West Seattle, Washington
13 Friday
(WSB photo, Beach Drive “Keep Moving Street” in May)
While the city has long since declared that most of its “Stay Healthy Streets”.- closed to vehicle through traffic – would remain that way permanently, the status of a few similar stretches dubbed “Keep Moving Streets” because of their proximity to parks remained unsettled. Late today, that changed. The Alki Point “Keep Moving Street” – Alki SW west of 63rd SW and Beach Drive SW west of 63rd [map] – has an end date of sorts, for now:
This Keep Moving Street will remain through Phase 3 of reopening in King County. We hear you asking us to consider permanent closure and sharing your associated concerns, and we’ll be reaching out over the next few months with more conversation on possible future configurations.
(If you’ve forgotten, we’re still in Phase 2.) The announcement was made in conjunction with more-firm end dates for two of the three other “Keep Moving Streets” in other parts of the city. SDOT’s post also summarizes feedback it’s received, including this regarding the Alki Point stretch:
What we heard:
=A desire for permanent closure! Over 1,000 of you signed a petition to keep this Keep Moving Street open permanently
-This street was especially helpful for wheelchair users, because the sidewalks are too narrow for wheelchairs
-Concern about “privatization” of the beach by limiting car and parking access
-Concern that the Keep Moving Street limits the capacity of people who cannot walk, bike, or roll to enjoy the view by driving by
-Concern about the shifting of speeding/noise south between Mee Kwa Mooks Park and Jacobsen Drive
On this “Keep Moving Street,” SDOT says, “We’ve seen an average of 415 cars per day, with a median speed of 17.5 MPH.” It was closed to through traffic four months ago.
Every few years, we get a report about a divebombing owl attacking someone. Last night, Kate sent this:
(Sunday) around 8 pm, I got attacked by an owl (probably barred owl). I think my high, very floppy bun was to blame. (Map of Lincoln Park location) This is exactly where I saw owls hang out in trees before. Anyway, just wanted to warn people to watch out when they run on that trail. I am all good, just a scratch on my ear.
This 2011 reader report is from the same time of year, same area of the park. This state Fish and Wildlife info sheet explains (though we’re not quite to winter yet), “In winter owls establish territories, build nests, and rear young. During this period, adult birds may engage in belligerent behavior, such as attacking creatures many times their size. In this case, the owls are simply trying to protect their homes, their mates, or their young.”
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
When the crumbling seawall is removed at Lowman Beach Park, the tennis court that’s a few steps east of it will be taken out too.
But a community effort to replace it elsewhere in the park is proceeding – and the big question, as discussed at an online meeting Wednesday night, is what exactly that replacement could/should offer – maybe more than racket sports.
More than 40 people attended.
One month ago, we reported on the Port of Seattle’s search for new names for some of its parks – and now just a few days are left until the August 31 deadline. Six Port-owned parks and shoreline access sites along the Duwamish River need new names “that reflect the cultural and environmental history of the area.”
The parks to be renamed are:
Terminal 117 Park
Terminal 107 Park
8th Avenue Street End
Turning Basin #3
Terminal 105 Park
Terminal 108 Park
(T-105 and T-107 are in West Seattle.) You can suggest names three ways:
–Online
-By voice mail – 206-385-9064
-Write on a postcard and text a photo to that same number
The port will choose three finalists for each and open a “public scoring period” in September.
As we mentioned last month, the Duwamish Tribe is asking for support to rename T-107 Park as Ha-ah-poos Duwamish Village Park. This video explains the history:
You can support their request by nominating that name, and supporting it in September.
Interested in what’s planned for the play-area move at Hiawatha Playfield/Community Center? You can see a briefing during tomorrow morning’s meeting of the city Landmarks Preservation Board‘s Architectural Review Committee. The project is in the board’s jurisdiction because Hiawatha is a landmark, one of the city’s historic Olmsted parks. You can preview the briefing packet here; the meeting, which starts with a public-comment period, is at 8:30 am Friday (August 28th), online – here’s the link. If you plan to comment, register here, or email your comment to erin.doherty@seattle.gov and/or sarah.sodt@seattle.gov. You can also listen to the meeting by calling 206-207-1700 and entering meeting access code 146 522 0524. (Thanks to Deb Barker, who recently completed two terms on the Landmarks Board, for the tip!)
One more reminder since we didn’t publish a daily-preview list today – if you’re interested in a racket court at Lowman Beach Park, once the seawall-removal project takes out the existing tennis court, don’t miss tonight’s online meeting – 6:30 pm. Our preview has info on how to view/participate.
(2012 Lowman Beach aerial photo – pre-Murray CSO Project – by Long Bach Nguyen
Reminder that tomorrow night is when you can find out about, and comment on, plans for a racket court at Lowman Beach Park. In case you missed the first announcement, this one’s from Parks:
While we cannot meet in person right now, your input is important to us! Seattle Parks and Recreation(SPR), Seattle Department of Neighborhoods, and Seattle Sports Complex Foundation invite the community to participate in an online meeting on August 26, 2020 from 6:30 to 7:30 pm to learn about the challenges and opportunities of locating a new racket court at Lowman Beach Park. (Here’s the link – password lowmanbeach – or call 206-207-1700; for both, the access code is 146 008 1942.)
At Lowman Beach Park, 7017 Beach Dr. SW, the existing court will be removed as part of the Shoreline Restoration and Seawall Replacement project. A new racket court will provide recreation experience for all ages and will be ADA accessible. The community has come together to explore options to install a racket court because the existing one needs to be removed as part of the restoration project. Funding for the planning and design of the racket court is provided by the Department of Neighborhood Matching Fund.
The Lowman Beach Park seawall began to fail in 2015 and needs to be addressed. As visitors to the park have seen, the existing seawall is slowly falling over/sliding towards the water. SPR’s goal is to remove the existing seawall and continue the shoreline restoration work that began when the south half of the seawall failed in the mid-1990s and was removed.
(WSB photo, Thursday night)
9:46 AM: You’ll recall that last week, the Southwest Precinct‘s commander announced that Seattle Parks would cover the costs of having three officers on overtime be at Alki Thursdays through Saturdays to help enforce the 9:30 pm closing time. After one night – last Thursday – this was suspended, because, Capt. Kevin Grossman said, transferring money between departments would need council approval. We went immediately to City Councilmember Lisa Herbold‘s office to find out what was being done about this; Friday afternoon, her legislative assistant Newell Aldrich told us they were awaiting more information from Parks because the situation was “complicated.” This morning, Aldrich has just updated us: “We heard from the City Budget Office that Parks will contract with off-duty officers hired through Seattle’s Finest to do the closing of Alki Beach and Don Armeni boat ramp at night. Parks has the resources and appropriation authority to pay for this work.” We are inquiring with Parks to find out how soon this will start.
10:14 AM: Seattle’s Finest, as noted in comments, is one of multiple companies through which off-duty officers freelance; here’s a link. Meantime, we just heard back from Parks spokesperson Rachel Schulkin, who says details, such as when this will start, are still being worked out.
As reported last year, the project to remove the failing seawall on the north side of Lowman Beach Park will also remove the park’s tennis court.
As noted at July’s Morgan Community Association meeting, community members are proposing a new racket-sport court elsewhere in the park, and they have announced a “virtual open house” for later this month. It’ll be at 6:30 pm Wednesday, August 26th.
Details for participating in the meeting are on this flyer.
1:18 PM: Even before last Sunday’s double shooting, Alki Beach residents say the nighttime state of things at the beach has been getting worse – the video above was sent by one reader just hours before the shooting, around midnight Saturday night. Among the problems, illegal beach fires have continued and seem to have grown in number many nights since Parks removed the fire rings (which had been locked anyway) two weeks ago, drawing SFD responses, as we noted last week. Another beach resident sent this photo showing some of the fires on Saturday night:
Fireworks are reported nightly, too.
Alki Beach Park is supposed to be closed at 9:30 pm; residents say a Parks crew makes that announcement but it’s inevitably ignored.
After the shooting last weekend, Southwest Precinct commander Capt.Kevin Grossman explained that SPD no longer has money for the “emphasis patrols” that had been sent to the beach in the past. But today, he announced an update: “The Parks Department has generously agreed to fund a three-officer detail to support Parks staff in closing Alki Beach and the Don Armeni Boat Ramp at night, starting tomorrow (Thursday), August 6th. The officers will work three hours, from 8-11 pm, every Thursday through Sunday night for the remainder of the summer, until Sunday, September 27th. We hope that this partnership between SPD and Parks will address some of the issues neighbors have been experiencing with noise, fires, alcohol use, and other parks violations at Alki and Don Armeni.” However, he added, don’t assume this detail will see everything, so keep calling 911 for emergencies.
On followup, he confirmed to WSB that the three officers will be on overtime (as were past “emphasis” patrols), with Parks footing the bill. We have a question out to Parks regarding how much money it’s providing, and whether that department has any other changes planned for Alki.
ADDED 12:37 PM THURSDAY: Parks spokesperson Rachel Schulkin replied, “Parks and Recreation is paying by shift but the amount will not exceed $27,000 for the remainder of the summer, the funds are coming from our Partnerships Division.”
Most Port of Seattle-owned parks have generic-sounding names. But the port has just announced a plan to change that, with your help:
The Port of Seattle will rename six Port-owned parks and shoreline access sites along the Duwamish River to new names that reflect the cultural and environmental history of the area. The Port has partnered with Seattle Parks Foundation, a well-recognized public parks and greenspace non-profit, to design and implement the re-naming campaign with transparency and community involvement.
The ‘Incredible Parks Want Incredible Names’ nomination period runs from July 24 to August 31.
The parks to be renamed are:
Terminal 117 Park
Terminal 107 Park
8th Avenue Street End
Turning Basin #3
Terminal 105 Park
Terminal 108 Park
(T-105 and T-107 are in West Seattle.) Between now and August 31st, you can suggest names three ways:
–Online
-By voice mail – 206-385-9064
-Writing it on a postcard and texting a photo to that same number
The port will pick three finalists for each and open a “public scoring period” in September.
The Duwamish Tribe, meantime, is campaigning for support to rename T-107 Park as Ha-ah-poos Duwamish Village Park. This video explains its history:
You can support their campaign by nominating that name, and supporting it in September.
11:16 AM: The announcement is from Seattle Parks – we’re just mentioning the local fields on the list:
Seattle Parks and Recreation will turn on field lighting on ballfields throughout the city on the evening of Friday, July 3 and Saturday, July 4 to protect the surfaces. The ballfield lights will be turned on at approximately 8:30 p.m. and most will be turned off at either 10 p.m. or 11 p.m., depending on the field.
The lights will be turned on to discourage the use of fireworks. Fireworks are illegal in the city of Seattle and will destroy the artificial turf on the fields or surrounding facilities. The approximate replacement cost for the synthetic surface based on per average full-size field (110,000 square feet) is $1.2 million. All the fields have been renovated in the past several years and benefit field users including players of soccer, football, baseball, Ultimate Frisbee, and lacrosse.
The fields will be monitored by security from 9 p.m. to 4 a.m. Lights at the following fields will be turned off at 11 p.m.:
Delridge Playfield, 4458 Delridge Way SW
Hiawatha Playfield, 2700 California Ave. SW
Walt Hundley Playfield, 6920 34th Avenue SW
West Seattle Stadium, 4432 35th Ave. SW
4:11 PM: The Port of Seattle has a plan too – received from spokesperson Peter McGraw: “Port police will be closing T105, T107, and Jack Block Parks around 3 p.m. this Saturday to prevent possible property damage related to firework use. The parks will reopen on Sunday morning.”
United Way of King County is offering free meals to kids and teens at two local parks this summer – weekdays, noon-4 pm at Highland Park Playground (1100 SW Cloverdale) starting today, 10 am-noon at Roxhill Park (29th/Barton) starting next Monday, July 6th. The announcement notes:
Kids and teens can pick up a free meal for the day, or a parent can come and say that they’re picking up a meal for however many children that they have. Social distancing will be practiced at both of our sites as well!
Thanks to Jan for the photos from Luna/Anchor Park tonight. Don’t know the story behind the group jump – maybe YOU do?
ADDED THURSDAY: Thanks to Marc – whose son was the one doing the back flip – for sending this video:
He says, “They had so much fun doing this! Great kids too!”
(WSB file photo, future park site at 48th/Charlestown)
With the city getting ready to make budget cuts because of COVID-19 revenue losses- see the big picture here, in the slides from an upcoming City Council presentation – individual departments are announcing their plans today. Among them, Seattle Parks and Recreation, which says West Seattle’s three landbanked park-development projects will be “paused.” Here’s the full news release:
As the City moves to reopening and rebuilding, Seattle Parks and Recreation (SPR) must turn our attention to addressing the impacts of the COVID-19 on both the city’s budget as well as SPR’s budget.
The City is also looking across all city departments and city services to reallocate General Fund resources to support the rebuilding of our communities along with providing essential services.
During this pandemic crisis, SPR has significantly shifted to better serve our communities where it was needed most. Seattle Parks and Recreation has stood up three temporary shelters in community centers, quickly opened and increased service to over 100 restrooms across the city, continued to operate our free shower programs at four sites, operated 9 childcares for essential worker families, and created a new program to support social distancing in our public parks.
Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic the City is proposing budget adjustments to City Council for consideration and approval on June 23.
In summary the savings from SPR that will help the city’s budget shortfall include:
-Leaving current staff vacancies unfilled, and reducing consultants and training budgets
-Reducing seasonal temporary employees in Park maintenance and facilities
-Pausing several capital projects including:
Battery St. Portal Park Development
Reduction in park acquisition budget
Landbank site development (48th and Charlestown, Ernest Park Addition, Morgan Junction, Wedgewood, West Seattle Junction)
-Greenway connection projects
-Athletic field conversion (Soundview, Ballard, and Queen Anne)
-Municipal energy efficiency program
-Park upgrade work through Seattle Conservation CorpAdditionally, SPR anticipates continuing to capture savings throughout the summer due to the closures of facilities and reduction in summer programming (Teen Summer Musical, wading pools, spray parks, summer pools, and other summer programs).
As a result of unfil;ed vacancies and reducing temporary staffing budgets, park and facility maintenance will have a decreased level of service (reduced mowing and park maintenance, along with slower response to fixing broken park amenities).
These reductions do not include layoffs or furloughs currently, however, SPR is holding approximately 10% of our regular positions vacant.
We are committed to keeping you informed about our operational and budgetary changes as we move through this difficult time
All three of the landbanked West Seattle sites had been moving toward construction years after the city bought them. (If you’re new – the Morgan project is the fenced-off ex-commercial site north of the current park along California north of Fauntleroy, and the Junction project is in the 4700 block of 40th SW across from the Alki Masonic Lodge building). We’ll add more followup info later.
While at Alki last night to cover the Moon Dancers, we noticed the newest Seattle Parks pandemic-related signage. It’s the latest in what’s been a three-month-long series of signage, from closures to social-distancing exhortations. We wondered how many signs have been made and how much the city has spent, so at week’s end, we asked. Here’s the reply from Seattle Parks spokesperson Rachel Schulkin:
Since the pandemic began, SPR has spend $87,757 on signage for over 4,000 signs.
The signs have all been made by United Reprographics, a black-owned business that the City often uses for larger printing and signage needs. These funds have come out of our Operating Budget, and may be eligible for reimbursement for federal dollars for COVID response.
(Photo from meeting presentation)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Work will start as soon as next week at the site of the Emma Schmitz Memorial Overlook seawall replacement project on Beach Drive.
The project’s been years in the making. One year after an in-person community meeting (WSB coverage here), Seattle Parks and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are ready to get it going, and they told attendees that construction of the 465-foot-long seawall will last about half a year.
Major concerns voiced during the meeting included the team’s mention of a construction fence covered with a “green tarp” and how that might affect views. (Here’s the meeting slide deck.)
(Corps of Engineers photo, 2014)
The long-in-the-works seawall-replacement project at Emma Schmitz Memorial Overlook (4503 Beach Drive SW) is finally about to start – and that means changes in park access and parking. Two online meetings are coming up for updates and Q&A. As announced by Seattle Parks:
The Seattle District – U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Seattle Parks and Recreation will be holding two virtual public meetings to kick off the project to replace the Emma Schmitz Overlook seawall in West Seattle and discuss the latest project news.
The construction contractor, Bainbridge Island-based Redside Construction, is preparing to begin staging equipment in the coming days, as suppliers have been able to produce key project materials ahead of schedule. It’s anticipated pre-staging will help avoid delays caused by the West Seattle Bridge closure. Redside Construction could start pre-staging equipment and close public access to the park as early as June 22. Construction is still set to begin early-July.
“The good news is the pandemic has not affected the supply chain for the critical construction materials for this project,” said Jeff Dillon, Army Corps project manager. “The unexpected early delivery of the custom piles puts the project in the best position to start and finish on time. Park users and project neighbors will experience some inconvenience earlier than expected, and we appreciate the community’s patience. We look forward to completing a new seawall that will protect the shoreline and underground utilities for years to come.”
In the first week of staging, residents will see the installation of no-parking signs and detours as well as fencing around the construction site. Temporary office trailers and steel piles for the seawall construction will also begin to arrive. Additional construction materials and a crane will be delivered by the end of the third week.
Here’s how to access the June 17th (Wednesday) and July 1st meetings, both at 4 pm:
TO JOIN ONLINE
(VIEW MEETING MATERIAL, PARTICIPATE THROUGH A CHAT AND JOIN BY PHONE):Use this link:https://usace.webex.com
Enter the meeting number:
146 580 1139 (for June 17) or 146 002 2703 (for July 1)Enter your name and email address then select “Join Meeting”
Select ‘Connect to Audio’ (phone icon – the first circle)
Select ‘Call Me’ and enter your phone number to receive a call from the conference system.
If prompted for a security code dial: 1139
TO JOIN BY PHONE ONLY (LISTEN TO MEETING): Call: 1-888-273-3658
Enter Access code: 5721558 followed by #
If requested, enter Security code: 1139 followed by #
We covered an in-person community briefing last July (here’s that report).
As mentioned briefly in our nightly virus-crisis roundup, Seattle Parks published an announcement late Friday about what’s reopening in its system – and what’s not. In case you didn’t click through to the full announcement, here are the highlights:
NOW OPEN
(With this caveat: “Maintenance crews will be reinstalling nets and hoops over the next few weeks. No more than five people should be on the court at a time, players should refrain from sharing sports equipment, and give each other six-feet of social distance while recreating.”)
Tennis/pickleball courts
Basketball courts
Disc golf
Community gardens
Golf courses
Boat ramps (by June 20)
Trails and walking paths
Outdoor barbecue grills
Picnic tables (not larger picnic shelters)
Public restrooms
Skateparks
Off Leash Areas
Volleyball courts
Athletic fields (for non-organized use and team practices starting 7/1)
Swimming Areas (beginning July 1 at 5 locations)
For a full list visit our blog
STILL CLOSED
Play areas and playgrounds
Adult fitness equipment
Picnic shelters
Fire pits
Community Centers/Environmental Learning Centers (programs)
CLOSING TIMES
“Popular parks will close early, at sunset, and many parking restrictions will continue to limit crowding.”
ATHLETIC FIELDS
The city will begin taking reservations for athletic field practices Wednesday (June 17) for select fields, “with permitted practices starting July 1 for organizations committed to operating consistent with the Governor’s guidance, a prerequisite for reserving fields. Several fields throughout the city will be reserved for informal drop-in use by the public throughout the summer.”
SWIMMING
“Indoor and outdoor pools, wading pools, and spray parks will remain closed for the summer. While the Governor has permitted pool use in phase 1.5 with very limited capacity, Seattle Parks and Recreation previously decided to focus staff resources to provide outdoor lifeguarded swimming areas for summer 2020.”
One last note – you’re likely to see new signage. From Parks’ announcement: “In place of ‘Keep It Moving’ messaging, Seattle Parks and Recreation will be asking park goers to ‘Keep It Small and Simple.’ The public is encouraged to visit parks and enjoy trails, walking paths, and lawns, but must refrain from large gatherings, large sport games, or parties.”
P.S. Many of the facilities/features now reopening have been closed for almost three months.
2:32 PM: As previewed – the Seattle Fire/Airlift NW drill is under way at Alki Playfield, first of 4 drills in West Seattle this week.
2:41 PM: The helicopter has lifted off. Next drill, 2 pm tomorrow at Walt Hundley Playfield in High Point. Viewing was OK today *around the edges of the field* so it should be tomorrow too.
ADDED 5:31 PM: More details, photos, and video:
Airlift Northwest (corrected) has a base in Bremerton – its helicopter can get here in as little as six minutes and carries trauma nurses as well as blood and plasma.
(Photo by David Hutchinson)
SFD plans to use the four drills – continuing 2 pm Tuesday and Thursday at Walt Hundley, back at Alki 2 pm Wednesday – for different local SFD crews to practice a helicopter transfer. Deputy Chief Ron Mondragon talked about it after today’s drill:
The helicopter was on the ground less than half an hour (longer, though, than it would have taken for an actual patient transfer).
SFD stresses that this kind of transport is expected to be rare – if it’s required at all – but they need to be ready just in case.
(WSB photo: Jack Block Park driveway gates, now open)
The parking lots of three more waterfront parks in West Seattle are open again. The Port of Seattle has reopened the lots for Jack Block Park (2130 Harbor Avenue SW) and T-105 and T-107 (both on the east shore of the Duwamish River, off West Marginal Way SW). Port spokesperson Peter McGraw tells WSB the parks and lots are on a “dawn till dusk” schedule and reminds parkgoers, “Visitors should be ready to follow public health guidance and wear a mask while respecting physical-distancing measures.” The parks lots were closed in late March as part of the COVID-19 response.
In summer 2018, we reported on the city’s plan to expand the Seattle Parks-owned area of Orchard Street Ravine by buying 7137 38th SW, a 5,600-square-foot parcel (map) holding the century-plus-old house shown in the King County Assessor photo above. Today, Parks announced it will be tearing down the house soon:
Seattle Parks and Recreation is moving forward with the structure demolition in the Orchard Street Ravine at 7137 38th Ave. SW. SPR purchased the property in 2018 to increase the green space in the Orchard Street Ravine, a natural area and important green space connector for the West Seattle community.
Watterson Excavating will be working in late May to demolish the structure on site. Between May and September, the Seattle Conservation Corps will put in erosion control measures and hydroseed the site. The property was purchased with community support and funding provided by the Seattle Park District.
In 2018, the city said the purchase price would be $235,000 (records verify that’s what was paid), and that it expected additional costs of $25,000 for “staff time, title insurance, and closing cost,” plus “up to $100,000 for demolition of the house.”
Reader report from North Delridge via text:
With Seattle Parks grounds crews overwhelmed, these neighbors and others decided to mow out most of Puget Blvd. Park (Sunday) evening for the little kids to run. One was even using a push mower. Good social distancing too.
The area is adjacent the Delridge P-Patch.
| 68 COMMENTS