.gov or 206-400-7511, by day’s end tomorrow (Wednesday, August 26th).
Early heads-up from Washington State Ferries:
The Southworth terminal facility must close early on Thursday, August 27 for maintenance. This requires the cancellation of the last three sailings of the day between Fauntleroy and Southworth. The following late-night/early morning sailings will be canceled:
• 11:45 p.m. (Thursday, 8/27) Fauntleroy to Southworth
• 12:30 a.m. (Friday, 8/28) Southworth to Fauntleroy
• 1:00 a.m. (Friday, 8/28) Fauntleroy to SouthworthThis will not affect sailings between Fauntleroy and Vashon Island. Thank you for your patience and understanding as we maintain our ferry system.
We checked in today with WSDOT on the status of the ongoing nighttime work to replace deck panels on the northbound 1st Avenue South Bridge. Here’s what spokesperson Tom Pearce tells us:
Our contractor has used five nights of full closures on the NB SR 99 Duwamish River Bridge. Per our agreement, the contractor is allowed to have nine more full closures. They are scheduling three more for Sept. 8-9-10.
During the next two weeks, the northbound bridge will reduce to one lane nightly Sundays through Thursdays, 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. No work on Friday or Saturday nights. These do not count against the nighttime full directional closures.
They have replaced six panels on the bridge; they still have eight to do.
As a reminder, if you have to cross the Duwamish late at night/early in the morning, the West Seattle low bridge is open to all 9 pm-5 am.
Suddenly, scooter-sharing is front and center, after a while on the back-burner.
WHITE CENTER PILOT PROGRAM BEGINS: We were in White Center as Lime delivered its first scooters this morning, on the first day of its pilot program, following Friday night’s announcement. More on our partner site White Center Now.
Meantime, Seattle is suddenly gearing up for its own launch, and we know more about the West Seattle component:
SEATTLE DISCUSSION WEDNESDAY: That is a page from the slide deck accompanying the agenda for Wednesday morning’s City Council Transportation Committee meeting, at which the city’s long-proposed scooter pilot will be discussed. Though it’s been in the works since long before the West Seattle Bridge closure, it’s now being partly spun as a WS mobility solution. The discussion of the overall plan and accompanying legislation is set for the committee’s 9:30 am Wednesday (August 19th) meeting; the agenda’s cover page explains how and when to sign up for public comment, as well as how to watch/listen to the meeting. The slide deck linked above, meantime, answers some FAQs such as where you can ride/park them.
(Photo courtesy Lime)
8:06 PM: A year after first word that e-scooters would likely arrive in White Center before they showed up in the city, word came tonight that the North Highline pilot program starts Monday. Details are on our partner site White Center Now.
9:51 PM: Meantime, SDOT posted on its site tonight that it’s hoping the city’s pilot program will launch this fall. The post notes, “We also will require scooter share companies to pay special attention to West Seattle, South Park, Delridge, and Georgetown so that scooters can become part of the solution to the West Seattle High-Rise Bridge closure.”
(Reader photo)
The overnight northbound closures of the 1st Avenue S. Bridge will continue longer than first expected. We’ve been asking WSDOT about the status of the project, which is replacing 14 of the bridge’s deck panels, and finally got an update this afternoon. The work hit a glitch, explains WSDOT spokesperson Bart Treece – some trouble getting the new panels fastened to the bridge. So even though the work started July 26th, with a five-nights-a-week schedule, Treece says they’ve only completed two panel replacements so far. So at this point it looks like the Sunday-Thursday overnight northbound bridge closures (10 pm-5 am) will continue through next Wednesday; WSDOT is still working out the schedule, which might include some lane closures beyond that. (For more project/bridge background, see our story from last month.)
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