It’s a nice ride on the West Duwamish Trail along the Duwamish river to the Duwamish HQ: Native Holiday Gift Fair continues Sat, Nov 30 and Sun, Dec 1, 10-4:30 at the Duwamish Longhouse in West Seattle, www.facebook.com/duwamish
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Month: November 2013
Saturday Nov 23 Garden Party at the Fishing Pier
Post event: We had a beautiful fall morning and a nice turnout. Weeded the planters, cleaned debris from the trail, cut back ivy from trees, cut blackberries and did quite a bit of weeding and trash pickup from the landscaped area to the. Thanks to all who participated.
If you wanted to, but can’t make weekends or anything that takes this long, think about just carrying some work gloves and a weeding tool, and stopping by here for 15 or 20 minutes once in awhile to remove obvious weeds or cut back blackberry canes. Watch for glass and biohazards. SDOT prefers that we don’t work in the planted strip along the roadway, to stay safe.
This Saturday morning! Bring gloves, your favorite weeding tool or a rake, and a garbage bag or two, and meet us at the fishing pier. Lunch afterwards at the Chelan Cafe. See “Events” for more details.
Delridge/Highland Park Greenway Planning
Quick report from the Delridge/Highland Park community meeting tonight at the Salvation Army building on 16th near White Center, attended by several from WSBC who live in the area, and one who doesn’t.
SDOT and SPU were there in in a big way with maps, diagrams, and people including translators, to answer questions and take input from the neighborhoods. At times the ratio of SDOT to neighbors was about 1:1. You can see the proposals at
http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/delridgehighparkgreenway.htm
Input was almost all positive, with one exception who feels that added foot and bike traffic would disturb her quiet cul-de-sac. Craig Rankin, who has been working for Highland Park greenways for years, noted the need for a connection east from the proposed route on 17th to 11th or 12th. Others noted the need for connection west to the 26th Ave Greenway, and safety improvements especially at the crossings of arterials. But what is presently in the plans looks to us like a realistic route, with storm water improvements along part of it, and worth our support. You can send comments or questions to John Vander Sluis at SDOT: john.vandersluis@seattle.gov or 206.684.4617
Gordon Padelford from Seattle Neighborhood Greenways, and Stu Hennessey, one of the leaders of the effort behind West Seattle’s first Greenways, on 21st and 26th Avenues in North Delridge, participated and lent their expertise.
Action Alert – State Transportation Funding
Here’s the takeaway from last night’s West Seattle Transportation Coalition meeting, thanks to Tom Rasmussen, our City Council Member from West Seattle, and Chair of the Council’s Transportation Committee:
Contact all of your friends, co-workers and relatives who live in Duvall, Cottage Lake, Redmond, Kirkland, Mercer Island, Medina, Bellevue, Sammamish, Newcastle, Auburn, Covington and East Hill.
Urge them to tell their State Senators Litzow, Hill, Fain and Tom and to pass a Transportation budget bill that includes the funding that the House bill includes for bus, bike and pedestrian transportation. We can’t all just drive cars everywhere all the time. If we did, the highways would come to a standstill. We need buses and safe bike and walking routes to work and school.
Time is of the essence.
The Governor may call a 2-day special session of the legislature next week only if the votes are there to pass a transportation bill. The House passed a bill that includes funding we desperately need just to maintain bus service as it is, and to fund safe routes to school, and specific improvements to East Marginal Way, and other critical bike and pedestrian safety improvements in West Seattle that our local representatives worked hard to include.
The fate of the bill in the Senate is in the hands of four east side suburban Senators:
Steve Litzow R-41st (Mercer Island-Bellevue-Newcastle),
Andy Hill R-45th (Finn Hill, Cottage Lake, parts of Redmond, Kirkland, Duvall, Sammamish)
Joe Fain R-47th (Auburn-Covington-East Hill),
Rodney Tom D-48th (Redmond-Kirkland-Bellevue).
If they hear from enough of their own constituents that we need the transit, bike and pedestrian funding that the House passed, they will have the political cover to buck their leadership.
Our Senator Sharon Nelson and Representatives Joe Fitzgibbon and Eileen Cody, are already fully supportive. They and Tom Rasmsusen are our champions on this. It is good to thank them, but we already have their votes. Please contact your friends in those four districts by phone, email, FB or ham radio! Only their own constituents can really influence them.
Don Brubeck and Kathy Dunn attended, representing West Seattle Bike Connections